Gakkinga coach Chantelle Lee: All my girls excelled at the Indigenous Community Basketball League
GAKKINGA coach Chantelle Lee struggled to name standout players after her team won the inaugural girls’ Indigenous Community Basketball League tournament in Darwin. But that was what most impressed her.
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GAKKINGA coach Chantelle Lee struggled to name standout players after her team beat Damabila 63-41 in the girls’ final of the Indigenous Community Basketball League.
But she was delighted at that, because all her players stood up and impressed as a team, her outfit only losing once throughout the eight-week tournament.
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“I couldn’t say (who the best players were). They all played their roles really well and did what I asked them to do,” Lee told the NT News.
“They all stood by each other. We had some girls who picked up injuries during their footy season, so sometimes we’d only play with five players.”
Taneesa Hampton excelled at guard, and she was the Round 4 top-scorer with an impressive 29 points.
“She ran the court really well, and her cutting with the ball was also very good,” Lee said.
“Her talk was very good as well, and same with Tia Graham.
“Shakaila Gardiner-Dunn and Aaliyah Mukhlis did a lot of running, and Alyssa Hampton ran some good plays for us.
“Mia Tuluauau and Ava Berto also managed to find themselves in open spaces, and made themselves available.”
With the commitment and skill growth her girls had already been showing in the Uni Rebels’ junior ranks, Lee’s team was always going to be a formidable opponent.
“I told the girls to have fun and enjoy themselves. They all play Rebels under-16s together, so that gave them a good opportunity to work on their plays,” she said.
“I won’t lie, it took them five to six weeks to get the plays, and they nailed it after that.
“A few of them have made the step up to under-18 level for Rebels on Monday night, and they are also capable of playing at Championship level in the DBA this year.”
Meanwhile, Lee – captain of Rebels’ 2021 DBA Championship women’s team – believes her team can be competitive under coach Justine Schmidt this year.
Having young gun point guard Ieasha Friel come back to her junior club from Essington is a huge pick-up.
“We’ll all have all three of the Friel girls playing for us this year. They approached me, and that’s really exciting,” Lee said.
“And (Adelaide Crows superstar and Rebels junior) Danielle Ponter will be back for us after the AFLW season.
“We’re just starting to get things together at training now after what’s been a pretty hectic eight weeks.”
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