Sussex’s CD Phoenix headed over to Beau Sejour on Sunday as unbeaten leaders in South U19 Division Two and looking, on paper at least, out of reach for the bottom-of-table Sarnians.
But the Guernsey girls awed a home audience by coming away with a 52-51 victory as a just reward for their commitment to the regional league this season.
From nine goals down heading into the final quarter, they played maturely and without fear to shoot down the divisional leaders in a performance that very much pleased U19 coach Donna Brehaut.
‘We are ecstatic to get that win,’ she said.
‘The fact that we beat the top-of-the-table team proves what they can do.
‘It was really nice to see some of the things we put into practice in training put into their performance on court.
‘It’s amazing and I’m really proud of of what we’ve achieved.’
It has not been an easy season. After some heavy losses early on, the Dominion-supported side began to show greater promise as the season progressed, with their two home games just prior being easily their best and closest of the season.
With only an away match at Woodley remaining, time was running out to get that win.
They proved a very close match for Phoenix in the first two quarters of this home contest.
Panthers had won the first quarter 16-14 before ending up trailing by the finest of margins at half-time, where their rivals led 25-24.
Their sharp-shooting combination of GS Poppy Bisson and GA Eva Bourgaize led the way and would remain unchanged for the duration.
But Phoenix progressed their game in the third to make it 47-38 as Panthers, despite a few changes, looked flat and unable to respond.
The welcome interval gave them the chance to reset and they started the final quarter with aplomb, striking a much-needed scoring run.
The determined youngsters’ bid for critical turnovers was boosted by a tactical change that had starting GD McKenzie Rich utilising her height at GK, having switched places with Erin Le Huray.
The Guernsey seven remained unchanged and battled to the final whistle to take the monumental scalp.
Brehaut highlighted the performances of their shooters, not just player-of-the-match winner Bourgaize but also the ever-improving Bisson.
‘The shooting duo were excellent,’ the coach said.
‘They were really strong in there.
‘Poppy has come into her own quite late in the season, with club translating into island performances.’
Brehaut added: ‘It’s a really nice game to end our home season.’
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