    | Eagles School Of Excellence Under 14 Girls News
Under 14 Girls Squad
Follow the fortunes of the girls throughout the season through the match reports below. Pictured is Head Coach Howard Leighton.
Match Reports 2008 - 09
Rollercoaster end of the season The end of the season for the under 14 girls was one of ups and downs. The girls were in a place in the table to make playoffs and with games in the schedule that the Eagles could take it looked positive. The next round of games saw the Eagles make the short journey to Gateshead to face Gateshead Storm and Manchester Mystics. The Eagles faced the Storm first and found the game a close game throughout with the Eagles always being in the lead. In the last quarter the Newcastle side started to lose concentration and let the Gateshead team back into the game and take the lead. The lead then went back and forth until the dying minutes when Gateshead took the 3 points with a 49-46 win. This was a disapointing loss for the Eagles but they couldn't mull over the game as they had to step back onto the court to face the Mystics. Previously when the Eagles faced the Mystics the Newcastle team lost out 86-17. The Eagles were playing with more experience than they were previously in the beginning of the season and all hoped for a more positive scoreline. The Eagles played well in this game and pulled up their socks after the defeat to Gateshead in the first game. Unfortunately they were not able to overcome the experience and ability of the established Manchester side. The Mystics took the game 74-22. The first trip saw the girls travel down to Stockport to face Stockport Lapwings and Barrow Thorns. Previously the Lapwings had taken the game when the Eagles had faced them and Barrow had forfeited their previous game to the Newcastle team. The first game of the day the Eagles tipped off against Barrow Thorns. These two sides had not met previously so the Eagles could not take this team lightly. The Eagles played strongly against the Barrow team and took the lead and held it throughout the game to come out winners with a 54-41 scoreline. The next game the Eagles faced the Stockport Lapwings. The girls went into the game with a positive start and held themsleves well against one of the best teams in the country at this age group. But the Lapwings were always in control and came out with the win 75-29. The next trip away saw the Eagles make the long journey to Bury to play Bury and Stockport Lapwings II. Both of these games were games that the Eagles could take and if they won them would find themselves in playoffs for the Under 14 National League, a massive feat for this new set up. The Eagles took to the court to face the Stockport Lapwings II, at first it seemed as though the Eagles were still on the bus as the team did not execute on the court to their ability. The game was close throughout when the Eagles should really have taken the win easily. Unfortunately it came down to the wire with the Eagles losing by one basket, final score 46-48. The next game was more of the same from the Newcastle team when they faced tehir challengers for the playoff spot, Bury. The Eagles set up never seemed to settle into the game and the lead went back and forth. The Eagles could not however pull away from Bury and the Bury team took the game 36-31. All in all this was disappointing trip for the Newcastle side not only due to the performance but also that it probably meant they would not make the all elusive playoffs they so wanted to be part of. The final games of the season saw the Newcastle Eagles playing at home in front of a large crowd of friends and family. The team faced off against Everton Tigers and Gateshead Storm. First up was the Tigers, the Eagles came out strong and played magnificently well as a team. All the bench got copious court time and showed that the set up we have in the North East, though new, is one to be reckoned with. The Eagles took the game 49-33 and with it the 3 points. The next game was somewhat of a derby match between the Newcastle Eagles and Gateshead Storm. Gateshead took the match earlier in the season and the Eagles wanted their revenge. The match was a fantastic game of basketball and was close throughout with both teams playing good team basketball. The Eagles took the lead early on and they never let it slip this time with all players putting in fantastic performances. The games final score was Newcastle Eagles 60 - Gateshead Storm 48. This game saw the end of this new Eagles' team season, teh girls played exceptional and did all proud. The coaching staff Sarah Bennett and Clare Webster would like to thank all the girls and their families for a fantastic season they have done us proud. Eagles go away and come back with two wins This weekend saw the under 14 girls travel down to Bury to compete in their next set of league matches. Unfortunately due to other commitments some of the teams key players were unable to travel.
The first game the young Eagles faced the home team Bury. Throughout the game the Eagles played with confidence and held the lead from the start. The team worked hard on their defence and boxing out which enabled the Eagles to fast break on the Bury team. After the first half the eagles were leading 30 – 10. The whole bench played the game and contributed to the game. The second half saw a consistent display of good basketball from the Eagles. Amy Sutton top scored with 22 points and second top scorer was Jess Miller with 8 points. Special mentions go to Jenna Shaw and Kendal Barclay who played out their socks in this game. Unfortunately Jenna got injured in the final quarter of the first game which saw her sat for the first half of the second game. The final score of the game vs Bury was 44-27 with the Eagles taking the win.
The Eagles didn’t have a long break before they were back on the court to face off with the Everton Tigers. The girls took an early lead again and at the end of the first half were 20 – 18 up. In the second half the Eagles came out strong and took the victory 38 – 30. Top scorer for the Eagles again was Amy Sutton with 21 points and second was Jess Miller with 6 points. Special mentions for this game was Bethany Honour who did a fantastic job on the boards as we were missing our key rebounder Jenna Shaw. Also Bethany Gordon got numerous steals for the team. Amy Sutton had a fantastic performance in both games. The squad was missing key players but all girls stepped up and did the Eagles proud with the bench receiving alot of court time. Kendal Barclay played her best game so far and made starting 5 in the second game. The coaching staff are very optimistic now about future matches and the remainder of the season The Eagles under 14's went away the weekend before xmas to face Manchester Mystics under 14's. Unfortunately before the trip Barrow the other team meant to be taking part in the triangular tournament pulled out. Netherless the Eagles travelled down to face the Manchester team and to play a friendly against the younger under 14 Manchester Mytics girls team. The girls already had one win under their belts before any of the matches tipped off as Barrow forfeited. The Manchester game was a tough one for this young Eagles team. The Eagles did well in spells but came away losing out 86 - 17.
