Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010
Ballarat Juniors Bring Home Gold
Sixteen Ballarat junior basketball players were given the opportunity to represent their state at the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup held at Albury-Wodonga last week, ten of which played in the gold medal games on Saturday.
Kayla Mallet (14 Girls) and Sophie Alexander (18 Girls) were rewarded with gold medals as their teams recorded good wins in the Grand Finals.
In the under 14 girls the Victorian Goldminers played the NSW Waratahs. The two teams had already faced-off in round two earlier in the week with the Waratahs taking the win in that match. However, the Goldminers were able to turn the tables in the Grand Final as they walked away with a 57 – 45 win. Ballarat player Kayla Mallet contributed with 7 points.
The Under 18 girls grand final provided spectators with an even closer finish to the week. After being defeated by the NSW Kookaburras earlier in the week Sophie Alexander’s Victorian Bushrangers were able to overcome their rivals in the Gold Medal match. Alexander played a major role in the Bushrangers 86 – 78 win over the Kookaburras with 27 points. This was recorded as the second highest individual score of the game and was Alexander’s highest score of the Tournament.
In the other Gold Medal matches the results were:
Under 14 Boys - New Zealand Kea 78 def. Victorian Goldminers 48 (Ballarat player Kelsey Gannon)
Under 16 Girls - NSW Waratahs 70 def. Victorian Bushrangers 53 (Ballarat players Emma Hills, Emma White and Eliza Roughead)
Under 16 Boys - Victorian Bushrangers 77 def. NSW Waratahs 62
Under 18 Boys - NSW Kookaburras 68 def. Victorian Goldminers 63 (Ballarat players Anthony Fisher, Jarrod Fryar, Josh Mallet and James McMaster)
Other players who represented Ballarat at the tournament were Morgan Muir (14 girls), Rayleigh Haire, Molly Matthews, Abby Wehrung (16 girls), Josh Grover and Ash Constable (18 boys).
Nine more Ballarat players also represented state teams at the Pacific Coast Slam in Port Macquarie, NSW. This tournament complimented the Australian Country Cup with the under 15 and under 17 age groups.
Casey Burton, Jane Swift, Elizabeth Werry (15 Girls), Tyler Constable (15 Boys), Ella Burton, Madison Davis, Jane Douglas (17 girls), Joshua Keys and Jack Sullivan (17 boys) all played in the weeklong tournament contesting for top honours. Darren Thomas and Rob Baker who were appointed also represented the Ballarat Basketball Association as coaching staff at the tournaments.
In the under 15 boys the Victorian Bushrangers took the title with a huge 50 point win over the South Australia Magpies. Final score 102 – 52.
In the under 17 women the Victorian Goldminers finished on top, defeating the NSW Waratahs by 37 points. Final score 93 – 56.
