Eagles Weekly Wrap - Issue:25

OUR WEEKLY ROUNDUP – CHECK OUT THE SCORES AND COACHES’ COMMENTS ON THE TEAM’S PERFORMANCES.

WEDNESDAY 6TH MARCH

York Eagles II v City of Leeds II

U16 JNBL North Conference I

Result: 70-35 (Win)

Player of the Game:

Liam Corbally – 12pts

Coach Reece Horton commented on the U16s II Performance:

“A midweek game saw us play local rivals Leeds in a game in which we saw as a winnable game, and after a recent mix bag of performances from the group, the lads really stepped up on Wednesday night as they pressed and controlled the game thanks to some fine finishing, we forced a lot of turnovers from Leeds which helped. A very good team performance which we look to continue doing into the weekend.”

SATURDAY 9th MARCH

York Eagles II v Teesside Lions

U14 JNBL North Conference 1

Result: 72-43 (Loss)

Player of the Game:

Conor Camplin – 4pts/12rebs/2blks

Bertie Hardisty – 10pts/3stls

Coach Steve Hardisty commented on the U14s II performance:

“A mixed performance from our team today, in a game that we hoped would be closer than our previous meeting. After a solid start in the first quarter, which we were unlucky to lose 19-11, we played some excellent basketball in the 2nd quarter to drag ourselves back to being within 2pts, at which point it seemed it very much, game on. There then followed an unfortunate error by the referee that saw Teesside inbound the ball when it was a Eagles ball in which gifted Teesside an unchallenged layup. The error seemed a momentum turn for us, which we didn’t recover from, and despite winning the 2nd quarter 13-12, we failed to find our composure again and we let Teesside run away with the game in the 2nd half. There were a lot of positives from the game though, especially the energy and positivity on the bench showed in the first half which brought the game to life. Equally, still a lot to work. We missed too many easy baskets from good shooting opportunities, and we failed in offensive positioning to be effective on defensive transition, with Teesside getting too many uncontested layups on the fastbreak.”

Notable Performances:

Griffin Evans – 6pts/7rebs/3asts

Leo Frusher – 6pts/3asts/3stls

York Eagles II @ Barnsley Metros

U16 JNBL North Conference 1

Result: 54-62 (Loss)

Player of the Game:

Noah Cronwright – 12pts

Coach Reece Horton commented on the U16s II Performance:

“Another game we saw as a good chance to show some improvements, but we came up short due to lack of creativity on offence as we were missing 2 of our point guards and then couldn’t turn at times, good defence into better offence as Barnsley came out with revenge on their minds for the 30pt win we gave them in our previous meeting. They certainly did that.”

Notable Performances:

Liam Corbally – 8pts

Joe Coyle – 10pts

York Eagles v Stockport Lapwings

U14 JNBL Girls North Conference 1

Result: 47-38 (Win)

Player of the game:

Molly Jones – 12pts/7rebs

Maya Foulkes – 15pts/6rebs

Coach Ghada Khattab commented on the U14s Girls Performance:

“I guess everyone has a bad day at the office… yesterday was certainly one of those. It took us a long time to switch on, we allowed too many drivers in or left players open, we were too slow getting back on defence and we had too many turnovers. We were also very unlucky with our shooting. Various players got good. I’ve made great attempts to the basket but nothing was going in at times. Stockport, conversely, had some dodgy shots that inexplicably went in, but they defended very well like we knew they would and they did simple given go & go, which somehow we strive to stop one thing that coach Az an I found really frustrating was the girls didn’t seem to listen to any advice, we gave them constant advice at the beginning, halftime, or in time outs regarding hand offs, screens and movement towards the ball when receiving a pass in order to avoid turnovers, instead there was too much standing around waiting for the ball. We all talked about full court press so when this happened, it paid dividends, but we kept forgetting to apply at times. Luckily for us, we kept just enough of the good plays throughout the game, but was really tight at time, not something we experienced much this season.”

York Eagles @ City of Leeds III

U14 JNBL North Conference I

Result: 98-18 (Win)

Player of the Game:

Toby Gee – 15pts/5asts/4rebs

Coach Tyler Paton-Pottage commented on the U14s performance:

“On Saturday, we travel to Leeds, knowing what the scoreline would be, we took a group that need more minutes under their belt and able to work on things in game situations. We only had 10 mins to warmup, which wasn’t ideal due to the game before going over, and then a mix of table mistake (missed 4pts) and then playing all game with the wrong size ball even after asking to switch it. But all above didn’t stop us from doing what we do best, playing good basketball with high energy and intensity. I was spacing was well executed using our five out with Toby C, get into the hoop well and Iker, and then our transition was it was that its usual destructive way with Luke leaded away, followed by Jack who got a few steals which showed our attempt was there from beginning to bank as many points as possible. The second quarter was a bit of a one-sided affair. As we were 80% from the field. Shots flying from Trevor and Toby G, but more so with James notching 8 assists in this quarter alone, which is what I asked of him before he started & help defence was also reactive which allows us to get a few blocks from Hayden. The second half was a bit of the same as we start to sprinkle a bit of cutting which allowed agent to get on the school sheet. Finally had some good offensive rebounds from Sam will put this to put back so it’s a bit to work on and then a great play by Will became a temporary point guard to assist an open Trevor with corner three to end the quarter. in the fourth, we slow down a little bit from our scoring point of view, which wasn’t ideal as we set a target before the game. This was because we didn’t hit good shots, but on a positive; Lewis finally got a shot to go, and we pushed to the final was showing no mercy. It was good to see the likes of Toby G. Trevor and co. step up, and show improvements because they do it in training, but sometimes struggle to do in matches." 

