2015 SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHAMPS

BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 30 to December 4

Last week the Lilydale High School EIS girls and boys basketball teams competed in the Australian Schools Championships in Canberra.  Playing up to two games a day against a range of different schools from all over Australia.

The week started off with an 8 hour drive to Canberra to compete the next day, with the girls kicking off the day with a win against Rockingham SHS by 7 points. Stacey Riding-Hill scored the highest for the girls getting 14 points; she dished out 2 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds. The boys then played their first pool game and also started off with a win against Phoenix College by 15 points. We were also lucky enough to get a tour of the AIS and watch Olympic athletes train in the many sporting arenas. Not long after that the boys played their second pool game, coming out with a win again by 25 points against All Saints Anglican School. Reece Harte scored a great 19 points; dished out 5 assists and grabbed 2 rebounds.  By far the player of the game considering 15 of those points were 3 pointers.

Tuesday’s games were winners again making both teams undefeated. The girl’s game was a very competitive and a hard fought one.  Although it was close, the girls defeated Damascus College by 5 points. Jessica Rousch scored 16 points, got 2 blocks and grabbed 10 rebounds. The boys defeated Wedderburn by 18 points.  Luke and I both scored an equal 15 points, and I finally didn’t foul out.

Wednesday morning the girls had their first loss against Beaconhills, going down by 15 points but kept competitive most of the game. That then left the girls finishing second on the ladder, qualifying for the finals. Although they lost, Jessica Rousch scored a whopping 21 points, got 4 blocks and grabbed 4 rebounds. The boys were still undefeated winning their final game by 44 points against Alfred Deakin HS.  That put them on top of the ladder of their pool and also in the finals. Corey Pollock scored 11 points, got 4 steals, 3 blocks, dished out 5 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds. 

After both the morning games, we went to the Australian War Memorial and got to appreciate what the soldiers fought for. We started by walking through the museum and artefacts section, learning about the First and Second World War. Then by the end of the day, we stayed to watch the last post as that closed the memorial for the day.

Thursday kicked off with the girls playing a qualifying final to potentially play off for a medal. The game was very even and consistent from both teams throughout the entire match. It was such an intense match, that Jess accidently knocked out a girl with her elbow and we had to switch courts. The crowd was so loud their roars echoed through the stadium. But we got over the line in the end beating Pymble HS by 6 points due to Ellie ‘clutch master’ Searle hitting 5 free throws to keep us in front. That then put the girls through to the semi-final.  Jessica Rousch scored 21 points, dished out 2 assists and grabbed 12 rebounds.   Later that night the girls played off to get into the gold medal match.  Unfortunately falling short to a strong team Loreto College by 19 points.  But Lilydale were the only school to come close to them as they beat every other time by 30+ points. From the crowd’s point of view, the girls played amazingly and their magnificent efforts were definitely appreciated. That then put the girls into the bronze medal match.

The boys then played their semi-final after the girls against McKinnon High School, winning quite comfortably by 32 points, putting us into the gold medal match! This was the most intense and exciting game I’ve ever played in my life; you would think that too if you passed the ball to Luke (Honey Badger) for a fantastic dunk that made the crowd and players go wild, then nut megged two players for the assist to James.  Speaking of James, he scored the highest points for the game with 27 and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Friday morning the girls started off the day playing for the bronze medal against McKinnon High School that we then won, placing Lilydale High third overall in Division 2. On behalf of the boys I would like to say that the girls played a fantastic game and I enjoyed every minute. The boys then came home with the gold, beating Central Coast by an easy 15 points, playing an incredible game.

On behalf of both the girls and boys team, we would like to thank Mr Stuart, Mr Schultz, and Ms Attard for volunteering their time to this trip and for giving us this opportunity to be able to compete in this level of basketball.  If it weren’t for you guys, we wouldn’t have come home with a medal which we are all extremely proud of. We are all very appreciative of your contribution to getting us to where we did. This trip was one we will never forget and we are very grateful to have been a part of it with such a great group of people. Also for Stacey and I to have been nominated team captains was an honour and we couldn’t have been happier to be the captains of a bronze and gold medal team.

Girls Team 

Nicole Akers, Charley Kitto, Kayla Gialelis, Jess Rousch, Jada Heffernan-Wooden, Brooke Peacock, Ellie Searle, Brit Campbell, Stacey Riding-Hill.

Boys Team 

Luke Petrie, Brenton Laity, Reece Harte, James Hourihan, Ryan Elvey, Kade Glaister, Corey Pollock.

Stacey Riding-Hill and Corey Pollock