The Churchill Bulldogs are making a name for themselves in the senior girls city basketball league and protect a 4-0 record in the middle of a very competitive season.
They won their own Bulldog Classic for the first time since the tournament launched in 2005 and have so far lost only one exhibition game, brining their overall record to 14-1. Their one loss came at the hands of Rick Hansen secondary, an unranked team.
Despite their winning record, the Bulldogs aren’t in the B.C. AAA top 10.
Shikha Kumar and Hannah Pimentel are Churchill’s leadership core since the Bulldogs lost five graduates, including Bronte Stark and Marinel Santiago who now compete with the Langara Falcons.
Incredibly, the starting line up is bolstered by three younger players: Cecilia Bao and Tova Rae, both in Grade 10, and Alexa Leynes who is in Grade 9.Â
“I am impressed with how quickly they were able to adapt to this level of play and they continue to improve game by game, contributing in every way possible to this team,” said the team’s coach and Churchill alumna Sabrina Chan, who graduated in 2005 and runs the show with another grad, Louise Chien.
“We have a strong and solid team with strong combo guards, thus creating a lot of scoring opportunities,” she said. “If we continue to work on our defense, we will be a tough team to beat.”
The Bulldogs sit atop the city’s Tier I table with eight points, but Britannia, Killarney and are right behind with six points.
Britannia held a 7-0 record through the 2013 regular season and eventually won the city title for the third year in a row, defeating Kitsilano for the past two years. The Bruins are currently 3-1 and their only loss came early in the season against Magee, also 3-1.
Churchill beat Kitsilano 52-50 in early December but haven’t yet been tested by Britannia. That match will be the biggest of their city season. They play Tuesday.
Kitsilano sits alone in fifth place overall with four points, two wins and two losses.
