The Millicent Magic sent 10 teams to the 2021 Murray Bridge Junior Basketball Tournament held over the long weekend to kick off the summer season.
The Under 16 boys outfit coached by Damian Venn stole the accolades by scoring an exciting victory.
The campaign got off to a strong start winning 36-30 over Mount Gambier before meeting Eastern Hills for the first time.
The Hornets proved too good in a tight contest by three points.
However, the Magic recovered to notch solid victories over Murray Bridge and Strathalbyn to set up a rematch with Eastern Hills in the finale.
The first quarter was a tight contest with both teams on eight points each at the first break. The next two quarters saw the Hornets gain the lead and they looked on course for glory leading by 14 points heading into the final term.
However, the fourth quarter was huge for Millicent, as it launched a fightback by creating many turnovers.
With less than 60 seconds left in the game, the Magic were one point down, but Kobe Gibson made two timely intercepts and scored on the buzzer.
Millicent held on by two points, while top scorers for the weekend were Will Wimshurst and Jedd Tranter.
The Under 12 Division 1 girls side coached by Matthew Faulkner almost achieved the perfect campaign.
The Magic cruised through the group stages winning all three games over Eastern Hills, Mount Gambier and Yorke Valley comfortably.
The semi-final against Strathalbyn was only a minor hurdle as Millicent completed a 29-point triumph.
But it was a shock when Eastern Hills was aggressive at the ball in the first quarter of the decider.
The Magic took half a game before they could finally find the basket and tried hard until the end but the Hornets were just a little more experienced on the big day.
Top scorers for the weekend were Livvi Faulkner and Indiana Coghlan.
Darren Dean’s Under 18 girls outfit pushed hard throughout the competition.
After big wins over Yorke Valley and Mount Gambier things were looking good before a wake-up call in the form of a 10-point defeat to Eastern Hills.
The Magic did not let the result deter them by knocking over Naracoorte and Murray Bridge with relative ease to advance to the playoff.
The grand final against the Hornets was fast-paced, physical and defensive.
Only seven points were scored across the first term, but Millicent held the slender lead.
Both teams found the basket more regularly in the middle section of the game, but Millicent ran into some foul trouble as the climax approached.
The last quarter was tight but Eastern Hills made some accurate shots within the last few minutes to score a 10-point victory.
Top scorers for the weekend were Lacey Haines, Tayla Rowe and Olivia Dean.
Strathalbyn proved one bridge too far for the Millicent Under 14 Division 1 girls coached by Peter Seebohm.
The Storm was the only team not to fall under the Magic’s spell in the group stages.
Millicent was out to redeem its previous loss to Strathalbyn in the grand final which was close as both sides applied defensive pressure.
The Storm had the lead for most of the game, but the Magic fought back near the end.
However, Strathalbyn held on to win by eight points, while Millicent’s leading players were Ashlee Dean, Emily Denton and Kalani Dunn.
OneFortyOne Mount Gambier Pioneers women’s captain Jasmin Howe took the coaching reins of the Millicent Under 14 girls Division 2 outfit.
The Magic suffered a blow in its first on court appearance losing to Mount Gambier, but bounced back by defeating Murray Bridge and Strathalbyn by 20 and one point respectively.
Millicent faced the Storm again in the semi-final, but recorded an easy 20-9 win.
The decider against the Lakers was a heart-stopping goal for goal contest.
The defensive pressure from both sides was tough and on the final siren Millicent went down by only one point.
Top scorers for the weekend were Lucy Crow and Scarlett Zalme.
Great Southern proved to be a thorn in Millicent’s side during the Under 12 boys Division 2 competition.
Jenny Herbert’s boys were too good for Yorke Valley, Eastern Hills and Mount Gambier, but two losses to Great Southern proved to be costly.
The Magic started the grand final with a bang, being in front at the first break, but Great Southern’s defensive pressure proved too strong.
Campbell McMullan was a stand-out for Millicent.
Harry Mules and Ethan Leopold shone bright in an otherwise forgetful Under 18 boys Division 1 outing for Millicent losing every game.
Seebohm’s Under 16 girls Division 1 side put in a huge effort with impressive ball movement which led to a victory over Yorke Valley.
But the hard efforts of Poppy Venn was not enough to score any more wins.
It was a character building weekend for the new Under 16 girls Division 2 team with many inexperienced players taking to the court.
Eva Crowe and Sara Smith led the way.
After four straight defeats, the Magic’s Under 14 boys Division 1 team finally tasted success in its final game.
Jamie Cooper’s team had struggled to stop poor passing and mistakes creep into the game, but Millicent rallied to defeat Yorke Valley by 12 points to finish on a high.
