Weekly WABL Wrap

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

Congrats to all our WABL players, coaches, managers and parents for bringing great energy to Round 8 of the 2021 WABL season. Here’s the wrap up of how all our teams went including comments from coaches:

U12 Champs Girls – Josh Wallace (sponsored by Welsh Real Estate)

Won against Mandurah 46-32

Coach comments:

This wasn’t our best game in terms of skill execution but that did not stop the girls from giving it 100% effort from start to finish and making good decisions on the offensive end
Defensively, the girls are now showing their understanding of help rotations on D. This is the first game this has been obvious from the sidelines
Sasha Nona was dominant on the offensive boards during this game, which got herself and her teammates extra scoring opportunities.
Paige Ogden was also dominant on the rebounds, while also using her knowledge of space and cutting to get open for easy scoring opportunities
After a rough first 3 quarters, Ella Welsh stood up when the game was on the line in the 4th quarter to help her teammates close out the game. While her shot-making and playmaking ability were on display, it was her leadership on D that made the difference.

U12 Division 3 Girls – Emma Ormond (sponsored by DLA Piper)

Won against East Perth 49-41

Coach comments

We played this team 8 weeks ago and lost. Since then, the girls have worked incredibly hard to improve their game and today they should be proud of themselves by beating the Eagles with a 32 point turnaround from the last time we played them. This is all because of their ability to give 100% effort for the 32 minutes they are on the court.
Nora Oestermeyer never fails to impress me every time she steps on the court. Her lockdown defence really gave East Perth a run for their money. She is a player that will sprint from one end of the court to the other to chase down a fast break. She worked incredibly hard today as she does every week.
Sasha Kuan’s help defence was a large reason the girls felt comfortable putting pressure on ball carriers as they knew Sash had their backs if they were to get beat. She reads the game very well, especially when she’s against a numbers advantage.
Harper Grace had a great game, contesting everything she could get a hand on, giving her team 110%.
Ada Mourish-Burke’s ability to use her speed and size to drive and get open was amazing. I was super impressed with Ada’s shot selection today.

U12 Division 4 Girls – Marcia Dowling (sponsored by One for Women)

Won against Joondalup White 22-20

Coach comments:

This was quite a rough game and it required the girls to dig super-deep to remain calm and retain their strong body stance. Voices on the court are improving.
Gracie Dillon implemented her role nearly every time she went up and down the court. She spaced herself well in offence and was consistently persistent in defence.
There was good blocking from Cara Hayes, Sally Dowling and Alessia Wladyka
I loved seeing the great transition running from Allegra Care and Lottie Ballantine.
Jacinta Wladyka’s persistence after injury was so admirable, along with her shooting.

U14 Champs Girls – Haylee Smyth (sponsored by Mount Lawley Orthodontics)

Lost to Warwick 44-23

Coach comments:

We managed to stay with Warwick despite only having 7 players and we saw some good improvements on defence
Millie Stancil’s defence was excellent. She kept a player who averages over 16ppg to just 7 points

U14 Division 2 Girls – Shannon Ball (sponsored by Active Discovery)

Lost to Mandurah Magic 70-58

Coach comments:

I was pleased with the way the girls were able to put some of the plays have been working on at training in place. There were some real positives in the game as well as many opportunities for improvement.
Grace Dimer was fantastic, chasing down balls and diving on anything that tried to get away from her.

U14 Division 4 Girls White – Zac Belton (sponsored by Redink Homes)

Lost to Joondalup Wolves Green 35-20

Coach comments:

The girls started to play more like our style in the second half of the game. The effort I saw from some girls was really fantastic!
Grace Almond showed great composure and patience in bringing the ball up.
Issy Budby did a fantastic job on defence pressuring the ball.
Mila Reyes was straight-up aggressive! Really fantastic to see from her!
Emily Livingstone had a pretty flawless game – great composure on her drives, waiting for her teammates to catch up and made some lovely passes!

U14 Division 4 Girls Grey – Lucy Dowling

Lost to South West Slammers 49-7

Coach comments:

The top-of-the-ladder Slammers are a tough team so for the girls to keep them under 50 is an outstanding achievement. The energy coming off the bench was great, all the girls put in 100% and I couldn’t really ask for more. We managed to execute some offensive plays better than ever. Unfortunately, shots just didn’t drop and the Slammers’ D was good. Our defence was absolutely outstanding both in transition and half-court and keeping the Slammers to 49 showed that.
Arabella Kahl had a great defensive game all around. She busted her guts the entire game – the effort, intensity and energy coming out of her was exhilarating.
Charlotte Dillon’s offensive game is improving greatly and the way she was aggressive in defence caused multiple steals. Her transition defence stopped many goals.
Emily Horniman had another all-around great game: decision-making, defence, passing; she contributed highly in all areas.

