Suns turn on in port | Coffs Coast Sport | Local Sports in Coffs Coast

2nd July 2009

The fourth round of the Northern Junior League was held in Port Macquarie last weekend where the division two teams took to the court.

Coffs Harbour again proved that it is a genuine nursery for the development of strong junior talent.

Coffs Harbour's under 16s women's team continued their winning ways with two solid victories.

The Suns only had two games to finish off the pool matches before finals weekend in July.

The opening game against Tamworth 2 saw the Suns take a commanding 29-8 lead at quarter time, and they were never in any trouble running out 82-30 winners. Forward Clancy Pierpoint top scored with 16 points, ably assisted by guards Annabelle Hughes and Georgie Hewitt (13pts) and Nikki Wallace (9pts). The three guards, along with Alanah Watson, allowed the Tamworth girls no room to move and forced many turnovers. Game two against Grafton presented an early challenge with the Grafton girls fighting hard. The Suns led 20-14 at quarter time and kicked clear by half-time 32-22 with strong rebounding from Emily Robertson and Bronte Lloyd securing the ball at both ends. A 28-4 final quarter blitz by the Suns gave them an 80-39 win. Captain Georgie Hewitt was unstoppable with a season-high 30 points. Point guard Bianca Oberleuter dominated the court in both games, and Rochelle Goodhand had her usual strong game controlling the key in offence and defence. The girls are now training hard for the NJL finals which will be held in late July.

The Suns under 14 girls development team set off to Port Macquarie with a point to prove after disappointing performances in the last round of NJL.

First up, the girls faced the strong Lismore team. After a strong start, the young Coffs Harbour team lost focus and threw away a good lead with poor passing and defence.

Despite losing team leader Kassey Reeves with five fouls and Bronte Simpson with a severe concussion after a heavy clash in which she attempted to break the fall with her head, the Coffs Harbour team finished strongly to win by five. Next up the Coffs faced the unpredictable Inverell side. Proving they gained valuable knowledge and experience at the recent state country championship, the suns controlled the game from start to finish, resulting with a 63-23 victory. Strong contributions were made by Hanna Waites and Taide Foggiato but special mention must go to Grace Autry- Hall, who has just shed the 'has potential' tag to gaining a new 'rising star' label. Fantastic defensive contributions were almost overshadowed by her amazing 36 point contribution in the Suns first two games of the weekend.

Next up the Suns faced the highly regarded Bellingen Braves, keen to avenge their 35 point loss to the Braves in Coffs Harbour. Kassey Reeves was simply awesome in her best ever game for Coffs Harbour, displaying maturity, court control and leadership: and sheer guts and determination. Mia Phillips contributed strongly both ends of the court. Alisa Wallekers stepped up and played valuable minutes in the absent of regular starter Bronte Simpson, as did Brodie Goodhand with some strong rebounding, replacing the fouled out Rani Ward. Mackenzie Pierpoint showed she is gaining valuable experience and improving with each game. Unfortunately, the strong team contributions were not enough as they were out muscled by the very physical Bellingen team. Coffs were pipped at the post with a three point loss. The 32 point turn around will certainly ensure an exciting re-match in the finals series.... And the Coffs girls are saying 'Bring It On'.

Under 12 Men's Div 1 and Div 2 boys played their respective game prior to attending Port Macquarie.

The young Division 2 side showed that they will be a force to be recon with next season with a strong game against there more experience and older Div 1 teams, the Div 1 team eventually getting over the top of the young guns. Both teams travelled to Port and both sides showed that the association have developed their young players with easy wins against Lismore and Grafton.

The Div 2 side went down to the stronger Tamworth side but showed that they have gained experience through out the season by the eventual score be closer then previous matches. The Div 1 boys never got out of first gear all weekend winning all there matches, with outstanding performance from Jack Stevens, Lucas McGregor and Ben Speedie taking the ball up into the basket. The back court was well defended by Blake Smith and Jayden Kingsley.

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