Notable Performances:

Luke Lattimore-Bahrij – 13pts/4asts/3stls

James Wormald – 12pts/10asts/6stls

Trevor Wood – 12pts/3rebs

Sam Smales – 10pts/12rebs/3asts/2blks

York Eagles I @ City of Leeds 

U11 Friendly

Result: 20-61 (Loss)

Player of the Game:

Will Hall – 9pts/6rebs

Coach Adam Wilson commented on the U11s performance:

“When we didn’t panic, and we put into practice our offense we scored some great baskets. Harry George and Will Hall did particularly well as two of our bigger players. There was some discouragement due to the size and strength of the opposing team, but it was nice to see players lifting each other up. The two main areas on offence to work and are getting rebounds are not turning over the ball when under pressure. On offence we just need to be more glued to the man, we are marking! overall there are lots to be proud of I know we will improve.”

Notable Performances:

Harry George – 8pts/5rebs

Judah Wilson – 11rebs/2asts

York Eagles II @ City of Leeds II

U11 Friendly

Result: 12-46

Player of the Game:

Arthur Bewlay – 2pts/5rebs

Coach David Veige commented on the U11s II Performance:

“A very fast paced game played by both teams leading York which led to an exciting game to watch. Leeds had the physical advantage and used it world clean up. The boards and York had some Fastbreak conversions with hard work and effort seen on defence. it was great to see new players kit up in an Eagles jersey as we continue to develop our youngest players of our club.”

SUNDAY 10th MARCH

York Eagles v Sheffield Sharks

U12 Yorkshire Regional

Result: 62-41 (Win)

Players of the Game:

Alessio Vento Joyce – 12pts/10rebs/3stls

George FitzThomas – 12pts/5rebs/4asts

Coach James Searson commented on the U12s Performance:

“A fantastic display from the lads. We started very strong and played hard to the very end and it was great to see them plays a team and control the game throughout. Defence was fantastic. Best I’ve seen the boys play all season. Offensively we need to slow it down at times and move the ball around and not force the play. Really happy with the team spirit and thanks to Jake and Maks for stepping in and you both were amazing.”

Notable Performances:

Jake Richardson – 14pts/4asts/3rebs

Maks Molka – 10pts/5rebs

Billy Kemp – 6pts/7rebs

Seb Hardy – 6pts/5rebs

York Eagles @ Derby Trailblazers

U18 JNBL Northern Premier

Result: 50-78 (Loss)

Player of the game:

Sam Walker-Taylor – 7pts/3rebs/3stls

Korbin Evans – 12pts/8rebs/5stls

Coach Kostas Kotidis commented on the U18s Performance:

“On Sunday, we started well being tied in the first quarter. Then a disastrous 2nd quarter followed. We only managed 7 points. I am not sure what went wrong, possibly a collective “loss of consciousness” that led to extreme misfiring in offence starting from defensive fatigue. That created a really insurmountable mountain to climb. However, the boys managed to put together a good performance winning the 3rd quarter. Then again fatigue was our main opponent and we just managed to keep it at a more reasonable loss. A big thank you to the x4 U16s that joined us and got some playing time. I hope the experience will be valuable. Let’s move onto the next one. Focusing on the weekend when we have Manchester and then finally a double game week hosting Myerscough & Sheffield. Let’s have the support we deserve, and we may even manage to sneak a win in!”

Notable Performances:

Hayden Stewart 

Freddie Marshall – 11pts

York Eagles v Mersey Mavericks

U14 JNBL Girls North Conference 1

Result: 72-26 (Win)

Player of the Game:

THE TEAM!

Coach Ghada Khattab commented on the U14s Girls Performance:

“On paper, I shouldn’t have worried about today’s game at all, but after Saturday’s performance, I decided not to take anything for granted… We had a good chat before the game and stressed the importance of going in with the right mindset o listening to coaches. We started a bit slow, and it initially looks like our shots weren’t going in, but defence was solid from the start, and then settled into rhythm after a while. Our full court press paid dividends and our passing was nearly back to its usual Standards. Our team was all together better with an impressive number of assists across the board. Our shooting still isn’t at what used to be, and I’d say the performance about 70% of what it had been earlier this term when we were smashing it, but it is the end of the season and after all, we did play two games this weekend. I don’t think I have asked much more of the girls and super proud of them what they achieved.”

Notable Performances:

Maya Foulkes – 14pts

Amelie Hetherton – 15pts

Danika Croft – 12pts

Grace Roberts – 10pts

Associate Head Coach of York Eagles Tyler Paton-Pottage commented on this week’s results and what’s to come:

 “What a week it has been for all involved with our U14 Girls team… they have completed their unbeaten season and finished 16-0 which is a remarkable accomplishment for any team, the girls should be proud but also Girls coach Ghada Khattab who was announced earlier in the week as Yorkshire All Girls inspiring female of the year 2023. 

In other games, it was a mix bag of results this week, with U16s 2 on both sides of the win/loss column as they had 2 games, our U14s 1 continue to aim for 20 wins. But more so importantly, our U12s showed massive improvement with a big win of Sheffield Sharks, which I hope kicks on their development as a team. 

A tough weekend for U14s 2, U18s and U11s but all learnt lessons throughout and know what is expected of them come summer and next season!”