Our season started late in Term 1 with some very well attended trials and some really strong interest. We carried a large initial training squad into the start of the season but injuries and withdrawals meant that we actually played the majority of the season with a smaller, tight core group of players. The season progressed well and our team recorded a fairly even win loss record during the regular season. What was most pleasing from a coaching point of view was that we were competitive in all our games despite nearly all of our players being new to the sport.
The play-offs took place in the first week of Term 3 and were the highlight of the season. They started with an away trip to play Saint Kentigern College. There was good energy around this game as the winner progressed to a higher playoff match and Saint Kentigern had won a tight, come-back victory against us in the regular season. We played well on the night to record a good win and it was great to see a number of bench players step up to hold off a late comeback from Saint Kentigern.
Winning this game allowed us to progress to the 5th – 6th play-off against Michael Park School. Again we travelled away for this game. Michael Park showed their depth early and they built a solid lead through the first half. They were aided by a number of their experienced players scoring regularly and their dominant rebounding performance under the hoop. We stayed with them as best we could but by half time their lead was significant. The second half however was to be a different story. Some impressive three point shooting from captain Leala Willman saw us work our way back into the game and draw level with time almost up. Michael Park went to the free-throw line with time up on the clock but were unable to convert and we shared 5th place overall in the Central/Eastern conference with a tied 29-29 score line.
Robert Paterson
TIC Girls Basketball