Girls do Eagles proud at Regionals This past weekend the girls did not have game but Coach Sarah Bennett took 6 of the girls to Lilleshall along with coaching staff Howard Leighton and Rebecca Lonsdale to compete alongside other girls from the North East against the other regions in England. The 6 girls, Bethany Honour, Jenna Shaw, Rebecca Shields, Abby Shields, Jess Miller and Bethany Gordon (pictured), did the Eagles proud and played hard in all 5 games. Bethany Honour was appointed as Captain for the regional team which she thoroughly deserved.
A report from Head Coach Howard Leighton will follow shortly.
Girls’ record first win of the season!
Competition: vs Stockport II / Chesire Jets
Intro: The U14 Newcastle Eagles School of Excellence girls squad competed in their second set of league games and came away with their first win of the season. Game 1: The first game of the day saw the Eagles coming off the bus after the long journey to The second half was more evenly matched with the court time being shared amongst the girls. The Eagles opened strongly with Amy Sutton making a three point play scoring and then converting the free throw from the foul. The Eagles continued with their previous form and didn’t let SCORERS: Amy Sutton 17, Jenna Shaw 13. Game 2: The second game saw the Eagles face the Jets again. These two teams have met each other on a previous occasion with the Jets coming away with the win. The Jets came out strong and the Eagles found themselves 24 to 4 down in the first quarter. The second quarter the Eagles looked revived and Jenna Shaw played exceptionally well scoring 6 of the 12 points in the quarter. Unfortunately throughout the game the Jets were too strong for the Eagles as the SCORERS: Jenna Shaw 9, Amy Sutton 4. Girls' Do Us Proud This weekend saw the Newcastle Eagles under 14 girls have their first two National League games. The first team the girls faced was the Stockport Lapwings. The girls started timidly and looked a little like rabbits in headlights as Stockport full court pressed from the start, at the end of the first quarter the Eagles were down 9 - 18. After a motivating talk from the coaching team the girls went out alot more positively in the second quarter with Jess Miller scoring the first basket of the quarter for the Eagles. The girls traded baskets throughout the quarter with the Stockport team and finished that quarter with a more positive attitude. At half time Stockport were in the lead 32-19. The second half was more of the same, in the third Amy Sutton excelled scoring 12 of her game high 16 points. The girls all played well with Jenna Shaw, Bethany Honour and Becky Shields showing that they can really stand out in this level. Top scorers were Amy Sutton with 16, Jenna Shaw 11 and Jess Miller 5 points. The second game of the under 14 triangular fixture saw Stockport take on the Chester Jets. The game was close with Chester Jets coming away with the win 39 - 37.
In the third game the Eagles took to the floor again this time to face Chester Jets. The Eagles were leading to begin with but after a 10 point run by Chester the Eagles would never regain the lead. The end of the first half Chester were in the lead 38 to 20 points. The scoring for the Eagles was spread amongst alot of players and some players really stepped up and shined in this game including Alison Murray, Kate Wood and Jess Miller. The game ended with the Eagles going down 60-38. The top scorers were Becky Shields with 9 points, Jess Miller and Kate Wood 6 points.
Coach Sarah Bennett commented " The girls set up at the Eagles is brand new this season and the girls are going to have tough games. They have already come so far since they were first put together in the summer and I have high hopes for them. Today some players played outstanding. Becky Shields is still just 12 and played so well as this was her first National League game. Bethany Honour was my player of the day though, she stayed positive throughout, was hussling after the ball and played with confidence."
The Girls Have Landed! This is the phrase of the season as this season sees the first ever Girls' under 14s School of Excellence team. The girls had trials and the team was chosen. Girls have been chosen from all over Tyne and Wear with girls from the west and east of Newcastle, girls from Gateshead, South Shields and even as far as Richmond North Yorkshire.
The coaching staff consists of Sarah Bennett Head Coach and Claire Webster Ast Coach. Both coaches have high hopes for this coming season. Sarah commented "For most of the girls this is their first season playing National League, alot of them have just played at their local club or school so it is a big step. But I feel they are more than ready for it. I am so proud of each and every one of them. There is a great bond within the team that is obvious at training and I am sure they will continue to support each other throughout the season."
The girls will be competing in the England Basketball National League under 14 girls North.
The chosen squad is as follows:
Jessica Miller
Bethany Gordon
Kendal Barclay
Bethany Honour
Gulzen Haznedaroglu
Becky Shields
Abby Shields
Alison Murray
Elizabeth Appleby
Amy Sutton
Kate Wood
Amy Herring
Sophie Heslop
Jenna Shaw
Ellen Gaukrodger
The girls first games are on the 2nd Nov at Tyne Met College, Coast Road. They will be facing Stockport Lapwings and Chesire Jets. Keep visiting our page to see how the girls get on in their season.
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Next Home Match
Friday, 24th September, 2010
VTip-Off 7:30pm Sheffield Sharks
League Standings
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