Our Photo shows (left to right) Laurie Van Loo (coach), Annalise Barnett, Emily Crampton (c), Danielle McMahon, Aysha Hardaker, Brianna Hoy, Bailey Garrels, Rachael McGinniskin, Ashleigh Fasala, Hannah Sambrook at the Basketball NSW Under 16 State Championships

The Coffs Harbour Suns U16 Girls were one of only two genuine country teams in the final 8 of the NSW State Basketball Championships in Terrigal last weekend.

North Sydney, Penrith, Hornsby, Sutherland, Gosford and Newcastle were joined in the final series, which matched the winners of metropolitan and country leagues which have been running around the state over the last three months by Dubbo from the Western League.

The Sun's first game was against a big, strong and fast North (Sydney) Bears, who at the end of the weekend were the Gold medal winners in this division.

The final score Bears 102 to Suns 48 was no indication of how hard the Suns played. The girls never gave up. Setting a defensive goal for the final quarter to try to keep the Bears to under 20 points, the Suns more than achieve this, keeping the Bears to just 13 points and scored 9 themselves.

The second game was against the Penrith Panthers. We had a real chance in this game as they lead by only 2 at the half time break. The Penrith defence, double-teamed Suns centre, Rachael McGinniskin in an attempt to slow he scoring. While it worked, it opened up scoring opportunities for Emily Crampton 19 and Hannah Sambrook 13.

Unfortunately the Suns lost their concentration in defence in the second half,and this resulted in foul troubles which helped the Panthers win the game 65 to 52.

Our final round game, against the Dubbo Rams was an ugly, very rough affair with many fouls called on both teams. The Suns survived the Dubbo onslaught and won the game by 21.  This sounds like a good lead but was never comfortable.

Ashleigh Fasala stepped up in this game rebounding consistently and scoring 18 points for her team. Final score Suns 70 Rams 49.

The Suns final match of the weekend, was a cross-over game to play for 5th or 6th place against old rivals Gosford City Rebels.

Having played Rebels a few times in the Country Premier League (CPL) rounds, both teams knew their opposition well and were both keen to get the upper hand.

Our team mixed up the defence to try keep Rebels out of their normal game plan.
Bailey Garrels played outstanding defence shutting down the Rebel's main shooter.

Rachel McGinniskin, who dominated in the paint, scored 22 points, supported by Emily Crampton 16.

Danielle McMahon although injured, came off the bench, scoring some very vital points, surprising the opposition.

Our Suns U16 girls won the game 60 to 52 making them 5th in the State.
This is an outstanding effort for a Country team who battled through injuries and adversity and played the State Championships without their regular coach Ashley Markham.

Markham has done an outstanding job to get the girls through to the State Finals.

All team members deserve a mention, Brianna Hoy played outstandingly all weekend putting her body on the line on more than one occasion. Aysha Hardaker for her speed, tough defence and Annalise Barnett, her rebounding.
Piper Bourke was a valued team member in early rounds until injury put her out for the rest of the season but still supported her team.

When the weekend was over we learned that Suns player Emily Crampton ranked 8th in NSW Basketball's top 10 scorers for the weekend with an average of more than 15 points per game over the weekend.

Congratulations Girls from relieving coach Laurie Van Loo!
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