SLO/SCO - Scotland and Slovenia build basketball partnership

EDIMBURGH (Training camp) - Scotland’s Junior Women have just returned from a rewarding tour to Slovenia as preparation for the upcoming Junior Women Euro B Championships in Romania.

The tour is part of a growing relationship between these two basketball nations. After a study tour conducted by Simon Turner of Basketball Scotland, a partnership has been forged to allow Scotland national teams to visit Slovenia for competition against clubs and national teams.

Simon visited the Basketball Federation of Slovenia to meet with Dejan Mihevc, Instructor Trainer, and Tone Krump, Director of National Teams.

"We are delighted to be working with such a strong basketball nation", says Simon. "There is so much we can learn from basketball in Slovenia and we must thank Dejan for his help in organising the tour".

The study tour was also an opportunity to learn from Janez Drvaric, Youth Teams Director for Olimpija Ljubljana. "Janez was a fantastic host and I learnt some much from him that I can pass on to coaches in Scotland", says Simon, "we are indebted to him for opening so many doors and sharing his philosophy on how to develop players".

Donna Finnie, Scotland Junior Women Head Coach, commented; "the tour was great and everything was brilliantly organised. Overall, our performances were good and the tour was excellent preparation for the challenges ahead at Euro B".

GAME ONE V KONJICE SENIOR ( 69-60 )

The Scottish team got off to a great start in this game with Annie Rowan, Nicola McBrierty,Nisha Purewal, Rebecca Cumming and Mairi Buchan playing solid defence to open up a 15-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Konjice team came back in the second with some good outside shooting but the Scots held onto a 34-28 lead at half time with a three from Lisa Haldane sparking the team offence, Rebecca Allison posing problems for the Konjice’s defence and two quick lay ups from Michelle Bisset finishing the half.

In what was becoming a physical encounter, the Scots fell behind in the third and struggled to contain Konjice’s leading scorer who hit thirteen points in this quarter. Annie Rowan kept the Scots in the game with some smart plays and the introduction of Holly Fillingham late in the third gave the Scots two quick baskets but they went in trailing 49-45.

In the fourth, Fillingham opened up the game with nine unanswered points and Rowan took over at the offensive end adding to her tally and getting the ball to Buchan who forced her way to the stripe and scored inside to help the Scots pull away to a 69-60 win.

Scorers:  Rowan  27, Fillingham 16, Buchan 11
Rebounders:  Buchan 11, Rowan 6
Assists: Rowan 6, Allison 3, Buchan 3

GAME TWO V SENTJUR-SMARJE  ( 74-44 )

The starters in this game were Rebecca Allison, Holly Fillingham, Nicola McBrierty, Katie Bisset and Rowan Bell. Bell got the Scots off to a great start with a nice score inside and Allison posed problems again with her speed getting fouled and hitting both from the line and then making a lay up out of the Scots defence, but they struggled to get into their offence and finished the first trailing 14-11.

In the second, the introduction of Rebecca Cumming sparked the Scots defence and they forced several turnovers and converted into scores on the break lead by Bell, Cumming and Fillingham. The defence picked up as well, only allowing the Sentjur-Smarje girls two field goals in this quarter, with Carlyn Wallis and Bell dominating at the defensive end, the Scots went in 33-23 ahead.

After the break the Scots picked up at the defensive end and started to run the floor better with Bell proving a handful inside, Rowan, K Bisset and Buchan all scoring on a run which opened up a 55-33 lead at the end of the third.

In the fourth, M Bisset, Wallis and  Rowan scored to open the quarter and the defence stepped up yet another gear, limiting the Sentjur-Smarje team and forcing yet more turnovers. Cumming stepped up at the offensive end and hit two big three’s, and Kara Gillies showed agression to get to the stripe later in the fourth and working well with Buchan inside. The Scots finished strong and won the game 74-44.

Scorers:  Bell 19, Rowan 16, Buchan 11, Cumming 10
Rebounds: Rowan 7, Buchan, Bell, Haldane 5
Assists:  Bell 7, Rowan 5, McBrierty, Fillingham, Buchan 2

GAME THREE V SENTJUR BOYS U16 ( 62-92) 5 quarters of play

Fillingham, Allison, Rowan, Buchan and Bell started this game against a very strong and big Sentjur boys squad. With the girls playing physical defence, they managed to compete and did a great job taking care of the ball against their pressure defence and went in at the end of the first 19-11.

In the second, the boys started to run even more and although our transition defence was good, the boys athleticism caused problems for our defence on the boards and they got a lot of inside scores. Buchan and Bell were able to get good offensive position and kept the Scots in the game but they still trailed 53-30 at the half.

In the third, Haldane hit two big threes to again spark the offence, and the defence picked up as the girls again played agressive, physical defence. Fillingham used her offensive armoury to get to the line and hit some vital free throws but the Scots still trailed.

In the fourth quarter the girls stepped up and used their physical defence to limit the boys motion offence, bumping cutters and forcing them to shoot off balance shots. With Kara Gillies and Rebecca Cumming playing smart at the offensive end the girls managed to close the gap slightly going into the fifth period.

In the last period, Fillingham and Buchan got nice scores inside and Buchan stepped up at the defensive end blocking shots and taking several rebounds. The boys shot the ball very well though and hit five threes in the quarter, widening the score and the girls ended up losing 92-62  but put in a strong performance.

Scorers:  Buchan 16, Bell 13, Rowan 10, Fillingham 7
Rebounds:  Buchan 9, Bell 7, Rowan 5
Assists:  Rowan 6, Fillingham 3

GAME FOUR V SLOVENIAN NATIONAL TEAM (57-62)

With the Slovenian first twelve in action later that day, the Scots took on the rest of their junior squad in the early morning game on Sunday. Buchan, Bell, Cumming, Gillies and Rowan started off very well, playing solid defence and excellent team offence to open up a 15-14 lead at the end of the first.

At the start of the second, the Scots offence caused problems for the Slovenian team and the Scots went to the line three times in quick succession through Gillies, Cumming and Bell. The introduction of Haldane steadied the offence again and McBrierty drew another foul but the Scots free throw shooting was proving a problem. Katie Bisset proved a revelation on the glass and pulled down three huge offensive boards but the Scots failed to convert. The Slovenians then started to shoot the ball very well and went on a late run to end the half and open up a five point lead.

In the third, Bell again posed problems for the Slovenian’s and went to the line to make both shots before the home team went on an 11-0 run, all from outside shooting. Nisha Purewal and Buchan were taking care of the defensive boards, not allowing the Slovenian’s any second chance shots and Fillingham made her first appearance into the game at this stage going on a run of her own, scoring 9 points, including a three from the half way line to close the quarter and pull the Scots to within ten, 40-50.

In the fourth, Buchan and Bell were causing the Slovenian post players headaches as they battled in the low post, drawing fouls. Rowan, Fillingham and Allison were playing excellent defence on the Slovenian guards and the Scots then forced several Slovenian turnovers with their pressure defence to pull within seven with a minute left. Rowan and Bell went to the line in the last minute but it wasn’t enough and the Scots lost by five, 62-57 but put in a great team performance with many positives for their Euro B preparation.

Scorers: Bell 20, Rowan 10, Fillingham 9, Buchan 8
Rebounds: Bell 8, Buchan 7, K Bisset 6, Rowan 5
Assists: Rowan 6, Cumming, Fillingham 2

Game reports by
Donna Finnie, Head Coach, Scotland Junior Women