Back-to-back wins for SW Slammers

A fast start and an assertive offensive performance helped the Slammers under-16 girls to a 72-61 victory over the Stirling Senators in their WABL grand final at the WA Basketball Centre on Sunday.

The 11-point win marked the first time in Slammers history that a WABL side has won back-to-back titles and is a promising sign for the future of the senior women’s team.

Coach Julieann Chalk said her side never looked back after a 27-point opening quarter.

"We attacked the basket and scored well in the first period which gave us an 11-point lead at quarter time," she said.

"Being a grand final they started to come back from there and Senator Eryn Fisher really stepped up so it was pretty much basket for basket for the rest of the game.

"The early lead is really what sealed the match for us."

Despite top-scoring with 27 points, Eryn was well-defended by Slammer Cassady Anderson who prevented the Stirling standout from single-handedly winning the game for her side.

"Every time Stirling brought the ball down the court it ended up in Eryn’s hands so Cassady did a good job to limit her impact," Chalk said.

The Slammers were narrowly outscored in each of the next three quarters but Stirling was never able to fully recover from the South West's barnstorming start.

With star point guard Tayla East forced to sit out through injury the Slammers received double digit point contributions from Georgia Denehy (14), Ashlen Burrows (13), Tiahna Sears (13) and Cassady Anderson (12).

"It was a great team effort, every one of our players scored and if you have a team can that can get three or four players into doubles figures it is pretty hard to shut down," Chalk said.

Georgia Denehy, who suited up nine times for the senior Slammers last season, capped off an exciting weekend when she was named in the 10-girl under-16 WABL All-Star team.

"Georgia and Tiahna Sears both played a few games for the senior Slammers and will definitely be pushing to be a part of the squad again next season," Chalk said.

The majority of the team will next season play at under-18 level, combining with last year’s under-16 champions.

"Consecutive wins can only mean good things for the senior team," Chalk said.

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