THE Melbourne Tigers have taken home gold at the 2024 Under-18 Girls Club Championships, defeating the Perry Lakes Hawks by 12 points at HBF Arena on Sunday morning.

The Tigers were the dominant team all tournament, remaining unbeaten during their time at the Club Championships, and proving deserving winners after another strong showing the big game.

Although the Hawks put up a late fight, Melbourne was simply too strong, claiming the trophy with a 68-56 point triumph.

The Tigers were on-song early, bringing their typical ball movement to the table in tremendous fashion and finding easy baskets. Melbourne has become renowned as a team that likes to make the extra pass, and its playcalling was unmatched throughout the tournament.

Whether it was finding the rolling player heading towards the basket or setting off-ball screens to get the team’s shooters open, offence simply looked easy for the Tigers, as the Hawks defence looked frustrated with scores coming easy for Melbourne.

A well-drilled machine, the Tigers were always looking to pick holes in the opposition’s coverage, and it worked to great effect, getting open under the basket particularly early, often getting basket-side of the opposition.

Josie Agnew top-scored with 17 points for Melbourne, able to knock down three triples and stretch the floor in a big way. She worked hard to get free and showed no hesitation in firing off a shot from all three levels.

Isobelle Wightman was not far behind with 15 points of her own, playing her role and making each opportunity count on the end of some excellent passing from Melbourne. Sharpshooter Alice Magnanini followed thereafter with 14 points, while Krystal Armason rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points in a tremendous team performance from the gold medalists.

Although it was not the result they were after, it was still a great tournament from the Hawks and they still showed plenty of positives at stages in the gold medal game. Emma Clarke was their best with 16 points, proving a consistent presence over the course of the match, while Nicola Moore had 13 points of her own and was crucial in sparking a fightback in the second half. Perry Lakes managed to cut a 22-point deficit down to six and Moore’s shooting from behind the arc was vital in doing so.

It was the perfect end to a perfect campaign from the Melbourne Tigers, who went unbeaten across the VJBL season and the Club Championships, cementing their status as the best female junior team in the country.