ENG - England celebrates year of women's basketball

SHEFFIELD (Girls U-17 Tournament) - England Basketball hosted a 3-day Inter-Regional Girls U-17 Tournament this past weekend as part of the celebration of FIBA Europe’s Year of Women's Basketball. Held over three days at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, the event brought together top players from the U-17 age group, representing all ten regions.

The teams played a total of 30 games, culminating in tournament playoffs to establish the top basketball region in England. Attended by England Under 18 Women’s coach Deirdre Hayes along with her assistant Louise Waghorn, the event proved successful with a great deal of positive feedback received from the regions.

It was also used to develop young referees and table officials, who performed quite well given the level of difficulty.

A very talented South East side took home the honours of tournament champions after beating the East 68-31 in the final. One of the tournament’s most exciting games was an overtime thriller between the North West and Yorkshire regions battling for third place. The North West came out on top 50-49 after Kelsey Bardsley hit 3 of 4 free throws in the extra period.

West Midlands region won the ‘Fair Play Award’ for the most positive attitude of coach and players over the whole weekend.

Final Results
1/2nd Place play off – South East 68 East 31
3/4th place play off – North West 50 Yorkshire 49
5/6th place play off – London 39 East Midlands 32
7/8th place play off – West Midlands 32 North East 26
9/10th place play off – South 40 South West 33

Basketball England