news

The WA Under 20 Women continued their strong start to the Under 20 National Championships at Kalamunda yesterday, defeating New Zealand.

The home side started the game well, leading 39-27 at the main break, unlike their opening game they continued in the third to extend their lead to 18 points.

Despite a closer four quarter WA took the game 72-55 in front of their home crowd. Alcohol. Think Again West Coast Waves star Jessie Edwards led the way for WA with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Edwards was impressive offensively, shooting 75% from the field.

Ashlee Sidebottom and Mikayla Pirini were also strong offensively with 10 points each.

Edwards was recognised for her efforts, being nominated for the U/20 Women’s Player of the Day on the Basketball Australia Facebook page. The fans in WA got behind her, with Edwards winning the poll this morning.

The Under 20 Men fell just short in their game against ACT, going down 92-95, despite a strong last quarter.

The Men got off to a better start than their opening game, down by four at both quarter time and half time. However ACT managed to pull away in the third quarter, taking a ten point lead into the last break.

The home side came home strong in the fourth, with Sean Broderick cutting the lead to just two points late in the game, however ACT held on to win the game at the free throw line.

Brendan Tucek was the top scorer for the home side with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Luke Roberts had 10points and 5 assists, while Rhys Vague finished with a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds.

The star of the game however was Tad Dufelmeier who led ACT with 36 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

The WA Ivor Burge Women backed up their tough game against NSW Metro on day one with a game against Vic Metro yesterday. The powerful Victorian side came out on top 126-8.

Anne-Marie Foster was the top scorer for WA with 4 points, with the side unfortunately only connecting on 4 of their 55 shots.

Victoria had three players finish with 20 points and a further four in double figures in a well-rounded team effort.

The Ivor Burge Men returned to the court after their narrow opening loss, taking on Victoria Country. The Victorians had a strong start, taking a 24-4 lead into the first break.

The WA side performed better in the second and third periods, with Victoria only winning the second period by 8 and the third by 9. However the fourth period saw Victoria extend their lead by 19 points to run out 52-106 winners.

Daniel Rulyancich was the top performer for WA with 22 points and 18 rebounds, while Geoff Stewart finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds.

Philip Mahoney started for Victoria Country with 33 points, he was backed up by Ben Tuddenham (27 points, 12 rebounds) and Matt Tuddenham (21 points, 16 rebounds).

The WA sides are all back in action today with the Ivor Burge Women hitting the court against Victoria Country at 1:00pm, the Ivor Burge Men are on at 1:00pm against Victoria Metro.

In the Under 20 draw the WA Women face off against the also undefeated Victorians at 5:00pm and WA Men face NSW in their last pool game at 7:00pm.

You can follow the Live Stats and all of the Fixtures/Results at nationals.basketball.net.au.

Keep up to date with all of the Australian Junior Championships (AJC) news by following Basketball Australia on Facebook and Twitter.