U16 Division 2 Girls – Bryn Arnold (sponsored by Smart Capital)

Won against Cockburn 56-53 (OT)

Coach comments:

The most pleasing aspect of today’s game was that we kept fighting even when down by 10+ points. The composure we showed down the stretch and in OT was excellent.
Our defence was good all day but in the third, we held the opposition to four points.
Megan Taylor hit a three-pointer to get us into overtime.
Our bench stepped up late in the third and early fourth quarter with great energy (Tatum Cooper and Stella Gregory), as well as Issy Woods with her best game of the year.

U16 Division 3 Girls – Adrian Warner (sponsored by MSP Electrical)

Lost to Mandurah 77-29

Coach comments:

The level of intensity and effort from everyone was great for the entire game and despite falling behind early the girls kept going hard and outscored the Magic in the final quarter. We had our fair share of chances and forced a lot of turnovers with some solid D but found it hard to get the ball through the basket. In patches, we played some very nice, controlled offense that produced good shot options but for too much of the game we were rushed and gave away the ball too easily in transition which resulted in a lot of easy baskets for the Magic. A case of not a lot of reward for a huge amount of effort.
Isabella Wolfenden displayed much-improved resilience and mental focus and it showed on the scoreboard – 19 points!
Ellen Brieffies showed a great desire for the ball in a strong rebounding performance.
Tegan Wilkinson had much-improved spacing and drew a lot of fouls with strong attacks in the paint – unfortunately, a few cheap fouls saw her fouled out early but she has really stepped up in recent weeks with her discipline to apply our team rules.
Ava Lindegger has a fantastic knack for applying a midcourt double team at the right place and right time.
Hannah Saliacus played with greater awareness in our shell D and is providing a lot more consistent and effective outlet passes to get us started in transition.
Ainsleigh Passi was much more active in our shell D, got open for some nice shots and sets the standard for using her voice on the court.
Matilda Thompson is fearless when it comes to attacking the basket or diving on a loose ball and has the bruises to show for it!
Lily Leeder showed she was able to bring the ball down the court under control and create good opportunities for others.

U16 Division 4 Girls – Geoff Alger

Lost to Senators 54-46

Coach comments:

Our girls showed their determination to fight hard all the way to the end, overcoming a slow start to get within striking distance through continued effort.
The support provided by our small army of walking wounded, cheering and encouraging from the bench was great to have.
Swara Pathare led our rebounding game and looked after the ball in possession.
Takoda Johnson was very creative and efficient in offence consistently making good decisions around when to attack herself and when to bring teammates into the game.

U18 Division 2 Girls White – Brayden Cook

Won against Willetton 49-40

Coach comments:

I was pleased with the group’s ability to execute our plays in the half-court. We were able to generate some great looks and scoring opportunities.

U18 Division 2 Girls Grey – Brad Dowd (sponsored by Protek)

Lost to East Perth 118-17

Coach comments:

This was always going to be a tough game as we had a couple of our players missing and we were playing the top team. All the girls worked really hard for the whole game even though some of them were forced to play out of their regular position.
Charlotte Horniman wasn’t feeling well, but still played her heart out.
Aaliyah Shelhot played most of the game and controlled the ball fairly well under a lot of pressure.
Kirsty Slinger played big in defence.
Meg Capewell was strong in offence.
Charlize Nicolaou was strong with the ball and worked hard all game.

U12 Champs Boys – Dylan Vilardi

Won against Mandurah 68-46

Coach comments:

The boys played a team-first/unselfish style that was driven by hunting rebounds, playing help defence, controlling the tempo, applying massive pressure without fouling and attacking the ring. The team energy and ability to execute the game plan was faultless.
Xavier Allison had another monster game chasing loose balls and banging in the paint at both ends of the floor for rebounds and finishing strong in the paint.
Tomas Lackovic, Raj Berry and James Galvin controlled tempo, broke presses, created pressure and steals and made as many assists as they did take shots.
Caeden Olowoyo had a paint beast game, providing endless help defence, rebounding and exhibiting an array of silky post moves.
Seb Doyle, Lucas Fry and Tace Rankin all brought energy, hunt in the paint, attack at the ring and a competitor mentality that ensured the team achieved its lowest turnover game and highest rebounding game.

