Weekly WABL Wrap – Round 16

The Weekly WABL Wrap is proudly sponsored by Woods Insurance Brokers.

Here’s the Round 16 wrap-up of how all our teams went including comments from coaches:

U12 Girls Div 2 – Emma Ormond (sponsored by Baston & Co)

Won by forfeit against Warwick 20-0

U12 Girls Div 3 – Marcia Dowling (sponsored by Access Hire WA)

Lost to Mandurah Magic Black 37-47

Coach comments:

Another great all-around effort by the girls this week. They are working hard for each other to move into space for easier passes and our defence in the half-court has improved out of sight. We’re consistently putting up more shots than our opposition each week and if those shots start to fall in the next few weeks, look out!
It was pleasing to see every player hit the stats sheet in a significant way.
Neve Hayles-Stenhouse led the way for us in scoring with 12 points, shooting an incredibly efficient 6/7. She also had 6 rebounds, 3 deflections and a steal.
Cyra Olowoyo had 3 rebounds, an assist, a deflection, 2 steals and 2 blocks
Allegra Care had 4 points, 4 rebounds and a steal
Gabbie Tetteh led the way on the boards as always with 25 (!!) rebounds, 9 points, 2 assists, a deflection and 6 steals
Annabella Lewis also had 6 steals to go with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 deflections
Pepi Graham had 2 points, 5 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals
Gracie Dillon had 2 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, a deflection and 4 steals
Mia Exeter had 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 deflections, 4 steals and 4 blocks

U12 Girls Div 4 – Paul Philpott (sponsored by Sushi Wawa)

Lost to Hills Raiders 61-42

Coach comments:

Whoa what a game! Hills Raiders made us earn our points today.
With the game at 1 point difference at halftime, the Raiders sailed away for a convincing win. Despite this, our wonderful girls made Raiders work hard, often shutting down potential transitions and applying pressure that denied easy scores under the basket. Charlize and I have never seen our girls work so hard and consistently for the entirety of a game.
Lauren Jones was outstanding today, kicking us off straight out of the gate with her frequent and successful hard drives to the basket.
Olivia Birsa made some significant scoreboard dents under the ring herself today.
Ava Kemp, Zara Flynn, Grace Danzo and Hope Campbell all worked well together, supporting team direction up and down the court.
Manisha Jeyamohan had her loud voice and receiving hand in play today, signalling her availability.
Ella Fair was threatening and like glue in her defence.
Freya Whitehouse tried new strategies, making her a serious problem for the opposition in the front court.
Well done girls, still proud and still enjoying everything you bring!

12 Boys Champs – Denzel Jackson

Lost to Warwick Senators 52-66

Coach comments:

The boys fought hard against the Senators but struggled to lock down their main scorers.
We did a great job moving the ball around and attacking the basket, but a lot of shots did not fall for us.
Erik Davies had an outstanding game with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Erik did well cutting to the basket for quick finishes and chasing after rebounds.

U12 Boys Div 2 – Alex Maude (sponsored by Inspiration Paints)

Lost to Eastern Suns 35-73

Coach comments:

The boys kept pushing and didn’t give up when the opposition went on runs
Our ability to pass the ball up the floor quickly to beat the opposition’s press was great as were our shot selection, help defence and decision-making on offence (whether to attack the basket or draw the help defender and make the low block pass)
All the boys contributed equally. They all moved the ball incredibly well on offence and locked in as a team on defence. They all took good shot selections and didn’t give in when the opposition went on runs. They played with a lot of heart and didn’t give up, and none of them dropped their heads which I’m most pleased about.

U12 Boys Div 3 – Ben Hamilton (sponsored by Euroz Hartleys)

Won against Lakeside 38-50

Coach comments:

I was so pleased to see us play with real intensity and a strong focus on the game plan. We prepared for Lakeside’s full-court pressure after giving up 40 turn-overs in our first encounter and were able to nearly halve that with improved composure and ball movement.
Our team defence continues to improve, particularly in the paint, and we were able to keep Lakeside to one of their lowest scores of the season.
The team displayed real passion and were very vocal on the court and on the bench, lifting each other to one of our best games of the season.
Oliver Colangelo had his best game of the season, hustling hard on defence, leading the team in assists and picking up two beautiful 3-pointers and a classy assist when we needed them.
Zach Snell was back and made an immediate impression with an explosive first quarter where he dominated on both ends of the court. His intensity on and off the ball shifted momentum our way at critical times on his way to a game-high rebound count.
Vincent Ryder had a solid performance and showed his creativity on offence as well as a strong commitment to defence and rebounding. He was reliable in advancing the ball, and his full-court vision led to some great transition baskets.

