Under 16 Girls Win Victoria Country Junior Championships Division 2
The Mount Gambier Under 16 Girls’ basketballers are the 2011 Country Victoria Division 2 Champions.
The team, under Coach Peter Cunningham, travelled to Bendigo for the Under 16 Junior Championships. They were one of sixteen Associations in four pools of four which competed for the Division 1 and 2 titles.
The Lakers opened the weekend well by defeating Maffra in their first game. They then managed to get home by five 52 - 47 in overtime against the strong Ballarat line-up and looked in good shape to win a spot in the Division 1 finals because arch rival Warrnambool was their next opponent. Things however did not go to plan as Warrnambool comprehensively accounted for the Lakers through a more productive offence. The final margin of 18 came largely from accurate perimeter shooting. As a result the Lakers were locked in a three way tie with Ballarat and Warrnambool for the top two spots in the pool. The disappointing result against Warrnambool saw them relegated to third and hence the Division 2 finals.
The Lakers rebounded to defeat Bendigo All Stars and then Wodonga in the Division 2 semi-final and earned a spot to play Portland in the final. After a hesitant start the Lakers eventually got on top of a tiring Portland. Good team work and tight defense paid off and Final scores were 56-31.
Members of the champion Lakers team are Georgia Green, Morgan Amy, Malinda Markiewicz, Brianna Walters, Kelly Lockwood, Ebony McDiarmid, Danika Jolley and Bailey Watson.
They are the first Mount Gambier team to attend the Victorian Country Junior Championships for many years and are to be congratulated on bringing home a Title.
Attention will now turn to the 2011 SA Country Junior Championships which will be played at Adelaide metropolitan stadiums over the weekend of March 26th and 27th. The Lakers can expect strong opposition from arch rival Murray Bridge, Whyalla and Eastern Hills and Port Augusta.
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