The Mount Gambier Junior Lakers continued their strong performances overall in both the Boys and Girls age groups in the Millicent Junior Basketball Tournament last weekend.

A contingent of 13 Lakers teams competed in the two day Tournament and eight teams played off in Grand Finals maintaining the standards set at the Murray Bridge Junior event earlier in the month when nine teams played off in title matches. Five of the eight were Lakers Division 1 teams and three Division 2. Three Division 1 teams were victorious, the Under 16 and 18 Women and Under 14 Boys, all following up on their wins in Murray Bridge.

The Lakers Under 14 Boys Division 1 team, coached by Robbie Young, set high standards in terms of team work at Murray Bridge and continued in Millicent posting five wins and then showed improved form to easily account for Warrnambool 56-34 after defeating them by one in the minor round.

The Lakers Under 18 Women Division 1 side, under the guidance of Bryan Green maintained their unbeaten record for this season by easily accounting for Great Southern, Portland and Naracoorte in the pool games, then went on to score comfortable win over Warrnambool in the semi-final and defeat Millicent in the grand Final.

The Lakers Under 16 Division 1 Girls with caretaker coaches Bryan Green and Melissa Rathjen in charge, finished in top place at the end of the minor rounds. They won three, defeating Millicent, Warrnambool and Great Southern. They drew against Portland after standout player Waiata Jennings was not available due to national Touch Football Commitments. In the rematch against Millicent in the Grand Final her team-mates, led by Emily Close, found that little bit extra and went on to win a close one, 41-35.

The Lakers Under 14 Girls and Under 18 Men Division 1 sides played well over the Tournament but lost narrowly in their respective grand finals. The Under 14 Girls went down to Millicent 34-50 in their opening game of the Tournament but then lost by just 3, 33-36 in the title game. This improved result was encouraging for the players and Coach Morgan Amy.  Coach Kane deWit struggled to find the answers to Portland’s strength and consistency in the Under 18 Men’s Division 1 Grand Final as the Lakers were forced to play “catch up” basketball. Final scores were 47-39.

Three Lakers Division 2 sides played off in Grand Finals and each played the first teams of Associations. The Under 14 Girls lost to Bordertown, 25-31, the Under 14 Boys lost to Terang, 20-42, and Under 16 Girls lost to Riverland which had a player who represented SA Country at the Under 16 nationals suit up in their team.

The Lakers Under 16 Boys teams had a somewhat disappointing Tournament, the Division 1 side finished first in their pool but then lost the quarter final to fourth placed Forestville while the Division 2 team, in the stronger of the two divisions of competitions, found the going tough, winning one game 30-18 against Portland.    

The Under 12 Girls and Boys, along with the Under 14 Boys, in their first Tournament outing, showed improvement from game to game and are gaining “hands on” experience at these higher levels.

The Junior Lakers squads will now be preparing for the home event, the City of Mount Gambier Junior Basketball Tournament, being played over the weekend of November 19^th and 20^th.

Under 14 Girls Div 1
Millient 50 def Lakers 34 (Alyssa Duncan, Tara Bryant, Georgia Ryan)
Lakers 34 (Alyssa Duncan, Tara Bryant, Rori Perryman)  def  Hamilton 21
Lakers 56 (Tara Bryant, Alyssa Duncan, Rori Perryman)  def  Naracoorte 30 
Lakers 32 (Alyssa Duncan, Tara Bryant, Rori Perryman)  def  Portland 19
Grand Final
Millicent 36 def  Lakers 33 (Tara Bryant, Alyssa Duncan, Evany Rex, Ella Coleman, Rori Perryman)

Under 18 Women Div 1
Lakers 44 (Bella Stratford, Jordyn Adams, Molly Watson, Eliza Hunter)  def  Great Southern 17
Lakers 39 (Bella Stratford, Molly Watson, Jordyn Adams, Maddi Freeman)  def  Portland 15
Lakers 65 (Molly Watson, Bella Stratford, Jordyn Adams)  def  Naracoorte 12
Lakers 50 (Jordyn Adams, Bella Stratford, Molly Watson)  def  Warrnambool 18
Grand Final
Lakers 32 (Bella Stratford, Molly Watson, Maddi Freeman)  def  Millicent 26

