They are making their first appearance at a provincial senior girls basketball tournament in nearly 40 years and now the Delta Pacers have their first win.
Senior standout Abbey Wigglesworth had 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Pacers to a 51-42 victory over Parksville’s Ballenas Whalers on Thursday morning at the Langley Events Centre.
The Pacers opened the tournament a day earlier as the 13th seed and dropped a 71-30 decision to No. 4 Argyle.
An injury kept Wigglesworth out of the entire second half in that game, but the 6-foot forward was back on the floor less than 24 hours later, making a difference against the No. 12 Whalers.
Delta led 26-18 at the half and opened the third quarter with 13 unanswered points. Ballenas finally replied with nine straight points of their own, but would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
Mackenzie Campbell, a key member of the DSS junior girls team, looked right at home on the big senior provincial stage, adding 10 points. Nava Hothi chipped in with seven.
The Whalers were led by 6-foot-4 post Abigail Becker with 20 points and 24 rebounds.
Delta’s team defence continued to be a big part of its historical run, generating 24 steals, led by six from Kim Williams and five each for Wigglesworth and Hothi.
The result means the Pacers will finish no worse than 12th. They will continue consolation play on Friday morning against No. 8 GW Graham from Chilliwack. The championships conclude Saturday.
“Getting a win today is huge. It’s fun playing against teams you haven’t seen,” said Pacers head coach Kerrie Trotman. “The neat thing (here) is you can scout them, look at them and then break it down and that’s what we did today.
“Honestly, all our girls have really stepped up to play (at this level). We are always getting off to really good starts and they just never give up. They keep surprising me with the turnovers and steals (they are creating) and also good decisions of what to do with them.”
Trotman adds she hopes college and university scouts taking in the tournament are paying attention to Wigglesworth.
“I hope she gets some looks from these schools. She deserves it and she has worked so hard for five years. She just loves the sport too," added Trotman.
