news

Basketball WA High Performance Manager Brett Coxsedge wraps up all of the WA games from day two of the Under 18 Australian Junior Championships.

WA Country Women v Victoria Country
In a tough matchup, WA Country women were beaten 91-49 by a very strong Vic Country team.

The first quarter saw some extended pressure by Vic Country cause difficulty with WA Country struggling to score. Some good scores from Raya Thompson put WA Country on the scoreboard, however Vic Country led 33-13 at the end of the first quarter.

WA Country continued to battle in the second quarter making Vic Country have to work hard for their baskets. At the half time break Vic Country led 45-23.

The second half saw WA Country compete well against the Vics, losing the half by just 13 points. However in the end Vic Country had too much firepower for a gallant WA Country team.

Box Score

WA Metro Men v South Australia Country
WA Metro got off to a good start getting out to a 7-2 lead, however SA Country steadied themselves to even the contest midway through the first quarter. Both teams traded baskets the remainder of the quarter with neither team gaining an advantage with the score being tied at 24-all at the end of the first break.

The second quarter saw WA Metro jump out to an eight point lead through some good play by Matt Vinci and Bailey Cole-Heath. However SA Country’s Stafford took it upon himself to keep his team in the game by scoring at will. SA Country closed the gap to one point, however a Jaydon Coburn three-point shot saw WA Metro go in to the half time break with a 53-48 lead.

A running game to start the second half saw WA Metro jump out to a 12 point lead. SA Country however scrapped their way back in to the contest. Some poor decisions by WA Metro allowed SA Country to grow in confidence. A big blocked shot by Andrej Donlagic and a layup by Mitch Hampson saw WAM up 64-61 at the end of the quarter.

The last quarter was a physical battle with intensity levels at a high. With two minutes to go SA Country hit the lead. Some turnovers and poor decisions by WA Metro in the final stages of the game resulted in SA Country getting the win 85-81.

Box Score

WA Metro Women v New Zealand
New Zealand jumped out of the blocks early through some slick play to score the first six points of the game. WA Metro struggled to make a basket which then led to NZ taking their lead out to 14 points. WA Metro slowly fought their way back in to the game to be down 22-13 at quarter time.

WA Metro battled their way back in to the contest in the second quarter through some good inside play to find themselves down 38-32 at the half time break.

WA Metro scored early in the third quarter however NZ then were able to play some good team basketball to take the lead back out to nine points. A Hayley Winter three-point shot and a score from Megan McKay saw the lead reduced to four points. At the final break NZ continued to hold a slender lead 56-51.

The start of the last quarter saw NZ score the first two baskets. WA Metros inability to find the bottom of the net and NZ’s ability to penetrate and score saw the Kiwis run out eventual winners 75-63.

Box Score

WA Country Men v South Australia Metro
It was a close contest in the first quarter with both teams trading baskets. SA Metros ability to get to the basket was causing WA Country problems. This combined with SA Metro grabbing nine offensive boards and getting to the free throw line saw SA Country lead 22-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was an offensive struggle for WA Country with baskets hard to come by. SA Metro continued to be aggressive inside and extended their lead to be up 40-18 at the half time break.

Although willing and able, poor shooting in the second half hampered WA Country’s attempt to get back in the ball game. SA Metro was able to maintain their scoring to run out comfortable winners 85-41.

Box Score