Under 16 Girls Div 2
Lakers 30 (Jasmine Davey, Emmason Ilsley, Mikaela Horrigan)  def  Warrnambool 16
Lakers 37 (Manon Finch, Mikaela Horrigan, Jasmine Davey)  def  Naracoorte 29
Riverland 34 def Lakers 18 (Nikeisha Facey, Jasmine Davey, Mikaela Horrigan)
Lakers 22 (Emmason Ilsley, Mikaela Horrigan, Manon Finch)  def  Bordertown 13
Grand Final
Riverland 44 def Lakers 26 (Manon Finch, Nikeisha Facey, Mikeala Horrigan)

Under 12 Boys Div 1
Hamilton 43 def Lakers 28 (Max Patzel,Harry Wright)
Great Southern 47 def Lakers 22 (Harry Wright, Mackye Baron)
Portland 23 def Lakers 15 (Harry Wright, Sam Domaschenz, Max Patzel)
Portland 29 def Lakers 26 (Harry Wright, Max Patzel)

Under 16 Boys Div 1
Lakers 34 (Duncan Reid, Will Wright, Josh McGregor)  def Portland 15
Lakers 38 (Will Wright, Sam Dukalskis, Duncan Reid)  def  Great Southern 37
Lakers 54 (Will Wright, Josh McGregor, Dale Bachmann)  def  Forestville Yellow 3
Forestville Blue 45 def Lakers 40 (Duncan Reid, Will Wright, Oli Thomson)

Under 18 Men Div 1
Lakers 34 (Seb Braim, Josh Levison, Mason Hein)  def  Naracoorte 28
Lakers 54 (Seb Braim, Josh Levison, Mason Hein) def  Great Southern 33
lakers 47 (Mason Hein, Caleb Bachmann, Mitch Hunter)  def  Warrnambool 30
Grand Final
Portland 47 def Lakers 39 (Jack Wirth, Mason Hein, Brodie Jolley)

Under 14 Boys Div 3
Lakers 34 (Shawn Koch, Bronson Facey, Jack Berkefeld)  def Millicent 24
Warrnambool 59 def  Lakers 4 (Jack Berkefeld, Bronson Facey)
Naracoorte 38 def Lakers 25
Naracoorte 36  def  Lakers 22 (Sam Sims, Jack Berkefeld, Bronson Facey)

Under 14 Boys Div 1
Lakers 33 (Jake Walker, Sam Lock, Josh Holmes)  def  Warranambool 32
Lakers 42 (Jake Walker, Josh Holmes, Ben Young)  def Portland 26
Lakers 53 (Jake Walker, Zach Nulty, Josh Holmes)  def  Great Southern 22
Grand Final
Lakers 56 (Josh Holmes, Ben Young, Jake Walker)  def  Warrnambool 34

Under 14 Girls Div 2
Lakers 33 (Sarah Ritter, Ruby Richter, Shelby Ryan)  def  Millicent 18
Lakers (Ruby Richter, Sarah Ritter, Alannah Clayton)  def  Warrnambool
Bordertown 28 def lakers 16 (Siobahn Adams, Sarah Ritter)
Lakers 29 (Ruby Richter, Siobahn Adams, Sarah Ritter)  def  Great Southern 14
Grand Final
Bordertown 31 def Lakers 25 (Sarah Ritter, Alannah Clayton, Shelby Ryan)

Under 12 Girls Div 1
Lakers 24 (Paige Exelby, Ava Collins, Ashriti Sharma)  def Millicent 18
Warrnambool 36 def  Lakers 10 (Ashriti Sharma, Ava Collins, Indi Lawrence)
Great Southern 25 def Lakers 13 (Ava collins, Ashriti Sharma, Macey Griffiths)
Great Southern 31 def Lakers 13 (Ava Collins, Ashriti Sharma, Cara Nulty)