U12 Boys Div 4 – Matt Strika (sponsored by Global Cabling)

Won against Lakeside Lightning 48-44

Coach comments:

Another hard-fought and exciting win for the team. I was extremely pleased that even after being 7 points down in the 3rd quarter the boys did not give up. Everyone refocused on the game plan to mount an epic comeback including a 14-0 run in the last quarter.
This week Noah Mucjanko bought the defensive heat with an impressive 6 steals.
The attack on the defensive and offensive boards was impressive by Tex Tierney (22), Oliver Tuohy (10) and Jacob Tan (9).
Cruz Harris made the most of his opportunity as train-on with some great on-court decision-making and effort.

U14 Girls Champs – Josh Wallace (sponsored by Welsh Real Estate)

Lost to Cockburn Cougars 47-49

Coach comments:

In a game that was tight all the way through, everyone played hard and left everything on the court. Undermanned this week through injury, and players being unavailable they played for each other, and battled to the very last second. You could really ask for nothing more
I am really pleased to say everyone’s effort was a highlight of this game. Everyone contributed on and off the court

U14 Girls Div 2 – Zac Belton (sponsored by Redink Homes)

Lost to South West Slammers 54-34

Coach comments:

Slammers are a very good team in the full court, it was fantastic to see our girls understand and implement instructions on the court.
Mel Cotte was awesome attacking the basket and continuing to be aggressive.
Ella Baxter didn’t shy away from the aggression and really went toe to toe with her opposition.
Mila Reyes did a fantastic job taking on instructions and calming us down on the court when we needed it.

U14 Girls Div 4 Red – Lucy Dowling (sponsored by Aussie Fencing)

Won against Slammers 56-38

Coach comments:

Every single girl came out today and played their role with 100% effort and energy for the whole game which is a big goal we’ve been working towards so they should be very proud.
Most of the game was tight, but we really pulled away in the 4th quarter and played our own basketball which eventually led to the win
When thinking about individual efforts, I can seriously not pick specific standouts. Every single girl went out and performed to their best and did their role. Every single player went out and brought part of the win to the team. They should all be so proud of their best game yet. Let’s hope it’s up from here.

U14 Girls Div 4 Black – Ofir Ben Dror

Won against Willetton Tigers 45-41

Coach comments:

Every player understood and played their role to perfection. There was not a weak link in the machine. Right time of the season!
Sienna Care’ had a breakthrough game. Her quick passes to the right players and her confident and hard defence made a huge contribution to the win. She kept fighting even though she looked physically exhausted. Good job Sienna!

U14 Boys Champs – Ron Flores (sponsored by DLA Piper)

Lost to Warwick Senators 56-61

Coach comments:

The boys started the game with great defensive intensity and were very active and disruptive throughout the game.
They played well offensively and got some great looks at the rim from good dribble penetration.
Jaxon Kowal led the way defensively with 3 deflections and 4 steals. His offensive dribble penetration was great and found teammates for open, easy looks netting him 4 assists while scoring 8 points of his own.
Ewan Maclean led the way offensively with a very efficient 14 points off 5/7 shooting (including 2/3 three-pointers). He also contributed 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 deflections and 1 steal.

U14 Boys Div 2 – Kevin Dunstan (sponsored by United Steel)

Won against Senators 67-61

Coach comments:

Great to get another win under our belts and hopefully we can get a couple more wins to close out the season
This was another game where every player contributed their best during the game with all players scoring and all but one dishing out assists
It was awesome to see our ball handlers feeding the bigs in the paint to maximum effect with our two bigs hitting 16 from 21 for a combined 34 points and 20 boards

U14 Boys Div 4 – Andrew Logan (sponsored by Drafting Now)

Won against Perry Lakes 79-49

Coach comments:

This game represented a noticeable improvement from when we last met Perry Lakes. Things were in the balance at halftime, and we identified a few key areas we wanted to be better in. The boys responded well, and we put the game away in the 3rd quarter. A good spread of scoring across the team is always pleasing to a coach. Well done boys.
Toby Summers had his best game of the season, making some excellent passes, sinking two 3’s and no turnovers. Well done Toby.
We’ve been encouraging Tate Mukjanko to shoot more when his opportunities arise. Was great to see him take those opportunities and finish with two 3’s.
Xavier Allison, James Galvin and Joaquin Imperial continue to be the anchors in the team putting up consistent numbers and dominating the game when they are on the floor.

