Wolfpack WABL teams were back in action to open the 2024 campaign. Several quality games and opportunities for development en route to a 17-18 record in Round 1 across all the Wolfpack teams.
The U12 Girls were 2-2 on the weekend. The U12 Champ Girls lead from wire to wire to defeat the Cockburn Cougars 58-26. Piper Viegas and Aya Moustafa led all scorers with 16 and 13 points respectively. What a strong start to the year! The U12-2 Girls played well against an impressive Mandurah Magic team, but ultimately fell 26-35. We battled hard with each of Shaina Sandhu, Tess Campbell, Aeris Edmonds, and Azalea Keating each scored 4 or more points. The U12-3 Girls had an impressive start, leading 10-8 at the end of the 1st quarter. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, we lost a bit of momentum over the course of the remaining 3 quarters. Lucy Furness led the team with 6 points. The U12-4 Girls were impressive in their debut, lodging an impressive 70-13 victory. Maddy Hazell, Amelia Gorton, and Kiara Keep had 19, 14, and 10 points respectively.
The U14 Girls also tallied 2 wins and 2 losses in Round 1. It was a hard-fought game and well-played by both team. We came up short with a score of 60-64 but plenty of encouraging signs for Josh Walsh and his team. Emily Epple, Zoe French, and Ruby May Coolican each tallied double figures. The U14-2 Girls trailed by 1 point at half and lost 38-46. Ella Sherwin and Kyona Nelson were impressive with 9 and 7 points respectively. The U14-3 Girls not only won by 40 points but also had each player score 4+ points, led by 13 points by Eve Kallis. The U14-4 Girls were victorious by a score of 43-35 with amazing games by Indiana Stephenson, Leila Kasemets and Eden Sweeney.
The U16 Girls were also in action with the U16-4 Girls winning handily, 48-38 with Lucy Knights and Kiiana Nelson-Graham leading the scoring charge with 13 and 12 respectively. The U16-3 Girls lost 29-45 despite 10 points from Andi Morris. Jaylyn Basaran and Lily Nimmo led the scoring for the U16-2 Girls but they game up just short against a quality side from Willetton. The U16-Champ Girls started their season off on the right foot, gaining experience and building chemistry with each other on the way to an 83-36 victory. Marie Mirthil, Cam Brown, Shae Grinceri, Aisha Allen, and Alize Smith all reached double figure points in the effort.
The U18 Girls played quality basketball throughout Sunday. The U18-4 Girls won a nail-biter, 64-59 with Tahlia Ashwin, Maddison O’Sullivan, and Jordan Tickel leading the attack, scoring 19, 16, and 14 respectively. The U18-3 Girls playing in Division 2 were clicking in the 1st half on their way to a 35-31 lead. Unfortunately, the East Perth Eagles offense got rolling in the 2nd half and we fell short 69-85. The U18-2 Girls won convincingly 77-59 in a complete team effort. The U18-Champ Girls were one of the most impressive teams on the day, winning the turnover and rebounding battle substantially, playing for each other, and succeeding to the tune of a 76-34 win.
The U21 Girls prevailed over Lakeside behind some impressive shooting. Ananya Tushir scored 5 triples and each of Janah Jabado, Mya Haley, Isabelle Bassett, and Jorja Montgomerie made multiple 3pt shots as well. The 9-point halftime lead swelled to 21 at 3-quarters time. Eventually prevailing 91-55.
The D-League Women struggled to score early in the game but their defense was relentless and by the end of the 3rd quarter, we were able to push for a double digit lead. The 4th quarter saw the Wolves make 3 triples and the lead became insurmountable, winning 69-43. Laniesha Paddon, Ty Bolland, and Charli Graziano each scored in double digits, and Keisha Chng also had 9 points.
The D-League Men impressed as they were in complete control against Mandurah en route to a 107-67 victory. The U20-Champ Men were defeated by Lakeside; it was great to see Kieran McNamara back in action with 12 points. The U20-2 Men were unsuccessful in a close game against Cockburn. Oliver Beerens and John Oliver Rudolphi Millfors had 17 and 14 points respectively.
The U18-Champ Men played hard but had a difficult time with turnovers in the first half. Presley D’Souza and Jeremiah Gatluak had 14 points each but it wasn’t enough as the U18-2 Men were defeated by Willetton. The U18-3 Men come out on a terror with a 29-16 1st quarter. Despite a 2nd half comeback from Mandurah, the Wolves were able to prevail 78-76 in the end. Jake Colgan and Hudson Rampling each had 13 points including 2 triples. The U18-4 Men were impressive in their 102-47 victory over Rockingham. Ethan Jongsma finished with 31 points including a pare of 3pt made.
The U16-Champ Boys put some valuable foundations down in round 1 but game up short against the Eagles. The U16-2 Boys built a 9-point halftime lead but saw that slip away in the 2nd half as we were defeated 78-81 at Cockburn. Rhys Weir had 22 points including 5 triples and Hudson Dimond had 20 points including 3 triples. The U16-3 Boys built a 21-point halftime lead and were able to hold on 79-66 behind 22 points from Aiden Jones and 16 points for Oli Toms. One of the more heartbreaking games of the day saw the U16-4 Boys erase a 12-point 3rd quarter deficit with a 12-0 run. After a back-and-forth 4th quarter, the teams went to overtime and the wolfpack fell 90-96.
The U14-Champ Boys were able to turn a 3 point advantage to start the 4th quarter into a decisive 68-56 win against Lakeside. Sandile Magaisa, Ezekiel Vose, Dariuz Birch, and Mason Nugent each scored in double figures. The U14-2 Boys played well in defeat 52-56. The U14-3 Boys lost similarly 46-56 despite 13 big points from Zion Ochieng. The U14-4 Boys dug too deep of a hole in the first half, outscored by 19 points. We were able to narrow the margin a bit in the 2nd half but ran out of time to complete the comeback.
The U12-4 Boys played well in 3 quarters of the game but had a difficult time in the 2nd quarter, defeated 40-61 in the end. The U12-3 Boys had a 4-2 lead and wouldn’t see the lead again until the end of the 3rd quarter where Jack Dudley gave the Wolfpack the 43-42 lead entering the final frame. And see-saw 4th quarter ensued with the teams trading the lead several more times. Unfortunately the 50-48 lead was erased by an opposition 3-pointer and we were defeated 51-55 in what was a great game . The U12-2 Boys won 61-44 behind 17 and 10 points from Damon Veljacich and Dau Mabok respectively. The U12-Champ Boys dropped their opening game to Cockburn but their were plenty of quality possessions for Damon Matacz to build upon with his team.