The Cougars were no match for the Sabres Wednesday night in North Vancouver. But it wasn't for lack of effort.
The senior girls from Elphi battled right to the end, but were unable to mount much of a game against Sutherland as the Cougars lost 75-32 in the North Shore final.
"It was pretty one-sided," said coach Lynn Moran. "We tried hard - they were just too good."
Sutherland is the top ranked AA girls' team in the province and they proved that distinction Wednesday night.
"They're a very good team. We missed a lot of shots," Moran said. "Maybe it was because they played great defence and put a lot of pressure on us. It was not our best game, but I'm really proud of the whole team. To get to the North Shore final is a big accomplishment."
Elphi started the playoffs Monday with a 70-22 win over Bodwell.
Sutherland beat Chat 92-9, St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) edged Sentinel 42-33 and Collingwood beat Windsor 49-44.
Elphi beat STA 61-47 Tuesday in the semifinals, while Sutherland blasted Collingwood 85-24. STA won the AA consolation game Wednesday, beating Collingwood 42-40.
Despite the loss, the season is not over for Elphi.
The Cougars have qualified for the Lower Mainland playoffs, which start in two weeks. With a good showing, Elphi could still clinch a berth in the provincials.
Elphi tuned up for the playoffs by finishing third at a tournament last weekend at McMath Secondary in Richmond.
Bantam boysThe Chat bantam boys went two for three last week.
On Jan. 24, Chat defeated Oceanview Secondary from Powell River 35-24.
"Our players basically put the game away in the first quarter when they outscored the Powell River squad 19-9," said coach Sean Smith. "Paul Desautels and Brendan Hussey led the way with eight points each. Eli Paradis showed his all-around game, scoring seven, and played tough defence on the opponent's big men."
Matt Brown, Zander Reid, Grant Mayers, Nick Mercer and Lucas Nordenlund enjoyed good all-around games in a satisfying win.
On Wednesday, Jan. 25, Chat lost to division leaders West Vancouver Marauders 41-35.
Leading 11-4 in the first quarter and 20-18 at the half, Chat showed just how much they've improved since the start of the season. Matt Brown played great defence and ran the offence with confidence, as did Paul. With Matt assisting, Paul had 14 points to lead the way. Nick, Grant and Branden scored six each, while Zander added four more. "After the game, the West Van coaches went out of their way to praise the effort and ability of our players," added Smith. "The difference, they said, came down to execution at the end of the game and missed shots that could have easily been made by our squad." On Monday night, Chat was down three points with less than two minutes to go in its game against the Argyle Pipers. But that didn't faze the team as they went on a late run, pulling out a 32-27 win.
Grant was a defensive force, intimidating all opponents who ventured into the paint. With four blocked shots and many redirects, the Pipers inside game was stymied. Paul hauled down rebounds with abandon and scored 12 of the team's 14 first-half points. Matt constantly disrupted his opponents' ability to dribble, pass and penetrate, while competently quarterbacking the team under relentless pressure all game.
In their first games as starters, Eli and Lucas put in solid efforts to help the team prevail.
The bantams are in fourth place in their seven-team division and sixth-place overall in the 14-team league.
Chat's last regular season game is Feb. 6 against Rockridge.
