JUNIOR LAKERS WIN STATE BASKETBALL TITLES.

The Lakers Under 18 Women’s Division 1 and Under 14 Girl’s Division 3 teams won State titles at the 2010 SA Country Basketball Junior Championships played in Adelaide over last weekend.

Both teams remained undefeated for the weekend.

The first year Lakers Under 14 Girls defeated Great Southern 39-17 in their final. Coach Andrew Lee commended his team on their fantastic team efforts throughout the Division 3 competition. Rachael Hines, Megan Hein and Jordie Jones led the side well. Georgia Pratt, Laura Falland, Casey Horrigan and Tahlia Earl made pleasing improvement while Jasmine Disselbach and Brooke Holmes worked hard and made the most of their opportunities as the Championships unfolded.

Prior to the Championships the Lakers Under 18 Women were not highly rated as finals contenders when compared to the Associations having several state players in their squads.

They started the weekend on a winning note defeating Whyalla, which boasts several state players, 41-34. They then accounted for the tall SYP 53-32 and rounded off the pool games with a win over Murray Bridge, 43-24.

The Lakers comfortably won their quarter final 54-27 against Eastern Hills. Their semi-final win over the strong and aggressive Port Augusta was a thriller. Only one or two points separated the teams throughout the game. The lead changed hands many times in the closing minutes. With just 4 seconds left on the clock Port Augusta led 41-40 and looked set for the grand final. Smart thinking and hard running saw Abby Loughhead convert a full court pass from Chantelle Weir right on the siren for a 42-41 win.

Millicent also played above expectations over the weekend and snared a grand final spot with a gutsy win over heavy weight Yorke Valley, 40-33.

The Lakers set up their grand final win with a polished team effort in the first quarter and went on to capture the title 53-37. Leading scorers for the Lakers in the final were Maddi Wilson, Abby Loughhead and Under 16 player Emily Stafford, while the efforts of Chantelle Weir cannot be underestimated.

It was a fitting result especially for four of the top age players in this team; Chantelle Weir, Maddi Wilson, Abby Loughhead and Sam Smith began their junior Lakers careers as members of the team, which won the Under 12 Division 2 title back in 2004.

Coach Melissa Rathjen praised her side on their team work and determination. She described the title as a just reward.

The Lakers Under 14 Boys had a good Championship and played above their weight”    .        

in winning three of their four minor round games.  They defeated Whyalla 44-30, Port Pirie 47-41 and Eastern Hills 45-27.In their best performance of the weekend they went down to grand finalist Mildura 44-47. They were unable to repeat this effort against Roxby Downs in the quarter final on Monday morning and bowed out of the Championships 32-44. Coach Tyson Kettle was very pleased with the weekend and commented on the big improvement the side had made over the season. The side, led by Sam Stafford, suffered a set back when Brad Rathjen was sidelined through injury early in 2010 but others found something extra.

The Lakers Under 18 Men made a scratchy start to the Championships, going down to Strathalbyn 52-61 and Eastern Hills 39-40.On Sunday the players came to play and defeated Port Pirie 57-47 and Yorke Valley 86-22.

Things looked good early in their quarter final but the pressure applied by Great Southern took its toll and resulted in a 41-52 score- line. The Lakers were competitive but a little inconsistent in these Championships.

The top age Lakers Under 14 Girls found Division 1 a tough assignment and struggled against the height and strength of their opponents. Coach Maddi Wilson commended her squad on their commitment to her program and felt that they had come a long way since the team was selected last August.

Coaches of the Under 12 and 16 teams are now preparing for their SA Country Championships being conducted on March 27^th and 28^th.