Waihi College students Rylee Morgan and Aaliyah Hill are national basketball finalists, coming in second place at the under 15 nationals on July 15.
The 14 year olds were recruited for Tauranga’s under 15 representative girls’ basketball team earlier this year. Aalyiah was playing for the Tauranga B team, having just begun to play basketball this year. Rylee, who made the A team, has represented Tauranga since joining the under 11 team at eight years old.
The team was up against Waikato for the finals, and came away with 74 points to Waikato’s 92, earning them the silver trophy.
The girls said they had a great time playing in the tournament, and were both looking forward to playing again next year.
Both girls are enthusiastic sports players. Aaliyah has also played rugby and netball, while Rylee competed in the Waihi under 16 netball representative team and the Thames Valley under 16 rugby representative team, and was also Waihi College’s school squash champion and sportswoman of the year in 2022.
By ALICE PARMINTER, Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ on Air
