Millicent holds court at Naracoorte tournament

Millicent holds court at Naracoorte tournament

Millicent entered 14 teams in last weekend’s annual Naracoorte Kings Junior Basketball Tournament and enjoyed plenty of success. The tournament was played across five venues with the main basketball stadium, Naracoorte high School, Naracoorte South Primary School, Lucindale Area School and Penola Sports Complex all in use The Under 18 Men’s Division 1 team coached by Darren Fuller was in fine form to dominate every game.

After comfortable wins over Millicent Division 2, Mount Gambier, Keith and Naracoorte, the Magic faced Horsham in the final. Millicent was just too tall for Horsham and out-classed its opponents in rebounded and driving in the keyway to win 57-17.

Top scorers were Austin Fuller and Kynan Dunn. The Under 16 Boys Division 1 team led by Damian Venn on the sidelines also returned with some silverware. The Magic cruised through their minor-round games before playing Mount Gambier in the decider. Millicent’s strong rebounding and accurate shooting accurately blew its opponents away in the third term to seal the 20-point victory.

Top scorers for the weekend were Jack Haggett and Jackson Bowden. The Under 14 Boys team also secured the overall victory. Coach Jamie Cooper would have been impressed with how the Magic navigated the early stages of the tournament with an 11-point win over Riverland the closest call.

The grand final with Mount Gambier was tight with the scores level at half time. Beau Douglas and Ollie Braun played brilliantly in the second half to ensure the Magic won by 15 points. Peter Seebohm’s Under 14 Girls Division 1 team was forced to earn its trophy last weekend. After prevailing in competitive games with Mount Gambier, Riverland and Bordertown, Millicent met Riverland in the decider.

The Magic maintained their early lead through the first half, but Riverland shifted gears in the third quarter. Riverland’s persistent defence pulled the lead back to three points before the final break. With many fouls and shear desperation, both sides were level on 39 points each at the final siren. After three minutes of intense basketball, Millicent got over the line by two points with top scorers Matiria Fauchelle and Mia Gysbers.

Mason Galway’s Under 14 Boys Division 3 team bounced back from a narrow opening game loss to Naracoorte to win the title. After overcoming Mount Gambier by five points in the final minor-round game, the Lakers and Magic resumed their rivalry in the decider. The final was a thrilling affair with Mount Gambier in the lead after the first quarter, but the Millicent increased its accuracy to hold an eight-point advantage at half time.

Both sides went goal for goal for the remainder of the game, but luckily for the Magic, Cash Kenny threw the ball in the air at the basket on the siren and it went in for them to win the game by two points. Top scorers for the weekend were Kaden Bell and Flynn Collins.

Millicent’s Under 18 women were affected by unavailability and fought hard to claim the runners-up place. The Magic could not compete with Riverland and lost by 21 points in the decider, but Georgia Winter top scored in the competition.

Under 12 Boys Division 1 reached the third v fourth playoff and lost by just one point to Bordertown with Levi Robbins the top performer. Although Millicent’s Under 14 Boys struggled in Division 2, the side finished well by winning the last game and Harrison De Garis being the competition’s top scorer.

The Under 12 Girls took home third place in Division 1 in dramatic fashion. Facing Naracoorte in the playoff, the Magic won by one point thanks to the hard work of Lucy Crowe and Scarlett Zalme. Competition leading scorer Poppy Venn pushed Millicent’s Under 16 Division 1 team to third in similarly tense fashion in the playoff with Keith.

The Under 12 Girls team had a learning experience in Division 2 losing every game on the court were the top scorers for the weekend. Sebella Coghlan, Emily Denton and Alex Haines led the Under 14 Girls Magic to a semi-final in Division 2, while the Under 16 Girls also achieved the same feat fronted by Niah Faulkner, Bella Poulish and Maya Tarrant.

The best efforts of Aiden Hurley and Kieron Ringney could not prevent Millicent’s Under 18 Men;s Division 2 from losing four of the five games.

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