U14 Boys Div 5 – Isaiah Walley-Stack (sponsored by S&M Group Bobcat and Truck Hire)

Won against Cockburn Cougars 52-49

Coach comments:

Our intensity throughout the entire game on defence was great. Every player gave 100% effort and worked well as a team getting steals, intercepting, rebounding and full court press. Offensively the team displayed smart shot selection making only high percentage shot attempts and playing with good composure even under high-pressure situations.
Jake Souren came up huge both offensively and defensively getting 25 points, pulling in heaps of boards and having well over 10 steals for the game.
Jake Chew had over 5 rebounds, 10 steals and 10 points also for a huge all-round effort
Luke Websdale came up big in the blocks recording 5 in addition to scoring 10 points and over 10 rebounds.
Jett Murphy and Mitch Thompson both played the guard role well both applying tremendous pressure on the ball handlers, forcing turnovers and stealing the ball giving us a crucial backcourt while also contributing some much-needed buckets in the last few minutes of the game.

U16 Girls Champs – Bryn Arnold

Lost to Warwick 65-98

Coach comments:

This game showed that when we play with high intensity and energy, we can match any team in the division. All players hit the scoresheet which shows the great depth of talent there is in this team.
Charlotte Broadbent had one of her best games of the season, competing on both ends of the floor and finishing with eight points.
Jenna Jackson controlled the tempo of the game well and work hard on the defensive end.
Matilda Thomson and Kate Anderson both battled hard on the defensive end of the floor.

U16 Girls Div 2 – Holly Moore (sponsored by Mt Lawley Orthodontics)

Lost to Lakeside 46-51

U16 Girls Div 4 – Geoff Alger (sponsored by MD Building Maintenance)

Won against Mandurah Magic 67-53

Coach comments:

I was really pleased with the all-round team effort and collective resilience of our playing group who played right to the final whistle despite the mounting injury toll. The composure and confidence we show when in possession of the ball continue to improve right across the playing group.
Keira Tran always brings intense defense and safe ball handling so it was great to see Keira take the game on and create some really nice buckets for herself.
Alex Temby is another defensive specialist who showed excellent composure and decision-making with the ball to really add to the team’s offensive capacity and was bravely determined throughout a physical game in spite of her smaller size.
Maddie Wade has improved all season and like Alex and Keira worked really hard to look after the ball, and her energy and speed up and down the court and her confidence in offense caused a lot of headaches for Mandurah. Great game Maddie.
As we lost many of our ‘bigs’ and usual rebounders throughout the game Giselle Dale’s determination and athleticism to secure the rebound was another positive.

U16 Boys Div 2 Red – Luke Simonette (sponsored by TECC)

Won against Rockingham 78-66

U16 Boys Div 2 Black – Luke Notley (sponsored by MSP Electrical)

Lost to Wolves 55-63

Coach comments:

We played a much better defensive game this week than last week, holding Wolves to 63 points. We were able to keep with them all game long, getting 10-13 points down on occasion but then managing to claw our way back into the game.
While we played with improved intensity on both ends of the floor, our turnovers (31) unfortunately let us down. We also gave up some transition baskets and keyway penetration. That said, our first quarter was the only quarter we lost in this game and in all, this game was a good improvement over the past few weeks.
James Bowen had a stand-out game at both ends of the floor. He got after it defensively and shot the ball with more confidence this week which led to him top scoring for the team.
Jeremiah Davies did a fantastic job defensively to really disrupt the Wolves’ point guards.
Michael Ryan chimed in as well with some great defensive plays and some sweet shooting. He also showed great sportsmanship and Redbacks values by helping an injured Wolves player off the court towards the end of the game.

U16 Boys Div 3 – Mitch Jesson (sponsored by Community Bank North Perth)

Won against Joondalup Wolves White 86-75

Coach comments:

Proud of an ‘all of team’ effort against an opponent we had only managed a 1-point win over in our previous meeting.
5 of our players scored in double figures, and it was this even spread of contributors that paved the path for a solid win.
Most pleasing to the coaching staff was our offense where we showed greater levels of patience and our defence which held Wolvesto 17 points or under for three of the four quarters.
Love a good Redbacks crowd too!
Ethan Bushby returned from a long-term injury, and whilst he only enjoyed limited comeback minutes – it was so great to see him patrolling the court once more hunting guards.
Cooper Thompson just relentlessly puts heat on the ball and runs into defence as hard as anyone – with no regard for if he scores or personally gets a stop. Quite simply Coops makes us a better defensive outfit and team.
Ibrahim Abdi is loved by this squad for his devotion to hard work. Joondalup put a lot of different bodies on our big man and every post catch was doubled team – Ibra just kept finding open options or taking it to the rack.

