Sonics the new kids on the block in Albany Basketball Association women’s A-grade competition

A new affiliated club, Sonics, will join the Albany Basketball Association women’s A-grade competition for the 2020-21 season that begins tonight. Sonics formed a basketball club this season and will field both women’s and men’s A-grade teams. Last season’s Panthers side contained five players, who make up part of the Sonics outfit after Panthers chose not to field a team and left only four teams in the race for the women’s A-grade title. Crystal Blues, Valkyries and Raiders under-18s development squad all remain from last season. Kayla Thomas, Ella Scamozzi, Maddie Dallimore, Sheridan Kowald and Aleesha Narkle have all joined Sonics from Panthers while Abbi Gibson and Valerie Corbett complete the impressive roster. Corbett has moved from Crystal Blues after being the second leading point scorer in the competition last season while Gibson finished fifth in total match points and has moved from Kinjarling Storm, which will also not take to the court this season. Sonics coach David Arthur Sr, who helped build the club over a number of years, said he was looking forward to the season. “It’s great to have the club represented in women’s A-grade in the club’s first season; it’s pretty exciting,” he said. “We (Panthers) have been competitive for a few years, so hopefully we can bring that competitiveness again and we have added a few new ones. “It’s great to get the club up and going; it’s outstanding and overwhelming to have 28 teams. “It looks pretty even across the board and is a small comp but I think Crystal Blues are the ones to watch. “They have been together for a few years with the same team.” Crystal Blues, which joined the A-grade competition last season, will receive a significant boost this season through recruits Casey Griffiths and Georgia Kowald. Last season, Crystal Blues won four of their last six games to finish in third spot and they have retained six of their eight players, including leading scorer Shianne Arthur. Valkyries will look to replace the talented Griffiths with the inclusion of star Narelle Humphries from Kinjarling Storm. Humphries has been a top player in the A-grade competition for a number of years and will be joined by Mackenzie Pratt, also from Kinjarling Storm, along with youngsters Jorja Ward and Charlotte Edwards. The Raider under-18s will be headlined by Gibson, Tay Weeden, Brodie Dixon and Isabella De Giambattista, who have plenty of A-grade experience. Last seasons most valuable player Nardia Humphries is not in one of the four teams and is unlikely to play this season. WOMEN’S A-GRADE FIXTURES Round one Crystal Blues v Valkyries 6pm Sonics v Raiders U18 7pm Round two Sonics v Crystal Blues 6pm Valkyries v Raiders U18 8pm Round three Crystal Blues v Raiders U18 7pm Valkyries v Sonics 8pm