U12 Division 2 Boys – Ash Brian (sponsored by Drafting Now)

Lost to Warwick 76-82

Coach comments:

The boys were amazing today. We knew weeks out that this two-week patch playing the top two teams was going to be tough, but the boys far exceeded my expectations.
Once again we had a new top scorer showing how our team doesn’t rely on any one player. Louis had his highest score ever in a basketball game and decided to do it in a WABL game.
One-percenters don’t go unnoticed in our team. With one opposition player standing near on 6 foot tall for U12s, he absolutely dwarfed our bigs. While each of our 4 bigs did a great job, Ollie was a beast boxing out the behemoth.

U12 Division 4 Boys White – Tyler Cusworth

Won against Mandurah 40-35

Coach comments:

We showcased our ability to perform outstandingly under pressure. The game moved in runs and the momentum was constantly shifting. We worked hard to maintain focus and really made them pay when the momentum shifted our way. I’m proud of how well the boys are starting to play as a collective.
Zach Snell was massive leading our steals and dominating the boards.
Luka Delic grabbed 16 rebounds of his own which is incredible numbers.
Mitch Thompson and Jake Chew continued to be aggressive towards the basket.
Nick Knight really took over for us in the last quarter.

U12 Division 4 Boys Grey – Andrew Logan (sponsored by MD Building Maintenance)

Lost to South West Slammers 36-35

Coach comments:

After losing one of our starters just before tip-off the boys refocused and got on with their tasks. We had an even contribution across the team with everyone getting involved.
Toby Summers continued his disciplined approach to the game, always working hard to get to where he needs to be and playing defence with constant intensity. Found the basket a couple of times in a tough game to score.
Justace Roberts was solid in his contribution with rebounds and being an option to score. He didn’t get lost in offence when it would’ve been tempting to chase the ball. Capped off his game by hitting the scoreboard.

U14 Champs Boys – Aleks Lackovic (sponsored by Sto Australia)

Lost to Warwick 87-57

Coach comments:

I loved seeing our team’s positive energy in overcoming game adversity and the continual improvement and commitment in making team defence our priority. Anyone walking into the stadium in the 4th quarter could not tell which team was leading. The coaches are extremely proud of how all of our players love the club/team values.
Cleon Ryder had an enormous game battling, working at both ends of the floor, hunting O board after O board, Cleon has matured and developed not only with skills and effort but equally as important his voice pressure and support.
Mason Clark was a highlight reel all game, his relentless work rate, help defence, rebounding and bringing game physicality without fouling or overplaying.
Ben Galvin continued to show his ability to shut down bigger opponents week in week out and always win the physicality and work-rate battle.

U14 Division 2 Boys – Mitchell Jesson

Lost to Mandurah 60-59

Coach comments:

I was proud of how the whole team competed in yet another game that was close the whole way through.
We dramatically reduced our turnovers from previous games and our transition defence has improved. Unfortunately, our free-throw shooting and team rebounding numbers were below our season standard.
Jaden Exeter was strong on the boards and just missed a double-double (14 rebounds, 9 points).
Hamish Gibson continues to put his body on the line to take charges for the team.
Cooper Hewer and James Bowen put their strong driving abilities to good use, scoring 10 and 16 points respectively.
I particularly want to shout out our parent group who helped the boys move on quickly from their disappointment with the result, gathered together and got their minds ready to hit training hard this week. Thank you.

U14 Division 3 Boys – Ron Flores (sponsored by Euroz Hartleys)

Won against Mandurah 73-43

Coach comments:

The way the team played together and played for each other was awesome to see. As was the ball movement. We ran our sets and executed well.
This game was won by a complete team effort

U14 Division 4 Boys – Alex Maude (sponsored by Masterwall)

BYE

U16 Division 2 Boys – Paul Cassir (sponsored by Infuse Life)

Lost to Senators Blue 79-92

Coach comments:

This was a game where we were able to fight back from being down 20 points at one stage to cut the margin to 4 points during the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, some errors in decision-making impacted our ability to close out the game.
Andrew Chilufya played strongly at the offensive end of the floor, finishing at the basket despite the immense pressure.
Cooper Deshon led by example in the way that he competed throughout the game and committed to lifting to the physicality of the opposition.
Jaxon Sym continued his impressive performances with a strong offensive and defensive game. He absorbed many physical plays to finish at the ring.