U16 Boys Div 5 – Tom Swindale

Lost to Perry Lakes 71-93

U18 Girls Champs – Mya Dimanlig (sponsored by Titan Finance)

Lost to Lakeside 50-52

Coach comments:

The whole game was fairly close, and while we had a few lapses, I was really happy with our continuous effort and intensity.
The girls have been able to apply what they are taught at training to the games and have improved so much since the start of the season.
Although it was a loss, I’m really happy that the girls never gave up and kept giving their all up until the very end.
Grace Dalton played really good help defence resulting in some good defensive stops
Caitlin Lea had some really great baseline drives that created good looks
Kirsty Slinger was great on rebounds despite a sore knee

U18 Girls Div 2 – John Care

Lost to East Perth Eagles 37-49

Coach comments:

Our first half was not our greatest against an upbeat East Perth. Not quite nailing our strategy, it was going to be an uphill battle. At the half, we were 12 points down, and it was our opportunity to reset and go out strong. The girls need to be commended on their third-quarter fight back, keeping East Perth scoreless and bringing back the game within 1 point. Unfortunately missed opportunities, our defence and our legs could not carry us for four quarters, and East Perth to their credit wanted it more.
Lucy Waller continues to hustle all game in both offence and defence was fantastic.
Ainsleigh Passi was strong on the boards and top scored with 10pts.

U18 Boys Champs – Brandon Riley (sponsored by Willis Temby)

Lost to Lakeside 83-78

Coach comments:

We were missing Harper and Zviko in this game as they were with the School Sport WA U18 team. For the most part, we dealt well with their absence, playing really well up until the final 6 mins at which point we ran out of legs.
After a long return from injury, Thanos Snooks-Holding suited up for the first time this season. It was so great to see him have a crack.
As a group, we had a really good game. We just strayed from our usual stuff in the last five minutes, and that was the game.

U18 Boys Div 2 – Sam Fox (sponsored by MacDonalds Karratha)

Won against Joondalup Wolves 75-68

Coach comments:

This was a great effort and a huge win for this week’s squad of 7. Each player committed to our style, pressuring without reaching, and getting each other shots out of great movement. Though we were a lot smaller than the Wolves and lost the rebound count overall, our effort on the boards was much improved.
Jake Vilardi has been playing with great efficiency and commitment at both ends. This week he put together an excellent O game and kept his fouls to a minimum while being aggressive on D.
Ethan Gonsalves had another great scoring game, looking to push in transition and looking for his outside shot off the ball.
Abdul Mire had his best game all season, providing much-improved D and scoring some very nice mid-paint buckets including a Nowitski-esque turnaround jumper off one-foot.
Mandla Magwenzi provided excellent on-ball D and fired his laser-guided deep shots without hesitation, netting two big shots at crucial moments.

U18 Boys Div 3 – Simon Daff (sponsored by Grange Risk Solutions)

Won against Lakeside Lightning 101-53

Coach comments:

The boys are really starting to click and find form at the right time of the year just before finals. Their ability to trust each other more and to be more disciplined in their play is a highlight. Once again we had six players in double figures. Our defence in the last two weeks has been amazing, especially with our rotations.
Drew Corry, for the second week in a row, has really hit his straps. His shooting has been exceptional but more so, his reading of the game and decision-making. His ability to help the helper and get to the right spots on defence allowed him to get multiple steals in this game.
Will Goode had a great game off the bench. He’s always been a shooter, but with his three-ball not being consistent the last month he has had to find other ways to get involved. His rebounding, talk and ability to cut off the ball have been a highlight which has allowed him to impact games.

U18 Boys Div 4 – Mitch Nixon (sponsored by Maude Family Lawyers)

Lost to Joondalup 72-95

U20 Boys Champs – Adrian Warner

Lost to Cockburn Cougars 80-91

Coach comments:

A good training session this week flowed into a solid 1st half where scores were tied, and we had fewer turnovers (our pre-game goal).
Cockburn jumped out strongly in the third quarter, and although we made a few runs at them over the second half to get back in the hunt, we couldn’t quite bridge the gap. A few cheap baskets in the last 2 minutes of the game saw the scoreline not reflect the overall closeness of the game.