BASKETBALL
AYR STORM
Ayr Storm Under-18 men will be hoping they have turned a corner after notching their first win of the season after a flurry of matches.
In a spell of three games in four days there were a lot of positive signs.
First up was a two-point loss to Boroughmuir Blaze in the Scottish Championship and then a four-point loss to Glasgow Fever in the regional Strathclyde League.
The squad raised itself for a road trip to Renfrew to face the Rocks and build on the new-found confidence.
A strong start in P1 saw early baskets from Harvey Smyth, Lyle Mitchell and Luca Sgarlata to open up a double digit lead.
However, the home side fought back to cut the margin to three points at the end of the period and Ayr led 22-19.
With Adam Morrison in early foul trouble, Ayr went for a smaller line-up in P2 and upped the temp.
The home side had no answer for Jake Sanger and when they tried to shut him down, it just gave Smyth more space as he went on to a game high 22 points.
Storm found themselves up at the break. HT Rocks 39 Storm 51.
A few adjustments in the second half ensured the home side could not cut into the Ayr lead.
Only two Rocks players were making
baskets, and Solas MacColl, Cameron Collins and Ewan Connelly, through strong defence, helped keep the ball out their hands.
This let the other Storm players, including Under-16 star Richie Skilling, playing up an age group, to focus on offence and stretch the lead and get a first win of the season.
FT: Renfrew Rocks 70 Ayr Storm 94. Coach Danny Gibbons said: “The boys have found it hard to get into a rhythm this season, but once we got going
again mid-January I could see so much improvement.
“After two close losses at the start of this run, they got their reward with this first win and an impressive 24-point margin as we had lost by 12 in the first fixture back in Ayr.”
Top scorers: H Smyth 22pts, L Sgarlata 18pts, R Skilling 16pts, J Sanger 11pts.
Meanwhile, Ayr Storm’s Under-14 girls secured their second win of their National League season with an impressive display against Edinburgh Kats at Belmont Academy.
Buoyed by a couple of stronger defensive performances since the turn of the year, the home side came flying out the traps and racked up 20 points without answer in the first quarter.
Captain Rachel Fisher was dictating the pace of the game with some quality point guard play, and her 17 first half points, along with continued strong team defence, helped the Storm girls to a 34-4 half time lead.
The third quarter saw both teams struggle to find the basket, with defences coming out on top, but Ayr still holding a 38-6 advantage.
Kyle Academy’s Evie Hunter displayed her scoring potential throughout the game, but especially in the fourth, helping herself to 16 points.
Abi McHarg’s sharp shooting has also been a feature of the Storm offence during the season, and it was no surprise to see her add a further eight points to her season tally.
Fisher continued to add to her game high 27 points to see the home side secure a 61-18 victory.
Assistant Coach, Alan Nisbet, said: “We’re thrilled the girls are finding the basket more consistently now, but their defence is where they are really making a difference.
“It’s improving massively week on week, and long may that continue.”
Top scorers R Fisher 27, E Hunter 16, A McHarg 8.
FT: Ayr Storm 61 Edinburgh Kats 18.