Our final day in Terrigal saw us take to the court against the Hornsby Spiders.  The girls were very flat after their exciting loss to Rockingham the day before and we struggled to match it with Hornsby right from the beginning.  To try and breach the gap we took some risks on our defence which worked initially but then led to a bigger blow out on the score.  The girls tried hard until the end with their “never-say-die” attitude but unfortunately it was a disappointing loss.

The grand final between Bulleen Boomers and the Manly Sea Eagles was a fascinating struggle between two quite different looking teams.  Manly were tall and lanky, Bulleen were short and solid.  Bulleen came out and hit Manly with an extremely aggressive full court press double teaming the full length of the court.  Their anticipation of the play was excellent, moving to where the ball was going as soon as the ball left the hands of the passer, not waiting to move when the pass had been received.  Bulleen were relentless; the Manly girls must have been exhausted from the mental and physical pressure exerted on them.  Just imagine what it would be like to play against 10 Lauren Jeffers in one team – that’s as close as I can describe this game.  Bulleen came to this tournament on a mission and they delivered a national championship to their club.  It was fantastic to watch them in action.

Our girls were a wonderful group to travel with – their parents should be very proud of the way their offspring conducted themselves both on and off court.  They worked hard, had fun and experienced one of the great inter-club events in Australian basketball.  A summary of their individual performances is below:

4 – Millie McCarthy – a true warrior in our team, living up to the saying “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”!  Often is given the task of stopping one of the other team’s strongest players.  She may be one of our smaller players but she is tough and able to rise to the occasion.

5 – Molly Norrish – it’s always handy to have a leftie on the team and Molly is one of a pair that we have in our team.  She has an uncanny knack of being able to get a score whenever she comes onto the court.  She also runs the floor hard and so is often available for a pass up the court on the fast break.

7 – Holly Halliday – worked very hard during the year to improve her fitness and it has really paid off, being able to play close hard defence and get some very handy steals with her quick hands.  She was prepared to drive to the basket and go for the shot under pressure from the inside players.

8 – Olivia Basso – a three point specialist who was our “go-to” person on many of our base line and side line plays.  Shoots a high percentage on these plays so became one of the players that opposition coaches were wary of when they were playing us, trying to shut down her outside shot.

9 – Tahni Geel – when she is at full speed she can beat anyone on the court, taking the charge, driving through traffic, and stealing the ball on what the defence thought was going to be an easy long pass on the fast break.  Saved her best game for last.

10 – Zoe Shanahan – a great organiser on court and often a calming influence on offence.  Always puts her body on the line when there is a loose ball to get.  Another player that is given the tough defensive assignments.

11 – Caitlin Watts – suffered a great disappointment in the week prior to us departing for the tournament with the news that she wouldn’t be able to play due to a possible stress fracture in her leg.  All week she has been an absolute trooper, keeping team stats and running our warm ups.  We missed her speed and finishing off on our fast breaks.

12 – Ruby Hamilton – one of the most mobile big players we have seen in the Club for a while.  An all rounder who works hard at both ends of the court, she manages to remain calm and composed even when she is being clobbered by the opposition under the basket.  She is a no nonsense player who never gives up.  Shoots a high percentage of her free throws when the foul is actually called.

13 – Natasha Oberman – it was a tough week for Tash coming down with a virus at the beginning of the Tournament and struggling to get on the court earlier in the week. She is a strong defensive player who reads the play well creating intercepts on our press.  She has a nice shot, though rarely used (we’re working on that!) but usually effective when she does take it.

15 – Emma Bond – was a fierce competitor under the boards for us this week, coming up with numerous rebounds at both ends of the court.  Her athleticism was also demonstrated by her hussle to cover fast breaks, sprinting back hard and often disrupting the flow of the offensive attack.

Coach – Georgia Clarke – has done a tremendous job with these girls over the last 3 years.  She has spent hours with them developing their individual skills and team play and it showed during the tournament when the girls demonstrated these skills in game situations (behind the back dribbles, a catch and shoot tip in offence from the base line, the girls’ ability to understand and implement special plays shown to them in timeouts). 

Manager – Julie Basso –did a wonderful job of keeping the girls on track with clean clothes and uniforms, lots of food, managing injuries and making sure all we did fit into our touring budget.

Assistant Coach – Kerry Clarke – managed not to lose anyone from the 13 member touring party from the time we left Perth until the time they were farewelled at Sydney airport.  Drove the bus and only hit 2 kerbs.

Job well done girls.

National U14 Club Champs – TICK (an in-joke but the girls will get it!)

 

 

Article: Kerry Clarke