The Junior Lakers Under 12 Girls team was named the championship team at the Murray Bridge Junior Tournament last weekend.

Four of the nine Mount Gambier Junior Basketball representative teams played in grand finals; the victorious Under 12 Girls, Under 16 Girls, Under 18 Women and Under 14 Boys Div.2.

 Mount Gambier Junior Development Officer, Trevor Semmens was pleased with the overall performances of the squads and the positive signs evident at the first “hit out” for the teams. Players are making steady progress and coaches are heading in the recommended direction at this early stage of the season. One of the striking features of the Tournament was the improvement each team made as the Tournament unfolded.

The Under U12 Girls, although not at full strength, lost their first game of the Tournament to Great Southern, 19-21. From here on they were undefeated and went on to beat Great Southern 16-13 in the deciding game. Lauren Ross, Olivia Dukalskis, in her first outing as a junior Laker, and Sara Smith were named as better players in the successful team effort.

The Lakers Under 18 Women recorded easy wins in their pool games, but were somewhat lucky to get over the line against Millicent, 27-24, in the semi-final.

The Lakers however suffered a big defeat in the final against the Bullets, who had several state players in their line-up, including Adelaide Lightning squad member, Alex Wilson and SA Country Under 18 Captain, Georgie Garrard. The Lakers were best served throughout the weekend by Sam Loughhead, Alycia Close and Brooke Hines.

The Under 16 Girls also finished the minor round undefeated after surviving 31-28 against the Bullets. They met Murray Bridge in the Grand Final on Monday. A change in defence by Bullets’ coach Bill Wilson stifled the Lakers’ scoring opportunities and enabled the Bullets to reverse the earlier result to the tune of 39-22 in the final.

Georgia Green, Brianna Walters and Morgan Amy were consistent contributors for the team over the weekend.

The Under 14 Boys Div.2 team lost just one game for the weekend, the grand final, 27-35 to a strong Eastern Hills side. Caleb Perry led the scoring with 13 points. The most pleasing feature of this performance was the team work and contributions by all players. They scored a big semi-final win over Strathalbyn, 60-28, in which Joel Michalski top scored with 14 points followed by Michael Harris on 12.

The Under 12 Boys won two games and drew one in the minor rounds. They were beaten by eventual winner, Millicent, 38-28, in the semi-final. Best players named for the Tournament were Shaun Lock, Todd Reid and Mason Hein. 

The Under 14 Boys Div.1 side was competitive in the tough 10 team competition. They won one and lost one on the first day, defeating Strathalbyn 58-13 but went down by just 7 against metro side, Norwood Blue. On Sunday they had the chance to see finals action but lost to Eastern Hills by 7 in a gallant effort.

A six point loss to Bullets A marked the opening game for the Lakers Under 14 Girls. They however bounced back to score big wins over Bullets B and Millicent 2 on the opening day. In their six games the Lakers lost one and drew one with Great Southern but missed out on a final spot. Coach Trevor Semmens was pleased with their performances and claimed that the overall result was above expectations going into the Tournament. Rachael Hines, Megan Hein and Jordy Jones were the most consistent players for the weekend.

The Lakers Under 18 Men started well with a solid win over Bullets B, 34-14, and were right in the game against Woodville at three quarter time but then allowed the opposition to dictate in the final minutes. In their six games they finished with a 2-4 win/loss record for the weekend.

The Lakers Under 16 Boys scored two wins and lost one in their pool games. They were then defeated 57-33 in the semi-final.

Coaches and squads will now be preparing for the Millicent Junior Tournament being conducted on October 23 and 24.