The Waverley Falcons sent four girls teams to the Southern Peninsula Basketball Tournament on 23rd/24th November with some very impressive results.

The Under 18 Girls were Grand Finalists in their Division, and Assistant Coach Mark Sainsbery once again came through with an outstanding account of the weekend:

WAVERLEY FALCONS U18 (1) GIRLS TEAM CLAIM SILVER SOUTHERN PENINSULA TOURNAMENT

The team enjoyed the opportunity to gain valuable minutes over the weekend to assist with the all important Grading Phase 1 that is now upon us. With Chloe Betts and Lauren Mitchell unavailable over the weekend, Sharniqua Scott (U18 (2) Team) was added to the roster.

Opening up with a 27 all draw against the Dandenong Rangers was a positive result after being down by as many as 13 in the first half. Sam Landby lead all scorers with 20 points, Grace Beasley chipped in with 7 points and Sami Stewart worked hard on the boards pulling down 8 rebounds.

Keen for a win against the Bulleen Boomers, the girls worked hard in a physical contest and our running game eventually hurt the Boomers as we claimed a fighting 8 point win. Sam Landby enjoyed a 23 point game and Sarah Betts and Grace Beasley both chipped in with 4 points and 2 rebounds.

Our third game on the Sunday was against Ringwood and a win would see us finish in second place in our Pool to earn a Semi Final berth. In control for all of the game, the girls finished off strongly to record a 26 – 12 win. Sam Landby hit 15 points, Grace Beasley 6 and Katherine Ellis chipped in for 3 foul shots.

Matched up against Camberwell in the Semi Final, Grace Beasley hit the first 11 points of the game including 3 from downtown (18 points for the game) as we took a slender lead into the main break. Our defensive efforts continued to shine in the second half as we wore down the Dragons to record a 29 – 22 win to put us into the ‘Big Dance’. Sam Landby also hit 10 points.

In an entertaining Grand Final, scores were locked at 14 all at the main break with Sam Landby having continued her solid weekend scoring hitting 11 first half points. Unfortunately, the bigger bodied Wodonga team hurt us on the boards in the second half and our scoring options dried up as the country girls claimed a 28 – 22 Championship win. Grace Beasley chipped in with 9 points and 5 rebounds and Sarah Betts worked hard pulling down 6 boards.

Despite the Grand Final loss, the weekend proved to be successful in giving the players much needed court time at this vital stage of the season.

Congratulations to the following players who took part over the weekend;

Grace Beasley, Sarah Betts, Katherine Ellis, Sam Landby, Hayley McPhillips, Olivia Rogers, Holly Sainsbery, Sharniqua Scott and Sami Stewart.

A big thanks to Anita McPhillips (Team Manager) for her hard work and to all parents for the commitment shown over the busy weekend.

Elias Palioyiannis (Head Coach)

Mark Sainsbery (Assistant Coach)