Hero photograph
 
Photo by Rachael Hamilton

Basketball 2021 Opening Night!

Ethan Rasmussen —

We had a fantastic night during the opening week of basketball at the YMCA on Thursday!

Stanley Bay School sent 8 teams into battle for what would be a cracker of a night!  

The Tigers, Panthers and Electric Eels coming away with victories. 

The Electric Eels - The girls played a terrific game, being aggressive and assertive when it came to rebounding! Securing the victory with outstanding shooting from Matilda Kerr - never looked like missing! Congratulations Rebecca Young, Matilda Kerr, Victoria Chamberlain, Wren Ballestry and Hannah Reid! 

The Eagles kicked the night off, with most playing their first game ever - "a barrel of fun" said coach Ben Offner! The red faces after the match tell the tale of a team that gave 100% and left everything on the court! 

The Lions were next! The team of men led by JJ Blake played with bravery and courage the entire game! Making coach Scott Boniface very proud! 

The Stingrays played a full game each with no reserves! Congrats to Belle Newman for scoring the teams first points! 

The Stanley Bay Sharks played their first game! Sophie Scarlett setting the tone as the strong rebounder and scorer! Hazel Wilson, Lily McLean, Ema Wilson, Zara McCaw and Molly Green all playing like naturals! The team scored their first points and had a 'ball' of a time! Surely the team who had the most fun on the night! 

The Tigers game was electric - with 15 or so vocal Stanley Bay School players looking on and cheering! Chants filling the arena! Sam Chapman and Stryder Sommerville led the team to an overwhelming victory. Great start for Coach Harry Wills. 

The Leopards are the smallest, but by no means the softest! Featuring two year 4's as a ring in for the senior grade, the lads took on some massive boys and almost came away with a win. George Cockayne winning the sportsmanship player of the day, setting up younger brother Harry for attacking opportunities! Not only this but Dane Seaburg taking on the tallest boy in the competition and managing to wrestle the ball off the man for possession!

The Panthers were buzzing after their 22 point victory in their opening match. Although exhausted, they walked away with the victory and grin which nobody could match! Coach Dylan Paget was absolutely chuffed with the boy's effort! Congrats to Gus McCrory, Sebastien Southwell and William Crawford for winning in their first-ever game!

Looking forward to week 2 of grading rounds! What an exciting place to be on a Thursday night!