Under-19s off the mark

They put in a strong team performance against Lightning B, who currently sit fourth in the Premier Division, to triumph 65-44 in a Tuesday night friendly at the Grammar School.

With this being only the U19 side’s second match after being integrated into the league structure for 2022-23, coaches Heidi Rosamund and Bridget Yabsley were rather proud of the girls.

‘Regardless of who we are playing against, we are just grateful for some competition,’ Rosamund said.

‘Specsavers is a great club and they are having a particularly good season – no one can take that away from them – so Bridget and I, we were really happy with the result.’

Lightning had been depleted to seven core players through illness but due to the match’s friendly nature were able to call on A team captain Donna Brehaut, who showed her versatility across five positions.

The U19s had a wider roster of 11 players but did not actively rotate them, instead opting for a ‘half on and half off’ approach to allow combinations to settle.

The junior team produced the stronger first quarter to lead 15-10 and blew out the scoreline in the second, making it 35-22 at half-time.

Lightning would have needed a mini miracle to come back from what had become a 53-31 deficit after three quarters, and while that proved unrealistic, they did outscore the opposition by one in a well-contested final stanza.

GA Bryony de Garis earned Lightning’s player of the match honours after forming a consistent and effective shooting partnership with Emily Kendal, backed by a strong WA performance from Shannon Jordan. Both de Garis and Jordan have returned from university fairly recently.

The outstanding timing and feeds of WA Olivia Cotterill, described as a ‘future weapon for Guernsey’ by Rosamund, earned her U19 POM.

The coach praised the performance of a side who had narrowly failed to qualify for the South League in the summer.

‘If they had played like they did [on Tuesday], they would not have had a problem and they would have sailed through it.’

Lightning coach Brehaut added: ‘From our perspective it was a good run-out and a chance to try some different combinations despite the absences – also an opportunity to get good court time for players.’