BASKETBALL
AYR BASKETBALL CLUB
It was non stop basketball at the weekend for the youth teams at Ayr Storm Basketball Club.
Midweek, the U14girls defeated St Mirren in the U14s Scottish Cup.
It was a low scoring nervous affair – but a great drive to the basket in the closing period from Lauren Cooper opened a 4pt lead.
This was followed by strong rebounding of a missed Saints shot by Louise Fisher and the Ayr youngsters closed the game out in style for a 36- 26 win.
They will now travel to Falkirk Fury in the quarter- finals.
The U14boys travelled up to Glasgow looking to follow in the footsteps of the girls.
The U14 boys have had some niggly games at RDL with Glasgow City and stand- in coach Morrison had the squad ready for another such game. However, led by great press from George Stergiopoulos, basket drives from Richie Skilling and dominating rebounding from Angus Garvie, the boys were 15 points up after just five minutes.
This seemed to take the wind out the home side and Ayr were able to rotate all the squad members into the game early and power through to the quarterfinals where they are also away to face Dundee Madsons. FT Glasgow City 60 Ayr Storm 108.
The U16women had an SBC NDL league day – but instead of being scheduled for two games which is challenging enough, they had to play three.
This side is very young, with most of the starters still eligible for U14 age group. They took the challenge head on and opened with a strong win over the hosting side: NL Chiefs 30 Ayr Storm 56.
The second game was looking like a loss when they turned a nine- point deficit with just over a minute to go into a tied game. The first period of OT could not separate the sided – but Ayr came through the 2nd period to take the win. FT: Ayr Storm 50 Glasgow Fever 40.
The final game saw three players pick up niggling injuries as the demands took their toll, however the squad reacted to the enthusiasm of their coaches Laura and Alan Nisbet and dug in for a final win to make it three from three. Ayr Storm 55 Falkirk Fury 48.
The U18 men struggled at Glasgow City to adopt to the refereeing style and the foul count came back to haunt them with two starters fouled out in the crucial closing period. Final score was Glasgow City 95 Ayr Storm 84.
The only home game saw the U16 men in local league action and the SLBA squad battled well against Glasgow Rocks, but ran out of steam in the final period. FT: Ayr Storm 69 Glasgow Rocks Jnrs 94.
Sunday saw Ayr host the West section of the U16men NDL.
This is the team the club uses to develop players ready to compete in next season’s Scottish Championship side.
The squad dominated NL Chiefs from the start and came out comfortable winners. FT Ayr Storm 72 NL Chiefs 25. However, the 2nd game of the day was against an older stronger WL Wolves side and the boys struggled in the first half, losing it 17- 35.
However coach Gibbons motivated them to a much improved 2nd half of 3035 and overall it was a great development day for all. FT Ayr Storm 47 WL Wolves 70
For more information on joining the club visit www. ayrstorm. com for further details or contact the club at ayrstormbc@ aol. com.