U16 Division 3 Boys White – Luke Simonette

Lost to Warwick 89-61

Coach comments:

We went into this game very undermanned against the strongest team in the league so this was a very good team effort. Despite the size advantage they had, we played good defence (without fouling) and worked hard on the boards. Offensively we demonstrated good ball movement for the most part to break their zone.
Bas Allegre as our main big for this game played huge minutes of great effort without fouling
Ben Wesseldine had a 10-rebound day!
Drew Corry and Taj Racey combined for 37 points.
Harry Clarke shot the ball confidently
Huge thanks also to Riley Panizza who filled in for us so we could have 8 players.

U16 Division 3 Boys Grey – Anthony Nixon (sponsored by Auto Control Systems)

Won against Cockburn Cougars 62-48

Coach comments:

Despite the Cougars playing very tight defence and our shots not dropping early, we persisted. Our work rate and positivity continued to increase and we were able to pull away late in the 3rd and the 4th.
Benji Berardis with 23 pts was supported well at offensive end by every player scoring.
Every player worked hard to put pressure on and keep Cougars under 50 pts in a tight game.
The only disappointment was there were no cakes or cannolis from the spectators. We have asked the parents to lift their game in coming weeks!

U16 Division 4 Boys – Anthony Nixon (sponsored by TECC and Insight)

Lost to Rockingham 87-51

Coach comments:

Rockingham’s speed and extra size in rebounding was the difference in this game. Our team stayed positive but this game highlighted that we have a few things to work on.
Riley Panizza shot well from the three-point line scoring 4 triples.
Josh Welsh and Ollie Graham were aggressive at the basket.
Michelle Welsh subbing in for Robin as team manager was a great upgrade. (Haha! Just kidding Robin.)

U18 Champs Boys – Simon Daff (sponsored by Della Franca Farms)

Lost to Warwick 114-89

Coach comments:

Victor Komaiya once against stood out as our defensive and offensive anchor. He is consistent in all areas and is putting together a very good season.
Ethan Port Louis battled hard offensively and defensively for most of the game. I love his passion and willingness to try everything he can to get his team over the line.
Charlie Morcombe is getting better every week as he starts to understand the physical requirements of competing at the under 18s level. He’s going to have some good games before the season is over.

U18 Division 3 Men White – Luke Notley (sponsored by McDonalds Karratha)

Lost to Joondalup Wolves 73-69

Coach comments:

Our pressure defence in the full court was good to see, we pressured the inbound pass really well. We ran our half-court sets really well and got out on the fast break whenever possible.
Darren Fernandez and Jesse Wilcox were fantastic at the guard position for us, pressuring the ball handles and get into our structured offense. Darren shot the lights out towards the end of the game and nearly got us over the line on his own.

U18 Division 3 Men Grey – Brandon Riley (sponsored by Inspirations Paint)

Won against East Perth 89-63

Coach comments:

Everyone contributed and we shot well from outside.
Malik Powell and Kade McMillan shot efficiently and punished the zone

U18 Division 3 Men Silver – Sam Fox (sponsored by Strut Specialists)

Lost to Perry Lakes 80-53

Coach comments:

We started without our usual punch in this game and never fully got to our best basketball. However, we fought back from an initial deficit to get back to a tied game at the end of the first. While we gradually lost our grip on the game from there, in the fourth we made some important adjustments to the paint-heavy defence we faced. It wasn’t our best performance but there were some great runs and excellent passages of play.
Tsepo Mhlope did a fantastic job finding holes in the zone and finishing amidst a lot of height and strength. His consistent attack was great.
Mackenzie Tanner had another strong game, building on the progress he made last week when attacking the paint. He played excellent defence and did a solid job on rebounds.
Danny Ryan had a solid game, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds, moving the ball, and being aggressive in transition.

U20 Men White – Michael Clarke

Won against Warwick Green 94-75

Coach comments:

Everybody contributed and we played some great, unselfish offence.

U20 Men Grey – Rob Gordon

Lost to Senators 113-74

Coach comments:

We showed we can match it with the league leaders in patches, but we still have a way to go in our development.
As a team of bottom-agers playing predominantly top-age teams, we are always improving and I expect our energy/intensity levels to elevate in coming weeks to allow us to seriously threaten the more powerful teams in the league