Elphinstone's senior girls' basketball team dominated the competition at Chatelech's annual Eagle Invitational Tournament last weekend.
Elphi demolished Cariboo Hill 57-12 in their first game and then annihilated King George 59-7. Kyla Richey and Danie Proby led the way against Cariboo Hill, scoring 23 and 12 points respectively.
Danie led scorers in the King George game, and Hanna Anderson was also a major contributor with 11 points, including some impressive three-point shooting.
With Friday finished, the Cougars had one team to beat on Saturday to reach the final, and that was Howe Sound from Squamish. Again, the Elphi girls showed no mercy as they used their fast break to push ahead from their first possession. Kristy Widsten commanded the team from point guard, showing some good decision-making as she fed Emma Wiley (who finished with 12 points) and Georgia Scherer (who nabbed eight points) with several break-away passes. Hanna was leading scorer with 16 points.
In the final, the Cougars finally faced some defence as the tenacious John Oliver (JO) squad from East Vancouver forced them to work their offence and be more disciplined.
Although the Cougars ran off to an 18-5 start, John Oliver inched their way back, keeping it close enough to cause some worry. Kyla took over in the third quarter and JO were not capable of stopping her. She notched 17 points in the second half and led the team to a 44-23 first-place finish.
Also of note was the play of Ellisa Grohne, who played a tough low post game, and unsung hero Trina Borley, who dictate the play from point guard.
"The tournament gave us an opportunity to use all our players," said Elphi head coach Lynn Moran. "The competition wasn't that high a calibre, but I think with everyone getting lots of court time and playing well, we're coming out of the tournament a better team."
Elphi has played only two league games so far this season, coming away with a lopsided loss to Sutherland and a 27-point win on Jan. 3 against St. Thomas Aquinas.
"Sutherland is ranked number one in the province. I thought we played pretty well considering we didn't have much practice time. The volleyball season ended late, so that didn't give us much time to prepare. Based on what I've seen so far, we'll have a strong team this year. We have lots of height at the key positions and a lot of returning players."
Elphi had a road game against Sentinel Wednesday (past deadline).
The most exciting match of last weekend's tournament involved host Chatelech as they took on arch-rival Cariboo Hill in the third/fourth place game. Chat played fairly well throughout the tournament, beating Sentinel 33-29 on the strong high post play of Christine Lynch and Claire Hately. Chat then lost a squeaker to John Oliver, 21-17.
The Eagles got off to a slow start against Cariboo Hill, falling behind 8-2 in the first few minutes, and were forced to claw their way back into the match. Christine put on another great performance in the second half, scoring 11 points.The resurgence by Chat was led by utility player Casey Baker, who filled in at the high post position and point guard. While Tess Bradshaw scored two crucial free throws in the dying seconds to tie up the game, Casey took over in overtime as Chat ran away with the game, scoring 12 straight unanswered points to win 47-35.
Casey finished the game with eight points (six of them in OT), while Danielle Howard hit for seven. Sammi Dixon also deserves mention as she once again calmly orchestrated the offence at point guard.
Chat was in North Vancouver Tuesday night for a game against Sutherland. Results were not available at press time.Bantam boysChat's bantam boys team put in two solid efforts recently.
On Jan. 4, Chat beat Elphi 40-6 while Monday night, they lost a 48-44 double overtime game to Sentinel.
On Wednesday, Chat played host to Mulgrave and Elphi. Results were not available at press time.
