Last Friday our basketball girls took part in the 'Southern Cup' non-qualifying event final played here at the Edgar Centre in what turned out to be a phenomenal game.

Winter sports week was full of flare for our Columba College Sports Teams with netball, hockey and football attending various tournaments around the country. However, this year we were lucky enough to be able to bring together a basketball team for the first time as our Senior A team is significantly short on numbers when we remove our Senior A netballers. 

This group was made up of three Senior A team members, two Junior A team members and five Year 11 students who have played competitively or socially throughout their time here at Columba College. This group had a couple of trainings in the build up to learn each others strengths and create a fun culture among the group.

The team completed day 1 and 2 of pool play with some fantastic results before easing through their semi final with an emphatic win. Demonstrating quality play throughout all four quarters, the team hit the ground running and never looked back! 

Making it through to the final, our girls were excited and nervous leading into a rematch against their tournament opening opposition, Hagley College. During game one, Columba were down as many as 17 at one point before clawing black to tie the game 64-64 with seven seconds to play. The group pressed up on defence gaining a late steal and Ryan Dailey finishing an open lay up to claim the 66-64 victory in pool play. The final was set to be a quality showdown as both teams dominated their semi finals to secure their spot in the big dance.

In a seesaw match that displayed multiple lead changes and impressive skill from both sides, it was Hagley College who had the edge at the end of quarter one, half-time and the 3rd quarter before Columba College mounted a comeback and pushing a tie game of 68-68 at the end of regulation time. Quality 3 point shooting by Year 9 Shanti Kara slotting 4 from behind the arc was backed up by double digit rebounds from fellow Year 9 Student Kiana Brown at both ends of the floor. The team was ably led by game veterans, Alexa Duff and Ryan Dailey, who both had dominant tournaments in our Dove colours. Forcing an extra five minutes Columba were on the front foot and absolutely pumped taking the court full of confidence in overtime to seal victory and be crowned Southern Cup Champions. 

We are beyond proud of your efforts, well done! Please see the full results below for the success of this team. What a year it has been for Columba College basketball, claiming trophies for both the Senior A Premier Girls Division and the Junior A Premier Girls Division as well as this Southern Cup - bring on 2023!

Day One: Pool Play

Game 1 vs Hagley: 66-64
Game 2 vs Riccarton: 68-51

Day Two: Pool Play
Game 3 vs Ashburton: 60-38
Game 4 vs Queens: 92-39

Day Three: Cross Overs
Game 5 Semi Final vs Burnside: 86-58
Game 6 Grand Final vs Hagley: 80-75

A shout out goes to Coach Markham Brown on a winning season. Markham coached our Junior A Basketball team this year to win the local school competition in the Junior Premier Grade. He then took on the challenge of our Southern Cup Team with eight Year 11 students and two Year 9s, again completing the event victorious. We are extremely lucky to have his talents within our coaching team at Columba College and cannot thank him enough for volunteering his time to support these athletes. 

A huge thanks goes to the brains trust of Jen Kara and Jodi Brown for ensuring the team was well looked after both on and off the court. These two stars recorded stats, supported the refuelling and energising process, maintained high sportswomanship and ensured everyone was at peak performance throughout, for which we are incredibly grateful.