Darryl Neighbour’s Richmond rink pulled off a pair of comeback victories to sweep the best-of-three provincial wheelchair curling final at McArthur Island Curling Club on Saturday.
Neighbour, curling with Sonja Gaudet of Vernon, Kelowna’s Gerry Austgarden and Victoria’s Corinne Jensen, beat Surrey’s Gary Cormack, 7-6 and 9-8.
The Neighbour rink will represent B.C. at the national wheelchair championship in Thunder Bay from March 18-25.
Cormack, curling with Frank LaBounty of Prince George, Vancouver’s Bob MacDonald and Allison Duddy of Quesnel, took a 6-0 lead after two ends in Saturday’s opening draw.
Neighbour fought right back, scoring one in the third, then stealing one in the fourth, a deuce in the fifth and singles in the sixth, seventh and eighth to win 7-6.
Cormack had another great start in the second draw, leading 6-1 after three. Neighbour managed to tie the game in the fifth end, but Cormack counted one in the sixth and another in the seventh to lead 8-6 coming home.
Neighbour made a draw for three to win the game and the provincial championship.
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Jessica Hewitt of Kamloops finished eighth overall in the 1,000 metres at a World Cup short track speed skating event in Moscow, Russia.
Hewitt won her heat to qualify for the semifinals, then was fourth in her semifinal and fourth in the B final.
On Sunday, Hewitt won her 1,500m repechage semifinal, then was sixth in the main semifinals for a 16th-place finish.
Hewitt, Marie-Eve Drolet of Laterriere, Que., Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Que., and Marianne St. Gelais of St. Felicien, Que., finished second in the team relay, but were penalized and placed fourth.
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Josie Spence of Kamloops finished third in the Canadian all-around junior long track speed skating championships in Saskatoon.
Spence accumulated 181.326 points, finishing just back of Manitoba’s Heather McLean (181.324) and champion Kate Hanly of Alberta (174.375).
Meanwhile, Spence’s sister, Tori, won the women’s 3,000m event at a Canada Cup 3 stop in Saskatoon.
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The Sa-Hali Sabres finished sixth at the Sabre Classic senior boys basketball tournament.
The Sabres lost 67-65 to the Valleyview Vikings.
The Prince George-Duchess Park Condors beat the Abbotsford Christian Knights 82-76 in the championship final. The Oliver-Southern Okanagan Hornets beat the Vernon-Clarence Fulton Maroons 65-56 in the third-place game.
The Nelson-L.V. Rogers Bombers beat the Vernon Panthers 88-44 in the seventh-place game.
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The South Kamloops Titans defeated the Sa-Hali Sabres 30-18 to win a Grade 8 girls basketball tournament at St. Ann’s Academy on Saturday.
The Titans were led by Tamika Tallio’s 14 points in the final. Hannah McDonald chipped in with five. Sa-Hali’s top scorers, with four points apiece, were Katie Dobrovolny, Makenna Cleveland and Janessa Munden.
The Titans opened the tournament with a 46-16 victory over the Brocklehurst Broncs. Lynn Morrison had 13 points for South Kam, and Tallio added 11.
South Kam went on to drop Penticton-Holy Cross 38-29. McDonald scored 17 points and Tallio helped out with eight.
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The South Kamloops Titans defeated the Penticton Lakers 91-47 to improve to 6-0 in Okanagan senior AAA boys basketball.
Jacob Adams had 26 points in the victory, and Elijah Hillis-Gold scored 22. Tye Desrosier and Mike Gilfillan each scored 12 points.
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The NorKam Saints senior girls basketball team beat the visiting Penticton Lakers 53-51 on Saturday afternoon.
The Saints, who are 4-2 in Okanagan AAA play, will play their final six league games on the road, starting Tuesday in Salmon Arm.
Reiko Ohama had 18 points to lead the Saints, who held a 24-22 lead at the half. Kaho Tsukaguchi added 12 points for the Saints.
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Wayne Saboe’s Kamloops rink has qualified for the B.C. master men’s curling championship that is scheduled for early next month.
The rink, featuring Saboe, Mel Futa, Vince Hunter and John Cox, won the A side at a master men’s regions 3,4 and 7 playdown in Enderby on the weekend.
Provincials are scheduled for March 1-4 in Grand Forks.
