Northern Junior League basketball: Port Macquarie under-14 girls all-but through to finals

It comes after a comprehensive 55-32 win over Taree in Port Macquarie on Saturday (June 26).

They led from start to finish although the victory came at a cost which left coach Charles David Lynch with just six players available.

Lynch said their win over the Tornadoes was a measured performance which allowed them to finetune their defensive strategies for three quarters after they had jumped out to an unassailable 25-2 lead by quarter time.

"We showed composure, we showed patience," Lynch said.

"We were measured. We played within ourselves and I was really happy we didn't run around, lose the ball, have a thousand turnovers and go crazy.

"We could have run through our offence and scored 80 or 100 points, but that's not fair on the other girls. We did what we needed to do. It felt like a mature win."

The comprehensive victory allowed the coaching staff to have a look at how they could make the team better in a game situation.

They achieved that.

"I don't really care about the score; it was a comprehensive win, absolutely, but how can we get better every single quarter," Lynch said.

"It's a coaching opportunity for us to focus on one part of our game. From the second quarter onwards we played half-court defence and learned how to get better at half-court defence and how to get better at rebounds.

"It makes me happy for the girls, but it's still a chance to get better."

Defender Keely Newton suffered a shoulder injury in the closing stages of the match, but the coach was impressed with her overall performance although every player played their part.

"It's hard to single the girls out because they all did something special, but Keely is well and truly under age," Lynch said.

"She should be under-12s; she played great defence, scored baskets, got rebounds and she's injured now but I'm very proud of her.

"But it's also unfair to single her out because they all did something special."

The Dolphins then defeated Yamba 42-25 and with one round to go they are in a strong position to make the finals in Tamworth in August.

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