Scottish Cup Final: Falkirk Fury 50 Glasgow Lady Rocks 62 - under-18s

A fantastic cup final  performance saw Fury just fail in the final minutes to lift the Junior Women’s national trophy.
Picture: Donald StewartPicture: Donald Stewart
Picture: Donald Stewart

They had begun as underdogs but led by as many as 12 in the second quarter against a Rocks side who were unbeaten in all competitions this season, but Kim Flockhart’s side showed why cup finals have a tendency to disregard recent form and this was no different.

The first quarter saw both teams working hard on defence and low scoring with Fury’s Abby Rutter’s three-pointer on the buzzer giving her team a 13-10 lead.

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Fury then rocked the Cumbernauld based side with three straight threes in the second to go 12 clear at 22-10.

Fury under-18s with coaches Matt Hoffman and Kim Flockhart. Picture: Gillian ThomsonFury under-18s with coaches Matt Hoffman and Kim Flockhart. Picture: Gillian Thomson
Fury under-18s with coaches Matt Hoffman and Kim Flockhart. Picture: Gillian Thomson

Molly Waddell and a further three from Rutter saw Fury force the Rocks into a timeout and send the large band of Fury fans into enthusiastic applause.

The Rocks however were not unbeaten for nothing and with Fury fighting to retain a double digit lead, the Rocks were fighting just as hard to reduce it.

While Emily Melrose maintained her scoring run with two more baskets, Fury’s only other points in the second period came before the half from Pelly Kidd, making the half-time scoreline 28-25 to Fury and all to play for.

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The third saw the Sony sponsored side struggle to score with only Rutter, Katie McEwan and Erin Marshall finding the net - making Fury trail 42-36 at the end of the third.

Picture: Donald StewartPicture: Donald Stewart
Picture: Donald Stewart

The game saw Fury battle against foul trouble with an 18-8 foul count, letting Rocks get to the line throughout.

The final stanza saw the Rocks pull clear, only for Fury to bring the game back several times.

They did so again bringing the score to 54-50 and a four-point gap going into the final two minutes. But it was the Rocks who made the final push down the stretch and took the win, in what had proven to be a great advert for women’s basketball.

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While Rutter led Fury, U16 captain Emily Melrose had 13 with Katie McEwan and the hard working Molly Waddell sharing 16 points. Fury’s Marshall, Pelly Kidd and Naomi Gill also featured throughout and like McEwan, Rutter, Melrose and Waddell gave 100 per cent in pursuit of the cup win.

Picture: Donald StewartPicture: Donald Stewart
Picture: Donald Stewart

Fury’s coaching staff Kim Flockhart and Mathew Hoffman said: “We cannot praise our team enough for the effort and energy they put into the game. We knew we had to start well at both ends of the floor and we did. Unfortunately we fell short in the third quarter, nevertheless the team showed great resilience and brought us back into the game.”