The undefeated Vernon Panthers will look to ground some northern birds in the semifinals at the 2024 Tsumura Basketball Invitational Girls High School Basketball tournament in the Fraser Valley.
The Panthers will face the Duchess Park Condors of Prince George at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13.
Dave Tetreault's crew advanced to the Select 16 semifinals by freezing the South Delta Sun Devils 63-54 in a Thursday quarterfinal.
The Sun Devils led 14-1 before the Panthers got going, tying the game at the half, then taking their own 13-point lead late in the third quarter. But South Delta clawed back to pull ahead 54-52, only to see the Panthers end the game on an 11-0 run.
Paige Leahy led VSS with 19 points, Chloe Collins added 15, and Adie Janke had 14. Collins and Janke nailed key three-point shots in the final quarter for the Cats.
The Panthers will next face the smothering defence of the Condors, who defeated Langley's Walnut Grove Gators 88-27 in their quarterfinal. Duchess Park held the Gators to just 11 first-half points.
In the Super 16 bracket, the Kelowna Owls were bounced from the championship side, falling 62-56 to Langley's Brookswood Bobcats. The Owls held Grade 10 phee-nom Jordyn Nohn to just 17 points. Nohr erupted for 52 points in the Bobcats' opening round game.
Mavleen Chahal led the Owls with 25 points while Ava Thiessen scored all 12 of her points from the three-point line.
On the consolation side, the Okanagan Mission Huskies of Kelowna evened their tournament record at 1-1 with a 56-50 win over the Sa-Hali Sabres of Kamloops.
The Huskies face the Semiahmoo Thunderbirds of Surrey at 11:45 a.m. The Owls will take on the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers of Surrey at 4:30 p.m.
For schedule and scores, .