“A Weekend of Nothing but Net!” – U11 Girls Basketball Tournament
The New Brunswick Basketball Organization announced that the final basketball tournament for U11 girls would be held at Liverpool Street Elementary School on Saturday April 2nd, and then at Forest Hill Elementary School the following day on the 3rd.
The Salisbury Cats were determined to step out onto the Liverpool School court and show their first opponents, the Lancaster Lynxs, what they were made of.
Coaches Shallon Murray and Marcy Gillies told the girls to get ready for their game. They put on their jerseys, pulled up their socks, and laced up their sneakers before walking into the gym.
Murray and Gillies walked over to their designated bench with the girls and unzipped their ball bags, giving a basketball to a few of them so they could practice their warm up drills. They alternated between doing layups, crossovers, and different passes with the ball. The girls spent a good 10 minutes warming up before their first game.
Salisbury was up by a lot by the time they finished the first half, leading with a score of 23-8. Instead of pushing the girls to get more points, Murray suggested they practice the fundamentals: passing, using the backboard, and communicating with each other on the floor.
After listening to what their coaches told them to do they secured their first win, beating Lancaster by a score of 38-20. They bumped elbows with their opponents before lining up to accept awards for ‘Hustler of the Game’ and ‘Player of the Game.’
Coach Gillies’ daughter Julia won ‘Hustler of the Game,’ and Coach Murray’s daughter Addison won ‘Player of the Game.’ They were scheduled to play against the Sussex Stars next, but due to travel issues they couldn’t make it. This declared the Salisbury Cats a spot in the finals.
Their final game would be played at Forest Hill School against the Moncton Hawks. The girls congratulated each other before heading to a hotel to rest for the day.
Upon arriving at Forest Hill the next day, there was no room to warmup in the gym because of how small it was. Instead, the Cats reduced their warmup to dribbling and did this out in the school’s lobby.
Moncton were much more experienced than Salisbury, using tactics on the court that they didn’t know yet. Murray expressed to the girls that they were playing their hearts out, and that was all that mattered to her.
Salisbury lost by a score of 28-52, but that still secured them silver medals. After having their pictures taken, Gillies spoke about their journey.
“Although this was the last basketball tournament of the season, the girls are still learning more about the sport. Every time a shift would end, the girls come off the court and sit beside us and actively ask questions and look for ways to improve their skills. I wouldn’t give up being these girls’ coach for anything.”
