Our Year 8 Boys and Girls teams took part in the Northern Ireland – Cleveland Basketball Tournament at Lisburn Racquets Club on Wednesday 6th December.
The tournament was very competitive with some excellent talent on show. The girls tournament started with an emphatic win against Rathmore, with game finishing Laurelhill 20 – 4 Rathmore.
The girls were involved in a nail bitter against St Dominic’s in their second group game. Laurelhill raced into a 6-2 lead with scores from Tiana, Amelia and Maisey. The last period saw Niamh dribble her way past the St Dominic’s defence and produced a terrific pass to find Faith under the basket to put Laurelhill in front. A steal from Lacey, allowed Laurelhill to extend their lead to 4 points as she found Tiana under the basket for another score. However, St Dominic’s managed to tie the game on the buzzer. Final score 10-10.
The girls then faced St. Patrick’s Knock straight after their St. Dominic’s game, with tiredness being a big factor and St Patrick’s large squad the girls were beaten 14-4 in their last group game.
Due to a few transport issues for other schools, the boys started their tournament against St. Joseph’s who had two strong teams in the tournament. The boys started brightly with Leyton, Tobias and Mark coming very close to opening the scoring. The boys battled hard against a strong St. Joseph’s, Matthew and Tobias had a couple of efforts that were unfortunate not to go in. Leyton was a constant threat on offence. Final score Laurelhill 4-6 St. Joseph’s.
The boys then faced an even stronger St Patrick’s Armagh side, with the height and size advantage proving too much to overcome, final score Laurelhill 4 – 18 St Patrick’s Armagh. The boys’ final game was terrific, against St John The Baptist, both side traded scores, before some excellent rebounding from Lukas and Tobias, allowed the speed machine Leyton to fly up the court to give Laurelhill the lead. Benji added another excellent score, but St John the Baptist made a late comeback in the final moments to snatch victory from the boys. Final score Laurelhill 10-St. John’s 14.
The girls progressed to the semi-finals were they met St Dominic’s again. The girls showed excellent teamwork, determination and desire to win the game but unfortunately narrowly missed out on a place in the final, with St. Dominic’s winning 12-10.
All pupils effort, determination and commitment was excellent throughout the day and they should be incredibly proud of their efforts.
Year 8 Girls
Most Valuable Player – Niamh
Most Improved Player – Amelia
Year 8 Boys
Most Valuable Player – Leyton
Most Improved Player – Matthew
