A Maple Ridge basketball player was named Athlete of the Week. Five-foot-10 Rhea Silvestri plays for the Langara Falcons women’s team.

The Falcons travelled to Abbotsford on Feb. 9 to face the Bearcats, and once again Silvestri contributed on the boards. She grabbed 14 rebounds to go along with nine points and three steals.

Langara took the game 67-51 and in doing so kept their hopes of extending their season alive.

Silvestri is a 3rd-year guard from Maple Ridge. She has been an important contributor for the Falcons all year and this past weekend it was no different.

Langara was sitting four points out of a playoff spot heading into the weekend.

Two wins were needed if they had a chance of making the playoffs.

In Friday night’s game the Falcons faced the Kwantlen Eagles. The Falcons were fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. They came out strong and Silvestri had one of her best offensive showings of the year, scoring 22 points. She was a huge factor on the boards gobbling up 15 rebounds. Her performance allowed the Falcons to get their first win over the Eagles this season 68-62 in overtime.

Langara now sits tied for the 6th and final playoff spot with Camosun. However, Camosun has the tie-breaker so it will come down to the final weekend of PACWEST play that will determine the playoff matches.