On Tuesday the 1^st of December the Millicent Basketball Association held their seasonal junior Preliminary Finals for both the under 12’s and the under 14’s, starting at 5:30pm and ending at 7:30pm. On this night the under 16 Girls Grand Final was also played at the later start time of 7:30pm between the Saints and the Roos. The night saw many parents and other family members get out to the stadium to support and kept Kara and the other canteen ladies very busy.

The night started with the under 12 Boys and Girls being played at 5:30pm. The Boys match was played between the Tigers, who finished 2^nd in the minor round and the Pumas, who finished 3^rd. The game was a fantastic way to start the night as it was tight most of the way through before the Pumas pulled away to win 45 to 31 and made their way through to the Grand final. Tallan Dunn was ferocious in his attack on the basket putting up 17 points that all came from his strong inside work. Paora White was aggressive on the offensive rebounds for the Pumas and managed to collect a handy 9 points as well. Gallant in defeat, was Tigers superstar Austin Fuller who managed 19 points despite glad wrap surrounding the ring in the first half.

The under 12 Girls Preliminary Final saw the Roos match up against the Pumas who were in red hot form leading up to the game. The game was tight throughout with the Pumas holding a small lead in the first quarter before extending the margin in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters to lead by 17 at three quarter time. In what would be their final quarter of the season, the roos put in one final surge and brought the game back within 9 but this would be the final margin with the roos eventually falling 38 to 29. Lacy Hains proved to be too much for the Roos defence as she had a night to remember with 22 points, whilst for the roos Jade Little scored 11 points and sparked the team’s late comeback.

At 6:30pm the under 14 Boys division 1 preliminary final was then played on Patrick’s court between the Eagles who were heavy favourites and the Tigers. This game was one of the tightest games of the night and although the Eagles ran away with the game in the end the scoreboard showed a margin of less than 5 points for most of the first three quarters. The Eagles eventually won the game 49 to 36. Conall Schultz played as he had all season long notching up another 30+ point game and accumulating a mass of rebounds. Applying enough scoreboard pressure to match Schultz proved to be too big a task although Frazer Bradley put in a valiant effort with 13.

Also at 6:30pm the under 14 Boys division 2 Preliminary final was played between the Rebels and Pumas in what was a very tight affair and had Rebels coach Clinton Gallio attracting a crowd with his booming voice. The Rebels would be the eventual winners in this one, winning 34 to 29 although right down to the final siren it felt like it was still anyone’s game. Frazer Johnston had a massive influence on the game backing up his strong performance from last week with a 15-point outing and showed a vast array of finishing moves, although it has been heard that he may miss the Grand Final. Whilst being defeated narrowly, Mitchell Craig showed signs that he too is going to be a star of the future, which was already known as he is the step-son of the great David Todd.  

The under 14 Girls Preliminary Final was also played at 6:30pm and saw the Eagles take on the Tigers. The game was tipped to be very tight as the game involved 2 state country players from each team and both teams were very evenly spread both height and skill wise. The Eagles, who finished 3^rd in the regular season, had different ideas though and got an early lead and blew the game open before the Tigers could even react. The Eagles proved that they had too many scoring options for the Tigers defence to handle and if it wasn’t Ella Little scoring 2 of her 20 points then it was Maddi Haggett scoring 2 of her 16 or Lucy Denton with 2 of her 12 and they made their way to an impressive team total of 56 which the Tigers did their best to match but only managed 40. Kate Walker bounced back from last week incredibly for the Tigers and scored 19 points in the defeat whilst Georgia Winter also contributed with 13 but struggled to rebound against a much taller player in Haggett.

The under 16 Girls Grand Final saw the closest match of the night left until last and it was the Saints that would overcome a persistent Roos team to become the champions. The Roos team that boasted a star studded line-up struggled to score in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters and in the end just didn’t the energy required to complete the necessary comeback. Emily Winter was outstanding for the Saints and stepped up yet another level to score 30 points and get her team over the line in the absence of Maddi Turner. For the Roos, Chloe Venn gave her best effort with 16 points but needed some extra support for her team to get across the line.

Tuesday evening saw some great competition between Millicent’s best junior basketball players and the energy around the stadium was created by the large number of crowd members. To make Grand Final night just as exciting we invite anyone in the community to come down and watch some great quality basketball. If you wish to be involved in these fantastic night’s next year as a player, then don’t forget to register and hand in your form to Denton’s Sportspower by the 30^th of January 2016 for the upcoming season. If you have any problems, then head to either the Millicent Basketball Association Facebook page or the Millicent Basketball website and if you still have a question then don’t hesitate to contact Peter Seebohm on 0438388073.