The Murray Bridge Bullets took a record 16 teams to Mt Gambier recently – including for the first time a U/20 Men’s team. The weekend was very successful for the Bullets teams with 7 of the teams playing in the grand final. With the U18 Men Div 1, U18 Women Div 1 and the U14 Girls Div 1 winner their grade. Kiahn Bockman also gained her Level 1 Umpires grading during the carnival.

In the Under 12 girls’ first game against Mt Gambier, neither team could settle easily. Stylish interception from Helene Altmann resulted in a free throw in from the sidelines, Bullets took control of the game, but the score at half time belonged to Mt Gambier leading by four points. Their pressure was consistent on Bullets who were strong in attack and good ball handling by Jacinta Thompson along with Rachel Paech who displayed great maturity in her first season with the Bullets, whilst Molly Maddaford and Kiara Woodhouse worked hard to stay with their opponents and defend as required to keep the pressure on, however it was the Lakers win convincingly by 12 pts.

Later, against Portland, coach Shane Thompson had successful results with his team displaying some programmed drills that saw Bullets take control of the game. His taller players in Paris Holland Long and Helene Altmann worked well under the basket and sheer determination saw Chloe Yeates relentless, desperate to gain possession. Piper Vardon, also in her first year showed the opposition that she too wanted the ball and was successful to score for her team. Bullets led all the way and ran out winners 26 to 12.

Sunday, vs Great Southern, instructed to keep tight in defence, Bullets led 7 – 0 at the first change, points to Paech, Altmann, Holland Long, Woodhouse, Maddaford and a specky shot on the siren by Jacinta Thompson from outside the three point line, unfortunately didn’t get included by the Umpire. Final score Bullets 26-GS 19.

The last game of the day against Hamilton was a heart stopper, a spectacle for those on the sidelines. Bullets successfully beating Hamilton by one point.

 

The Under 14 Girls Division 2 Murray Bridge team which travelled to Mount Gambier was made up of Jessica Bissell, Shanna Collins, Tia-Jae Conway-Jaensch, Taylor-Ann Groves, Emma -Jacobs Barnden, Sharnique Seidel and Rhiannon Yeates. Saturday saw the girls play three games with two narrow losses to Casterton and Strathalbyn and a heavy loss to Millicent. With only four teams in this division Murray Bridge qualified for the semi finals hoping for an improved showing.

The first semi was against Naracoorte and the girls did improve, playing some good basketball. The game was close and exciting to the end. The scores were level with one minute left but the girls with a free throw, two brilliant steals and a couple of nice lay ups won by five. The Grand Final was played later on against Casterton which the girls lost by three points. After falling behind in the game Murray Bridge came home strongly but just failed to overhaul Casterton.

 

The Bullets under 14 Girls Div 1 team had a successful tournament at Mt Gambier going through undefeated. Their first game against Portland started slowly before Natasha Moffat broke through to score; Bullets pressure and teamwork earned them a convincing win 54-23. The second game against Bordertown saw the Bullets pressuring Bordertown resulting in numerous steals which were rewarded on the score board. Emily Paech followed on from her first game shooting well from the foul line with Bullets winning 42-27.

The final game for the day was against Millicent. Kedeisha Kartinyeri got Bullets off to a good start with a score from a strong drive to the basket followed by a goal from the 3 point line. The girls great teamwork saw them extend their lead to 16 pts in the third quarter before Millicent fought back to close the gap to 8pts. Bullets steadied in the final quarter and went on to win 33-24.

After finishing first in their pool, Bullets came up against the 4th placed Naracoorte in the Quarter final. Bullets showed their dominance with Naracoorte struggling to penetrate Bullets tight defensive pressure. Bullets had a great third quarter outscoring Naracoorte 23 to 2. Shayelan Paech positioned well under the basket to capitalise on scoring opportunities finishing with a tournament high of 19pts. The final score saw Bullets winning 53-16.

This win earned Bullets a Semi-Final match up against Mount Gambier. This was a closely contested game with both teams applying plenty of pressure limiting scoring opportunities. Katelyn Page sunk a nice pull up shot in the first quarter with Bullets maintaining the lead throughout the game winning 28-21 to secure a grand final berth against Millicent. As expected, this was a hard fought game. Jessica Warland and Shayelan Paech were rebounding strongly under the basket. Kenisha Seidel, Sara McKerlie and Kedeisha Kartinyeri combined well to set up play and pressure the Millicent girls into errors. The scores were level at half time. Quick scores to Kartinyeri and McKerlie saw Bullets gain the momentum and go to a 7pt lead before Millicent once again fought back to be 1 pt down at ¾ time. Shayelan Paech took a good offensive rebound and scored which was backed up by scores to McKerlie and Seidel while Kartinyeri and Moffat both scored through free throws. Bullets held on to come out victors by 3 pts 28-25.

