The 2023 national champion team from Westlake Girls' High School.
The 2023 national champion team from Westlake Girls' High School.
Aiden McLaughlin for LockerRoom
After years of sustained success, the national champion Westlake Girls’ High School senior basketball team have suffered a set-back; but it’s taken an off-the-court ruling to stop them in their tracks.
Their season has been overshadowed by the news that College Sport Auckland have handed down a punishment of 30 competition points (equal to 10 wins) for playing an ineligible player. The punishment was first revealed by basketball scribe Mike Lacey on his website, Lacey Lowdown.
The Auckland Secondary Schools Girls’ Premier Grade is made up of eight teams and with each team playing each other twice to make up a 14-game regular season, the deducted points and the fact all 10 games were awarded to their opponents, saw Westlake Girls’ tumble to the bottom of the ladder.
They have won their four remaining games to end up seventh on the table, on 12 points, ahead of Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, who finished the season on nine points.
An added consequence of Westlake’s position on the table, is that they are likely to have to fight to stay in the top flight for 2025.
They could face the runner-up of the 2024 Auckland Senior A competition in a one-off, winner-takes-all game early next year, to see which of the two teams plays in the 2025 Premier Grade. The final of the 2024 Senior A competition will take place between Carmel College, who overcame St Mary’s College, and Auckland Girls’ Grammar School, who defeated McAuley High School in this weekend’s semifinals.
Westlake Girls’ has had sustained success, not only in Auckland, but they have also won back-to-back national titles, having beaten St Andrew’s College from Christchurch in the 2022 and 2023 finals.
The Westlake 2023 championships lineup. Their 2024 successors ran into trouble when an ineligible player took the court.
In June and July this year, they represented New Zealand at the International School Sport Federation (ISF) World School Basketball Championship in Macao, China. As one of 17 teams, they finished top of Group A, with an unbeaten run against Hong Kong, Macao, India, and the second ranked team from Chile.
A quarter-final victory against Bulgaria, saw them face France in the semifinals, a game they lost 64-40. They finished the event by securing a bronze medal, following a 64-35 win over Hong Kong, with the top ranked China team defeating France in the final.
In response to the points deduction, Westlake Girls’ High School principal Jane Stanley told LockerRoom: “This was our mistake, and we take full responsibility for it. Our error was clerical and genuinely innocent. We had no intention whatsoever to cheat the system, but we accept that we inadvertently did, and have been penalised accordingly.
“We understand that the rules are there to ensure fairness for everyone. Naturally, we feel for everyone involved, particularly our Premier Basketball players, coaches and their whānau, however we understand and support the College Sport decision.”
The Auckland Premier final will now see Manurewa High School and Northcote College compete to take home the title, following their semifinal victories this weekend against Takapuna and St Kentigern respectively.
*College Sport Auckland was approached for comment but at the time of publication, they have not responded to LockerRoom’s requests.
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.
