Drift Geomatics siphoned an unexpected win from Takhini Gas to close out the season on Sunday.
The Drift team downed top-seeded Takhini Gas 53-17 in the Whitehorse Women’s Basketball League final at Vanier Catholic Secondary.
“That wasn’t what was expected; we weren’t expecting to win - to blow them out,” said Drift Geomatics post Stephanie Wilson. “It’s too bad that it couldn’t have been closer.”
“We were missing one of our key players (Lana Wickstrom) and (Drift) was playing really tough man-on-man defence,” said Takhini Gas captain Megan Freese. “We just couldn’t seem to break through at all.
“We’ve struggled a bit since Christmas to get players out with spring break and vacations and that sort of stuff.”
Beginning with a three-pointer from Wilson, Drift took control early and finished the first period up 17-4.
Wilson, who had 11 points on Sunday, was her team’s top-scorer during the regular season, averaging 16.8 a game.
Teammates Amy Vermeulen and Amanda Kehler put 16 and 14 points on the board, respectively, in the final.
Takhini Gas’ Nathalie Gionet and Michelle King both had six points each in the final.
Gionet was fifth in points in the regular season with an average of 12.7 points a game.
“She was our star point guard all season and she’s an amazing team player and a great shooter,” said Freese. “She’s carried our team for quite a few games.”
Drift Geomatics, which placed third in the regular season, beat the Kopper Kweens 59-55 on Thursday to reach the final. Wilson had 20 points in the game and Vermeulen 17.
League high-scorer Sarah Crane had 21 points for the Kweens after averaging 19 a game during the regular season.
Feature Foods had to default the other semifinal to Takhini Gas because of a lack of players.
“Unfortunately we didn’t have enough players to play in the semifinal,” said Food’s Diedre Davidson, who is also the league’s president. “Everyone’s taking a vacation at the same time”
“It was not typical of a women’s league game,” she added of the final. “The whole league was quite close. It was four wins between the first place team and the last place team ... The score of (the final) was not particularly reflective of how the season went. Lots of the games were really close.”
Sunday marked the end of Wilson’s first season with the league, having moved to Whitehorse from Vancouver last summer.
“It was great. It was a great way to meet people and get out to exercise in the winter,” said Wilson. “We always go out for beers after the games on Thursday, so it’s really social too. It was a really good way to get involved in the community and meet lots of people.”
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com