AYR Storm's U12 girls got their end of season Regional Finals off to a great start with two wins on the first weekend of the competition.

The squad of 10 girls made the trip to Paisley to take on fellow West Region sides Glasgow City and Gladiator Rocks.

City provided the first opposition and the Ayr girls raced out to an early lead.

Monkton Primary School's duo, Alix McIntosh and Lauren Cooper scoring eight of the team's 13 first quarter points.

McIntosh added a further two baskets in the second quarter, scoring ten points by half-time. It wasn't just her scoring that caught the eye, but several steals and a couple of blocked shots capped a fine all-round performance.

City rallied after the interval and got to grips with Ayr's fast break play, and the Storm girls found baskets harder to come by. However, it was eight second half points from Cooper and a fine outside shot from Doonfoot Primary's Morven Montgomery that sealed a 29-15 win for Ayr.

The second game saw the team face off against Cumbernauld based Gladiator Rocks. Rocks put in the stronger first half performance, leading 12-6 at half-time.

Dundonald Primary's Louise Fisher was proving a menace at both ends of the court and her early third quarter basket saw a change in the momentum of the game. Superb defence, and two baskets by Cooper, saw Storm draw level at the end of the third.

It was all to play for in the final quarter, and once again Ayr's defence remained tight with Lowri Hulme and Neve Mills excelling.

Six points from McIntosh proved the deciding factor and claimed an excellent comeback victory of 18-14 for Storm.

The two wins put Ayr in a strong position moving into the second and final game day in mid-June, but further strong opposition lies in waiting in the form of North Lanarkshire Chiefs and reigning champions St.Mirren.

Head coach, Laura Nisbet, was happy with the day's play and said: "This bunch of girls make my job so enjoyable. They never give up, play some great basketball and with smiles on their faces."