It's playoff time for high school basketball. At Elphinstone Secondary, senior boys took to the court for their last home game of the year on Monday, against the Rockridge Ravens. Elphi came out of the gates very strong, posting a 28-6 lead after the first quarter.
Elphi's size and hustle was too much for the Ravens to handle, and the Cougars finished on top 89-44. Dolf Vermeulen had a stat line that any fantasy league member would drool over, with 24 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and five steals. The Cougars recently posted another podium finish at the St. John's Jam in Kitsilano last weekend and look to be contenders in the North Shore playoffs after winning their last two league games. They faced long-time rivals Saint Thomas Aquinas last night (Thursday) in their first playoff game, a rematch of last year's first round battle, which Elphi won. The junior boys finished with a record of 4-7 and claimed the eighth and final playoff spot on the North Shore. The Cougars played Carson Graham on Wednesday night with the winner advancing to the semifinals on Monday. The Chatelech Eagles finished fifth in the division with a 6-5 record and played West Vancouver Tuesday night with the winner advancing to Monday's second semifinal.
The Elphi juvenile girls finished seventh in their division with a 3-6 record and played Argyle Tuesday with the winner advancing to the semifinal, which was played last night (Thursday) in North Vancouver.
In Grade 8 girls action, Devon May scored 12 points in the second half to lead the Cougars to a thrilling four-point victory over St. John's in Vancouver last week.
Playing with 18 players and substituting often, Elphi gave up an 11-point lead in the third quarter, but scored the last six points to win 51-47. Devon's lay-up tied the game at 47, then Hailey Perry put the Cougars up by two, and single free throws by Ellen Fallis and Michelle Jakszut provided the final margin of victory.
Devon led the balanced scoring attack with 14 points, followed by Michelle with 13. Six other players scored as well, and all 18 players contributed to the victory.
As for the Elphi senior girls, they finished tied with Rockridge for the final playoff spot and played a tie-breaking game with the Ravens last Friday.
Elphi started slowly, trailing 22-8 at halftime, but the Cougars battled back in the second half.
"Rockridge did get into foul trouble, but we only shot four for 24 from the line, which really hurt us," said coach Lynn Moran. "We played much better in the second half, put good pressure on in the fourth quarter and scored six baskets in a row to close the gap. It was too little too late, though, as we lost 47-36, eliminating us from the playoffs."
Tanis Borley led the scoring with 11 points, Kendra Pomfret added nine and Addy Fearnley chipped in with eight while also leading the team in rebounds. Tonya Poole and Lauren O'Brien played great defensively with Lauren picking up a number of steals off the press.
The Cougars are off to Pem-berton this weekend for their final tournament of the season.
- With a file from Brian Jones/Elphinstone Secondary School
