Terry Fox Ravens honor late teammate after winning provincial hoops title

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Cutting down the netting of the basketball hoop is a tradition for championship basketball teams and the Terry Fox Ravens were adamant that Jennifer Khuong would be the first to get the scissors and climb the ladder Saturday night.

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You won’t find her name on the roster of the Port Coquitlam team that beat the Riverside Rapids, their crosstown rivals, 77-75 for the Quad A girls basketball provincial championship at the Langley Events Center.

She’s the mother of Karin Khuong, a teammate for years of several of the Ravens players. Karin was on the last Terry Fox squad before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, the team that lost in the 2020 Quad A provincial finale to Surrey’s Semiahmoo Totems.

Prior to that tournament, Karin had been told cancer had returned to her body. She died in October 2020. She was 16.

Ravens coaches and players have said that their team has struggled emotionally ever since. They started this season as the No. 1 ranked squad in the province but until this weekend had been inconsistent, including losing all four of their previous meetings with Riverside.

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Having Jennifer Khuong be part of the net cutting was a must for the players as she had gone out of her way to help keep the Ravens moving forward.

“She had to do that,” said Ravens forward Emily Sussex. “It was important to all of us. She was apart of this. She she helped get us back on track. Without her, I don’t know if we could have gotten back on track.

“We were going through a rough patch. We lost our team’s love. She got us together a few times and got us back to loving the game.”

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The Ravens looked polished and poised in dominating a talented No. 6 seeded Abbotsford Panthers 94-51 in Thursday’s quarterfinals and Terry Fox coach Mike Carkner talked after about how pleased he was to see his team “smiling again.”

The tournament’s No. 3 seeds, the Ravens downed the No. 2 Okanagan Mission Huskies of Kelowna 83-76 in the semifinals before beating No. 1 Riverside.

“We just peaked,” said Carkner. “We played three of the best games we’ve played in two years.”

Karin’s presence was prevalent all night. The Ravens brought out her No. 2 jersey for their pre-game huddle. Terry Fox fans chanted 2K Strong, a hashtag the team called on throughout her battles with cancer.

The Ravens were up 56-44 in the third quarter but the Rapids went on an 18-2 run to take a 62-58 lead into the fourth quarter. Riverside Grade 10 point guard Avery Sussex led the charge, with 13 points in that span.

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She’s the sister of the Ravens’ Sussex. They had opted to follow their peer groups, including many club basketball teammates, to their particular schools, which are about a 10-minute drive apart.

Parents Aaron and Jodie Sussex had special T-shirts to wear to games made up by Rapids coach Paul Langford that featured both a Terry Fox and a Riverside logo.

The Ravens went on an 18-4 run to start the fourth to take a 76-66 lead with 3:03 remaining. Riverside pushed back again and were down 77-75 with eight seconds and the ball being inbounded from center court to Avery Sussex.

Terry Fox guards Alisha Weloy and Taylor Matthews double teamed her and forced a turnover to secure the win.

After a few moments of Terry Fox celebrating, Avery came over to their group, found Emily and they had a group hug with Aaron and Jodie.

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“Her maturity is beyond her years. It’s amazing. I’m so proud of her ”Emily said of her sister. “I’ve loved having this experience with her. I think it’s pretty unique. It’s amazing that we’ve gotten to do it.”

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Forward Ana-Maria Misic had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Ravens while guard Lauren Clements had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Emily Sussex had 17 points, and point guard Cerys Merton put up nine points, eight assists, nine rebounds and seven steals.

Clements, who had 45 points in Terry Fox’s semifinal win over Okanagan Mission, was named the tournament most valuable player. Clements, Misic and Weloy are all committed to play for the Fraser Valley Cascades next season.

Terry Fox’s 12-player roster featured nine Grade 12s.

Riverside got 21 points from Grade 12 guard Brooke Kendal. Avery Sussex had 16 points, three assists, eight rebounds and seven steals.

Guard Venica Davignon and forward Natalie Curley had 14 points each.

Kendal and Davignon were the lone Grade 12s on Riverside’s 16-player roster.

In other provincial finals on Saturday at the LEC, Richmond’s RA McMath beat Abbotsford MEI 51-46 in Triple A, Langley Christian beat out West Vancouver’s Mulgrave 70-60 in Double A and North Delta’s Seaquam downed South Kamloops 50-20 in junior.

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