WITH long-term Big V ambitions in their future, the Pakenham Warriors’ women’s team made significant basketball inroads across the long weekend.
Taking the development route and waiting an extra season to get ready for the competitive Big V league, the Pakenham Warriors women’s team took its first significant steps on court battling in the Big V pre-season tournament at Frankston.
Former Pakenham men’s player and coach Leon Stapley is the new coach of the Warriors’ women and said getting the senior women’s program in place, similar to what happened with the men’s Big V team in previous years, was important to developing Pakenham’s female basketball ranks.
“It was half a plan to start with and it was whether we could have a junior program to back our senior program,” Stapley said.
“At the moment there’s no senior program so we have to get something off the ground first – hence the MMBL side of things – and that’s where we’re at now… we’ve pushed a couple of Big V teams to a possible win for us… we’re right there.”
“We’ve got a good mix of older players here and younger players… it’s good to be back.”
Stapley was impressed with the work-rate and leadership shown by Kylie Thomson and Bridget Gamble and thought the entire group was impressive in its first major showing.
“Bridget has knocked down a couple of big shots and she really stepped up in our last campaign and we’ve got some younger girls coming through and a lot of talent in the side which is great.”
While the team didn’t win any of its five matches at the tournament – downed by Shepparton, Casey, Blackburn, Coburg and Mornington – the signs were promising for the Warriors’ future as it heads towards its final winter basketball campaign and pre-season for its Big V debut in 2015.
Tryouts for Pakenham women’s winter team in the Melbourne Metropolitan Basketball League (MMBL) are on Sunday morning from 10am at Cardinia Life.
For more information contact Leon Stapley at lstapley@bigpond.net.au.
PAKENHAM WOMEN’S BIG V TOURNAMENT TEAM LIST
Sam Neil, Megan Tolley, Jill Appleton, Jamie Cotter, Chelsea Lowe, Natalie Bjelan, Jamie Armstrong, Teagan Reid, Emily Cooper, Ebony Hunter, Kylie Thomson and Bridget Gamble.
