YORK Eagles Basketball Club’s Under 14 girls’ team have won the Basketball England North Conference League.

The under-14's girls' team have celebrated recent success in winning all 16 of their matches over the season against strong teams, including those from Leeds, Stockport, Liverpool and Sheffield.

Their achievement is all the more remarkable in that it is only the second year that the team has played at national league level.

In fact, the club only gained its first female player in 2019. Coaches from other clubs have praised the team, calling them ‘brilliant’ and ‘superb – a joy to watch’.

The girls’ quick development since they started is testament to their passion, enthusiasm and dedication to the game, and the hard work of their inspirational coaches.

And it is not only the girls who have excelled – the girls’ head coach, Ghada Khattab, was honoured in the Basketball England annual awards little over two weeks ago.

She picked up the prize for ‘Inspiring Female of the Year’ for the Yorkshire region.

Associate Head Coach Tyler Paton-Pottage commented on this remarkable achievement, saying: “Ghada absolutely deserves this award. She deserves all the recognition for what she has done with girls’ basketball, especially with the club.

"She has gone above and beyond her role as a coach, and she has just won the league with her U14 Girls in an unbeaten season.

"She has also worked to get more young girls into basketball and we now have an Under 12s/13s team.

"This shows Ghada’s unparalleled commitment to girls’ basketball at York Eagles.”

The girls have also been fundraising for the trip of a lifetime to Los Angeles, where they will attend a training camp led by top US coaches.

So far, over £9,000 has been raised through bake sales, raffles and jobs such as dog walking and car valeting. 

Donations to help the cause can be made here.

They will be joining the club’s Under 14 boys at this camp, a story reported in the Press last year.