Sport
24 February, 2023
Junior Wildcats champs
WARRACKNABEAL Wildcats Under 14 girls basketballers have toasted championship success on the weekend when they competed at a Maryborough Junior Tournament. Playing their last tournament of the season, the Under 14 girls followed up on their recent...
WARRACKNABEAL Wildcats Under 14 girls basketballers have toasted championship success on the weekend when they competed at a Maryborough Junior Tournament.
Playing their last tournament of the season, the Under 14 girls followed up on their recent Portland tournament when they finished runner-up in their division.
Through a mix up with entries to the Maryborough tournament, the Under 14 girls were the only Wildcats team entered and continued their development with another strong showing.
Under 14 girls coach Dean Gunn said the team played some strong team play during the weekend which culminated in their grand final success.
“The girls continue to show improvement. We only have three top age girls in the team so for them to win the grand final was a great effort,” he said.
“They will continue to develop and will enjoy their time as top age players next season.”
The Wildcats played four preliminary rounds and finished equal top of the group with Maryborough Blazers Blue who they played a draw against in the opening round before meeting the same team in the grand final.
Round one against Maryborough Blue saw the teams locked together on 17 points each at the end of regular time and with no extra time, was declared a draw.
Round two saw a win over Maryborough Yellow 20-15, while round three saw another strong performance in a 19-14 win over Deni Giants.
The last preliminary game for the Wildcats was against Terang Tornadoes which saw a strong 23-14 point victory and with a bye in the final round, the Wildcats finished in second place on the ladder.
The grand final was a repeat of the opening round when the Wildcats took on Maryborough Blue and produced some strong play in the first half to set up a six-point lead, 12-6, before holding out their opponent’s challenge in the second half.
Scoring continued as the girls teamed well and added a further 10 points in the second half and maintained a four-point buffer to the final siren, winning 22-18.
Gunn praised the girls efforts in the grand final and their overall play throughout the tournament.
“We had plenty of contributors throughout the whole weekend and the grand final was testament to their efforts with six girls hitting the scoreboard in the grand final,” he said.
“They play some good team basketball and its good to see the improvement they make with each tournament.”
After starting their season in October last year, the Wildcats girls have now finished for this season, while the Under 16 and Under 14 boys will play continue with the Under 16s competing in Benalla this weekend, while the Under 14 boys will prepare for State Championships in April.
Results
Round one: Wildcats 17 (Piper Knorpp 13, Maya Funcke 2, Georgia Evans 2) drew Maryborough Blue 17.
Round two: Wildcats 20 (Piper Knorpp 16, Leah Hallam 2, Maya Funcke 1, Eedie Rowe 1) d Maryborough Yellow 15.
Round three: Wildcats 19 (Piper Knorpp 9, Leah Hallam 4, Eedie Rowe 3, Maya Funcke 2, Georgia Evans 1) d Deni Giants 14.
Round four: Wildcats 23 d Terang 14. Full details not supplied.
Grand final: Wildcats 22 (Leah Hallam 10, Piper Knorpp 5, Maya Funcke 3, Georgia Evans 2, Eedie Rowe 2) d Maryborough Blue 18.