AFTER eight years together as a team, Swan Hill Flyers’ under 18 girls had a breakthrough win on the Australia Day weekend.
Coached by Kelly Stanger and managed by Sandra Rowe, the girls overcame illness to team members on their way to winning the division two section of the Bendigo Junior Classic.
Game one saw the Flyers taking on Echuca, with the Swan Hill girls wining 35-27.
Top scorers for the Flyers were Meg Storer and Kelsey Rowe with eight points each.
Game two saw a big win to the Flyers over Sunbury.
Sarah Anderson and Elvie Kelly-Britten each managed 10 points as Swan Hill romped to a 47-18 win.
Game three saw Swan Hill lose 22-17 to Mildura, with Storer and Kelly-Britten again top-scoring with six points.
Swan Hill bounced back to beat Kyneton in game four, before overcoming Keilor to win game five.
It was during the Keilor game that Swan Hill had to manage an illness among team members.
Sandra Rowe said the team, needing to win to make the grand final, had been down to four fit players.
“Others were sick and we played with five,” she said.
The girls then went into the grand final where they downed Mildura for the first time.
Kelly-Britten managed nine points and Rowe seven, as the Swan Hill team won 31-27.
“That was a nine-point turnaround from the last time we played them and we only had six girls to play due to illness,” Rowe said.
“They dug deep and it was a credit to themselves to not give up. Three girls had to run the whole game without a sub in the heat, which was a great effort.”
Meanwhile, Swan Hill’s domestic basketball competition resumed this week with squad teams travelling to Wodonga for a tournament this weekend.
