TWO medals and 110 points were among the haul three Horsham junior basketballers and one referee returned home with from a successful Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup campaign.
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Bottom-age rising star Jordie McAuliffe was rubbing shoulders with under-17 Australian Sapphire world champion Jas Shelly in the under-18 women’s Victoria Bushrangers team.
An all-Victorian final on day five of the under-18 competition saw the Bushrangers face off against arch-rivals the Goldminers.
The Bushrangers were defeated 75-63 and received the silver medal. McAuliffe said the championship experience had been great.
“Having both Victorian teams in the grand final was great and playing with players like Jas Shelly was awesome,” she said.
“When you are playing with those girls you get pushed to stay on their level and they help you become a better player.”
McAuliffe said she would be training almost every day now she was based in Ballarat.
“I just want to improve myself as a player,” she said.
McAuliffe scored 28 points for the week.
Tate Fennell helped his under-16 Bushrangers side to a bronze medal. The Bushrangers defeated the NSW Kookaburras 49-44 in a playoff for third.
The Bushrangers missed out on the grand final by just two points following a 69-67 defeat in the semi-final against the South Australian Sharks. Fennell’s return from the week was 38 points.
Hugh Bond was the top-scoring Horsham basketballer at the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup, scoring 44 points across five days.
Bond’s under-14 Bushrangers side missed out on finals contention and was unable to make a medal match-up.
His side defeated the Tasmanian Devils 47-44 in a playoff for nine and 10.
Bond was a standout for the side, returning with the fourth highest points tally in the Bushrangers squad.
Horsham’s Ashlee Grace also featured at the competition as a referee.
Horsham Hornets junior coach Tony Sleep said the three players and Ashlee were a great example of what people could achieve if they put their minds to it.
“It’s also a great example that the player pathways are working,” he said.
“To have two Victorian sides in the women’s final was fantastic and those girls will be the face of women’s basketball for years to come.
“For two Horsham basketballers to come away from the junior cup with a medal is great.”
