The Elphinstone Cougars Grade 9 (juvenile boys) are tied for first place in the North Shore standings after a pair of recent wins.
Elphi returned to the court after its Christmas break with a 51-46 win over Windsor on Jan. 5, and then followed that up with an impressive 35-37 win over West Vancouver on Monday, Jan. 10.
The win over the Highlanders was the first in three tries for the Cougars as they lost to West Van in a key league match-up at the end of last season and lost to them in the semifinals in the Cougar Classic tournament in December.
Sandwiched between the two league wins was a third-place finish at the Handsworth tournament Jan. 7 to 8.
Elphi beat Kitsilano in game one, lost by three to Handsworth in game two in a back-and-forth contest and beat St. Georges 53-51 in their third game thanks to a buzzer beater from Wei Lau.
Elphi's next league game was slated for Wednesday (past Coast Reporter deadline) against Sutherland.
The Grade 9 girls are also starting to find their form with two recent wins. The Cougars bested Sutherland 32-23 on Jan. 6 and beat Chatelech 52-31 on Jan. 10.
The bantam boys are 1-4 in league play following a 54-27 loss to Sutherland on Jan. 10, while the bantam girls are 2-1 following a 41-28 win over Sutherland on Jan. 6.
In junior boys, the Chat Eagles are still looking for their first win after a pair of recent losses to St. Thomas Aquinas 60-23 on Jan. 5 and 62-28 to Rockridge on Jan. 6.
In senior boys play, Elphi lost 83-43 to Sutherland on Jan. 5 to drop to 0-3 in league play, while Chat plays host to Howe Sound and travels to Rockridge this week.
In senior girls play, the Eagles are still looking for their first win in six games after losses to Sutherland 63-29 on Jan. 6 and Seycove 74-36 on Jan. 10.
The Cougars are 1-3 in league play following a 54-36 home loss to Windsor on Jan. 10.
