State Champs Review – Weekend #2 – U11 Girls and U15 Boys
Our Wolfpack State Champs teams were back in action on Saturday and Sunday! This weekend of games we got to see the U11 girls and U15 boys play, teams 2 through 5 and we had lots of great action.
The U11-2 girls went 3 and 1 (meaning 3 wins and 1 loss) in pool play and qualified for the Semi-Final game. In that semi-final game they eventually fell by 3 baskets to the Hills Raiders 1’s team but it was an incredibly successful tournament run. Miyavi Arigore and Aeris Edmonds led the team in scoring throughout the weekend, and Miyavi was dominant as a defensive rebounder, coming up with numerous traffic rebounds. But the team was well balanced and had many scorers step up in different big moments of different games.
The U11-3 girls went 2 and 2 in pool play. The Wolves started out on Saturday morning with a dominant 19-2 victory over Redbacks team 2. But then they had a struggle 2 hours later against a bigger Margaret River team. The Wolves started out the game struggling with turnovers and got down 14-4 at their lowest point, with 4 minutes left. But the girls showed incredible fight getting back into the game. Maita and Matipa Munjodzi both and buckets late in the game to get the score to 14-10, but ultimately, the Wolves just ran out of time on their comeback. The girls lost to Cockburn team 2 for their final game of Saturday, but Sunday, they finished out the tournament with a well earned 18-8 victory over Perry Lakes 3.
U11-4 girls also went 2 and 2 on the weekend, falling just short of finals eligibility. The first game early Saturday morning was a tough introduction to the tournament versus a Mandurah team that ended up 4 and 1. Their next game they settled in and found their groove, beating the Eastern Suns 29-11. They followed this up on Sunday with two low scoring defensive games against the Hills Raiders (in a win for Wolves) and then the Hawks in a close loss. The squad, led by coach Jake Dawson, had a good defensive edge in all of their games, and this really showed in their low scoring Sunday battles.
The U11-5 girls went 3 and 2 and also just missed out on playing in finals. The first game of the tournament was a thriller. After getting down 10-6 late in the final period, Kiara Keep and Maddy Hazell had consecutive baskets to tie the game. Then right at the end, Kiara Keep got fouled and made a clutch free throw to win the game 11-10. The Wolves followed this up with a 13 to 5 victory over Cockburn, and a 8 to 5 victory over East Perth team 3. But on Sunday, the girls had two heartbreaking close losses to narrowly knock them out of finals.
The U15-2 boys started out the tournament on a terror, with a dominant win against Albany 1 (37-12) followed up by a 59-20 win over Willetton 3. They were rolling with the whole team contributing on both ends of the floor, and elite team energy. On Sunday however, their momentum shifted as the turnover bug hit them against Cockburn 2 and they lost an unlucky close one, 34-30. Then to finish the day, with a spot in the semi-finals on the line, they faced a Redbacks 2 team. With 2 minutes left, Chase Peroomal hit a left corner 3 to put the Wolves up 22-19. Tom Lindegger from Perth, who scored the team’s final 6 points, answered with a driving score. Taj Jeffery answered for Wolves. Then, Lindegger had back-to-back buckets, including a floater at the buzzer to win the game. It was a very tough finish, but overall, a tournament performance to be very proud of for the boys.
The U15-3 boys were also placed in the challenging division 2, playing some difficult opponents. They also had a weekend that showed significant promise, going 2 and 2 overall. They started out with a 14 point loss to East Perth 2, but responded well. In their next game they probably had their best game of the tournament, fighting from behind to a 2-point win against Willetton 2. The first game Sunday, the boys continued their success with a 10-point win against Hills Raiders 1. Then with finals potentially on the line, the boys fell 6 points short against Perry Lakes 2.
U15-4 boys went 1 and 3 on the weekend. They were playing up in division 3 and played some tough opponents. They started out with an unsettled game and a 15-point loss to Albany 2. In that game, the good moments were really good, but the team also just had some really bad runs where things got away from them. This continued to be the battle in game 2 versus Bunbury 2s, where the Wolves lost by 11. But the team showed progress from game 1 to 2, and had less bad moments. This is evidenced by the fact that the boys were able to fight back from being down 17 to 33, and got the game back to under 10 before a late score by Bunbury got it back to 11. They definitely showed some resiliency and progress. The third game was their best, with a 48 to 47 win over Willetton 4. James Arnatt and Ashton Thorpe both had big 12-point performances to lead the team. In the end, it was 2 baskets by Arnatt, followed by a final score by Marcus Bower that put the Wolves over the line, despite a late score at the buzzer by Willo.
U15-5 boys also went 1 and 3. Their weekend was a story of close losses and a big win, so very competitive overall. They started slow with a 14 point loss to Cockburn 4. In game 2 a score by Australind 2 right at the end broke a 31-31 tie and led to a hard fought 2 point loss. The boys came back with a dominant 31-point win against Suns and finished Sunday with a 35-29 loss to Pinjara. In a tournament with pool play, the margin is small. The boys fought hard and were very close to claiming victory in both close losses but ultimately those narrow margins were the difference between making the semi-finals versus going 1 and 3 and missing out.
It was a great weekend of basketball for our U15 Boys and U11 Girls. We look to continue in our development this weekend as the U15 Girls and the U13 Boys take the court. Go Wolfpack!
Schedule is below