- Stasha Drolet
- Posted On
Terrace Lady Vikings claim highly sought-after basketball championship
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The December Jaycees Eighth Grade Basketball Tournament has been compared to “March Madness” or the “NCAA tournament” for middle schoolers.
The tournament, which has grown from being a small 16-team competition into a massive 56-team tournament, is the highlight of the season for Northern California and Southern Oregon.
With 56 teams and 84 basketball games in the two-day tournament, the Jaycees Tournament is about twice as large as even the biggest middle school basketball tournaments.
Under the coaching of Terry McIntire, the Terrace Middle School Vikings eighth grade girls took the A-1 division Championship in a final game against Boulder Creek with an ending score of 13-36.
Three of the Lady Vikings players – Rubi Ford, Amber Smart and Sierra Yates-Bruch were selected for the “All Tourney” Team, which is made up of 10 girls chosen from the top eight teams.
Not only did the Lake Vikings make about a third of the All Tourney Team, but Sierra Yates-Bruch was named Most Valuable Player within the group.
The success of the team at the tournament was all the more gratifying knowing the Vikings were at a disadvantage: While the majority of the competing teams were at the tail end of their season, Terrace was really in the opening weeks of the season. Chemistry can make or break a team, and building chemistry takes time.
In the last 46 years of this annual competition, Terrace has had several of the girls teams make the tournament, but never had they won it. The girls were very excited to win this tournament and bring home a banner.
When asked about the team’s success, the coach and the team unanimously agreed that the team is well-rounded athletically. Instead of a few star players, the girls’ all really balance each other with their strength and athletic ability.
Coach McIntire said there is a lot of talent – and height – in this team. The teammates agreed that the team is well balanced and consistent, and that they have a great coach who matches their consistency and commitment.
“The girls took a commanding lead in every game because of the pressure they put on their opponents. They play hard all the time, and never give up. As far as one team being harder to play, I can’t answer that because I tell my girls to play every game like it’s the hardest team they have ever played, and don’t ever underestimate your opponent,” said McIntire.
Stasha Drolet works for the Lakeport Unified School District.