Fearless Performance by under 18 Women
March 15th, 2015 @ Grangemouth Sports Complex
Under 18 Women, National League Div 1
The girls travelled to Grangemouth to play the number 1 seed in the division 1 of the Scottish national league, Tayside Musketeers. The teams had met twice in the league previously and showed progression again in this game, despite being without Niamh Shannon, who last week dropped 20 points on the Edinburgh Kool Kats.
The first quarter got off to a slow start with the Colliers settling into their zone defence but struggling to execute on the offensive end. They moved the ball well and showed improvement as a team but they couldn't capitalise on this by converting their shots. Towards the end of the quarter Claire Brunton and Rachael Tonnar’s moves to the basket paid off with Rachael getting the team's first basket and Claire adding a free throw.
In the second quarter the Colliers offence was sparked by some motivational words from assistant coach Gemma Kelly and then u13s Katie Burn and Carla Crowther coming into the game. 6 Colliers got on the score sheet this quarter showing how well the girls work as a team but some breakaway lay ups from Tayside ran up their score towards the end of the quarter. The half time score was 43-15 to Tayside.
The girls continued to work hard in the second half, with excellent rebounding from Claire and Carla. With only 7 Colliers players compared to 11 Muskies, the energy levels dropped in the third quarter and Tayside took advantage of this, winning this quarter by 8 points.
The girls didn’t give up though, even with captain Claire Brunton out injured. The fourth quarter saw Carla and Rachel taking control offensively, scoring 8 and 6 respectively in the fourth quarter alone. The defensive pressure was also very good, with Morgan Hazlewood playing her usual tough defence and getting steals.
Head Coach Rhona Mitchell commented: “the final score does not do justice to the how well the team played and how far they have come this season.”
“To hold the best junior team in the country to 80 points is a real achievement.
“The girls have improved massively over this season and showed incredible attitudes and dedication as the only Colliers team playing in the top league at their age group and in their first season together.
“This was one of the team's best performances and the girls really gave it their all.”
Captain Claire Brunton added, "I'm so proud of the team for their attitude and enthusiasm that was just as much present in this game as the rest of the season.”
“We new we had a tough match up but we didn't let that phase us and, knowing it was possibly our final game of the season, we gave it everything we had.”
Assistant Coach Gemma Kelly also said, “the difference in the score in this game and when we first played Tayside at the start of the season proved to the spectators, our coaches and also to ourselves that our hard work is paying off, the team has a great future ahead of them."
"The final game was great to watch, the girls played with such a positive attitude playing high intensity basketball and it highlighted just how much they have improved this season.
“Although it has been a difficult season for a new team to play at the highest level the girls have took it in their stride and have been determined to work hard and improve. I have really enjoyed working with a group of girls who have such resilience and a great attitudes."
