The Tamworth Thunderbolts Girls' Under 18s side continued their unbeaten streak over the weekend, but it did not make for easy viewing in the eyes of coach Scott Ward.
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![Intensity: The Tamworth Under 18s Girls get a pep talk from coach Scott Ward (right) during their game against the Central Coast Rebels. Photo: Tamworth Basketball Association Facebook. Intensity: The Tamworth Under 18s Girls get a pep talk from coach Scott Ward (right) during their game against the Central Coast Rebels. Photo: Tamworth Basketball Association Facebook.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/6fd53a10-c94a-45d0-a6b4-e7b80ddd8b36.jpg/r0_711_3000_3000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Ward, who is also the president of the Tamworth Basketball Association, was pleased that the girls could extend their win streak, but said they had a habit of making life more difficult for themselves than necessary in the Waratah North Eastern Junior League competition.
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"I'd like to see them put in a four-quarter effort," Ward said.
"It feels like these girls at times need to challenge themselves so they let the opposition into the games when they probably shouldn't.
"Having said that, they're 9-0 for the season, so it's pretty hard to argue with the results."
The scores from the weekend reflect Scott's thoughts. In the first game, Tamworth won comfortably by 23 points, but in the second, they eeked out a narrow five-point win against the Central Coast Rebels.
Regardless, the U18 Thunderbolts girls are undefeated in 2022 and will unquestionably be the team to beat in finals.
The Under 18s Boys, Under 16s Boys, and Under 16s Girls teams also played in Coffs Harbour over the weekend, but struggled with the higher calibre of competition from Newcastle and the Central Coast.
Aside from the Under 18s Girls, the Under 18s Boys Blue was the only other Tamworth side to continue their strong form, with two wins from three games.
"The Newcastle and Central Coast teams are always pretty strong, so it was going to be something of a challenge," Ward said.
"But a bunch of our teams also went into the weekend less than full strength."
Injuries to key players hamstrung a couple of the Tamworth sides, but there was one other significant highlight that pleased Ward.
"Our Under 16s Division Two team had a good win over Maitland, they really fought for that on Saturday," he said.
"They've had some really close games, so it was good to get that victory on Saturday, and they're coming along really well."
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