 

The Murray Bridge Bullets under 16 Boys Division one team consisting of Nat Wright, Jaycob Page, Chris Taylor, Simon Dean, Brad Lienert, Tyreen Gollan, Stuart Hunter and Josh Kahl headed to the Mount Gambier Carnival unsure of what to expect. Heading into Saturdays games it was clear that the Bullets were going to come up against some tough opposition.

Looking somewhat overawed in their first two encounters against a physically stronger Great Southern and Hamilton, Bullets were defeated 72-24 and 45-19 respectively. Saturday’s last game versus Naracoorte would also prove to be a stern test for the Bullets as Naracoorte side used their size advantage well inside the paint to lead 30-16 at the half. However the Bullets lead by captain Nat Wright, responded well after the break to outscore their opposition in the second half but couldn’t claw their way back, going down 68-56.

Sunday’s fixture saw the Bullets face Portland, who had finished top of their group. Bullets started slow while Portland through shooting a high percentage from the field jumped to a 31-16 lead at the main break. Once again the Bullets responded well and matched the aggression of their opposition to sneak to within 8 points mid-way through the final quarter. However Portland steadied and ran out eventual winners 53-43.

 

Bullets under 16 boys division 2 started off with a hard game against Bordertown. Brady Morris and Henry Marone continued to drive well to the basket which put Bullets on the board. Bordertown lead all game with a final score of 44 to Bullets 22. Bullets had another very hard game against Millicent. The first goal was scored by Bullets’ Tyson Moffat, then a free-throw by Luke Wagenknecht. However, Millicent was too strong and ended the first quarter up 18-3. Bullets did not give up; they kept applying pressure and taking advantage of quite a few free throws. This game may of looked one sided on the score board but it was full of immense pressure, with Bullets never giving up. The final score was Bullets 14, Millicent 48. Great shooting by Tyson Moffat with 11 and Luke Wagenknecht with 7 points.

Bullets' final game was against Eastern Hills, it was a slow start by both teams as the defence was very high on both sides. Tyson and Dylan Wright both scored to put Bullets 5, to EH 3 at the first quarter break. Simon Aldridge landed a basket early in the second despite great defence by both teams during this quarter kept it a low scoring affair. Reece McArdle and Henry Marone then scored quickly to give Bullets a lead at half time of 11 to 7. In the 3rd period the Bullets’ team work was exceptional, and they extended the lead to 19 to 12. The final quarter was full of pace and Bullets shooting never let them down, the final score was Bullets 23 to Eastern Hills 16. A fantastic end to the carnival for all boys.

 

The under 18 Women’s division one Bullets team consisted of Sophie Ansell, Lexi Blight, Nikki Dougall, Maddi Salter, Larissa Schenscher, Georgia Steinert and Alex Wilson. Three out of the five games were to Coach Paul Salter’s liking with Bullets scoring over 60 points and winning convincingly against Strathalbyn, Bordertown and Casterton.

However, the competition heated up in the last minor round game and Grand Final when our opponent was a much tougher Millicent team. After a close tussle in the minor round which Bullets won by 13, we knew with Millicent’s hustle and never give up attitude that we would have to be at our best to win. Also Blight (who had been one of our highest scorers) was out with an ankle injury and Ansell was under an illness cloud. It also didn’t help in the final when after a close, low scoring first half, fouls were an issue, with Dougall, Schenscher and Steinert on three each and only holding onto a narrow lead of 2. The move to play a zone defence proved a match winner. Millicent struggled to score but Bullets, however, opened up with 18 points in the third and 8 in the last to win by 18. Wilson, Dougall and Salter all hit nice shots from the perimeter. Wilson stepped into the “big” role taking many telling rebounds and presenting well on the block. All the girls played well and their teamwork was excellent all weekend.

 

Winning the opening game against Keith gave the under 18 men division two Bullets lads a confidence boost after the recent Murray Bridge Carnival. Both teams played strong attacking game however disciplined defensive plays by Bullets proved the difference. Final scores 43 to 18.

In a higher scoring second game Bullets ran the transition plays better then Bordertown and after some very exciting basketball from EVERY player won a close game 46 to 40. Casterton played a similar game style to the Bullets on Sunday morning and were 11 all at half time. After a sluggish start in the third, a time out ‘pep talk’ focused the Bullet’s intensity, winning 26 to 23 to be the only undefeated side.

Bullets won the semi against Keith by 1 point 37 to 36 after trailing late in the last. Excellent team plays and offensive pressure forced late fouls allowing Bullets go to the free throw line one point down and 1 second on the clock, scoring both. Playing the physically stronger Casterton team in the grand final, Bullets continued to run their plays and display the talents these boys possess. In a very close result after trailing at every break Murray Bridge Bullets went down 29 to 32.