The senior girls' basketball season concluded on a high note for both Elphinstone and Chatelech last weekend.
Elphi hosted the Cougar Classic tournament featuring the Eagles, King George and Pemberton. The teams were very competitive with both Chat and Elphi were forced to play overtime in their games against Pemberton. Elphi's Ellen Fallis won Friday's three-point shooting competition, while Elphi's Renat McLean won Saturday's free throw competition.
As for the tournament itself, Elphi went undefeated in their four games to finish first while Chat finished third after winning 49-30 in the third/fourth place game with King George.
Elphi started play with a 56-44 win over King George, with Ellen leading the way with 22 points and Gillian Sanders chipping in with 13.
In game two against Pem-berton, Karli Davies sunk a crucial foul shot with three seconds remaining to force overtime. Elphi came out strong in the extra frame, winning 53-49. Nicole Kinne was tenacious on defence while Ellen and Lauren Fallis led offensively with 16 and 15 points respectively.
On Saturday morning, Elphi had a balanced attack against Chat, winning 49-32. Once again the Fallis sisters led the scoring, with Lauren also dominating the defensive boards. Leisha Hansen led Chat with eight points, and seven points from Diamond Smith.
In the final, Elphi toppled Pemberton for the second time, winning 47-36. Lauren had 12 points, Ellen had 11, and Hayley Schoor had her best game of the year adding eight. Player of the game shirts went to Gillian, Nicole, Lauren and Hayley. Ellen also received recognition for her outstanding effort and consistent scoring in all four games.
Chat opened the tournament with a 53-52 loss to Pemberton in overtime. Taylor Coombs led the scoring with 20 points. In game two, King George edged the Eagles 45-39.
Chat coach Ellen Thomas said it was nice to end the season with a win over King George in the third/fourth place game.
"We had three wins all season, but our main challenge was we are not a strong shooting team. But if you take the score clock out of the equation, then it's a different story," said Thomas. "We were competitive in a lot of games this year, but when you look at the final score, you would assume that we didn't play well at all.
"I think what changed for us last weekend was we switched from zone defence to man to man and that made a difference. The girls played much better defence the rest of the way. By the time we played King George, our guards played excellent and we shut down their outside shooting.
"I told our seniors to relax, go have fun and play your last game, and the seniors stepped up. In the four years that I've coached them, they have come a long way. It was nice to come away with a win in the end."
