Bruins and Tigers renew battle of the beasts
Britannia and York House clash Friday at Langara for girls basketball trophy
By Megan Stewart, Vancouver Courier
Britannia and York House senior girls basketball teams both surged ahead with two wins Wednesday afternoon in the opening day of the Vancouver Girls Basketball Challenge.
The cross-town rivals meet Friday night at Langara in the tournament final.
As Vancouver’s top-flight programs, the Britannia Bruins and York House Tigers both advanced to the AA and AAA B.C. championships last season, respectively. Britannia proved themselves the best in the province, while York House, playing up from their AA status, came second to South Kamloops.
The Tigers do not have the same depth as last season with the departure of prodigious talents Alisha Roberts to Pepperdine and Cherub Lum to UBC. The Bruins lost graduates Karen Li and Jennifer Carpio but retained emerging backcourt duo Jilliane Vina and Ashley dela Cruz Yip.
The Bruins are two-time Vancouver city champions, having twice beaten the Kitsilano Blue Demons for the public school title.
Five hours later against Winston Churchill, York House won 58-24.
Across town at Britannia, the Bruins bested St. Patrick’s 79-36 on a 22-point output from dela Cruz Yip and 19 points from Helen Wilson. The Bruins then beat Notre Dame 83-67 with Vina leading the scoring with 26 points and Wilson again coming up big with 22.
On Thursday afternoon Magee hosts Winston Churchill and York meet Notre Dame.
The final round begins at 12:45 p.m. Friday at Langara. The three-point contest is set for 6 p.m. Friday, followed by the championship game between Britannia and York House at 7 p.m. also at Langara.