Elliott’s Pipers slay Dragons
Senior point guard contributes to team’s success in many ways
Every coach here at the B.C. senior girls Triple A basketball championships is looking for that perfect mix of talent, from shooters to penetrators to rebounders.
Here’s a good bet: They’d all love to have senior point guard Claire Elliott of the Lower Mainland champion Argyle Pipers.
In a purist’s world, the 5-foot-7 senior is the kind of glue that brings all of the other pieces together, the kind of player who indeed makes everyone better.
On Wednesday, as the provincial tournament opened up at the Langley Events Centre, it was the calm and cool presence of Elliott, next season bound for the young-and growing program at UBC Okanagan, who once again shone for the Pipers as they dispatched Surrey’s Fleetwood Park Dragons 69-45.
“So much of what she does is not recognized (by statistics),” said Argyle head coach Anthony Fortunaso of Elliott, whose impact on the game went beyond her 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals. “She can put up a ton of points, but she doesn’t. But she plays defence, and she is our floor general. If we kept track of hockey assists (the pass that leads to the credited assist), she would have a ton of assists.”
On Thursday, as Argyle built a 32-18 halftime lead, it was Elliott’s touch on both ends of the floor that helped her team shoot a collective 48 per cent from the floor.
“I just want to do what’s best for this team,” said Elliott, who was named the major scholarship winner earlier this season at the Telus Basketball Classic, and more recently the MVP of the Crehan Cup Lower Mainland tournament. “Scoring’s nice, but if someone else is open for a better shot, that’s more important.”
Chelsea Dekleer led the Pipers with 20 points, and Robyn AulinHaynes added 12 points for the winners, who face Brookswood tonight (7 p.m.) in the quarterfinals. THE NEXT OLYNYK
Maya Olynyk wants to wrap up her high school career with a second straight B.C. Triple A title, and the senior guard with the South Kamloops Titans got off to a good start with a 101-18 win over Cranbrook’s Mt. Baker Trojans.
Olynyk was called on to show her versatility Wednesday when forward Emily Vilac took a mean facefirst tumble at one end of the court and was rushed to hospital.
With her 6-foot-2 presence missing from the lineup, Olynyk was forced to go inside, and one of the most versatile players in the province had no problems with the rough going, finishing with a game-high 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting.
“You have to be an all-around player,” the sister of Gonzaga Bulldogs centre Kelly Olynyk said. “So I did what I could.”
Olynyk is set to start her career in the CIS next season with the Saskatchewan Huskies, and she said that after one visit she knew that she was a perfect match for head coach Lisa Thomaid is’ program.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” she said, “but maybe it’s like finding your wedding dress?”
Olynyk said she hoped Vilac would be able to get stitched back up and rejoin her teammates. It is believed that her teeth hit the floor so hard that a piece of the court was dislodged.