When push came to shove, the Brookswood Bobcats had no answer to the Riverside Rapids.

鈥淚f the referees let it get physical 鈥� which I am fine with, because I quite like physical basketball 鈥� we will play, but if they don鈥檛 back down or the refs don鈥檛 call the game tighter, we tend to back down,鈥� said Brookswood coach Neil Brown.

鈥�(Riverside) played the game how I like the game played.鈥�

Brookswood was the top seed at the senior girls AAA Fraser Valley championships, while Riverside was ranked second. They were also one-two in the provincial rankings.

And they met in the Fraser Valley final on Saturday at Abbotsford鈥檚 W.J. Mouat.

After a close first half, the Rapids took control in the third quarter en route to a 55-42 victory.

Sydney Williams led Brookswood with 15 points and eight rebounds while Tayla Jackson had nine points and 18 rebounds.

It marked Riverside鈥檚 fourth victory in six tries against Brookswood.

A big difference between the two teams is that while Riverside is largely made up of Grade 12s, the Bobcats are younger, including relying on one player in Grade 9 (Jackson) and another in Grade 10 (Jessie Brown, the coach鈥檚 daughter).

Jessie Brown earned an all-star award, as did Luca Schmidt.

And while Riverside reveled in the physical play, Brown said his team was unable to stay focused on the game plan and got caught taking reactionary fouls.

But those are to be expected from a young squad.

鈥淎ll season long, we have said you can鈥檛 put an old head on young shoulders,鈥� Brown said.

The loss could also have a silver lining.

鈥淪ometimes when you sit there and say 鈥榯his doesn鈥檛 work, young kids look at you and go, are you kidding, we just won the big tournament?鈥欌�� Brown said.

The coach was impressed the players came in on Monday and lifted weights for an hour as they ready for the provincial championships in North Vancouver, which run March 7-10 at Capilano University.

The Bobcats open the tournament against Prince George.

鈥⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌�

The Walnut Grove Gators were also at the Fraser Valley championships but saw their season end after going 1-2.

The Brookswood junior girls finished fifth at their Fraser Valley tournament.