Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

U14 Meteorettes Claim State Silver

The U14 Mackay Meteorettes finished second at the Basketball Queensland U14 Girls State Championships in Cairns earlier this month.

The Meteorettes had an undefeated run leading into the grand final before going down to Brisbane Club Southern Districts Spartans.

U14 Head Coach Ross Jensen said the team prepared well for the tournament.

“We just led into it and continued on what we’d been doing for the last 6-8 months, just refining it and getting everyone on the same page and then just lots of shooting,” he said.

“They’re a good bunch of kids, everyone got on, everyone played their roles, we were always confident of doing well.”

The Meteorettes showed pure dominance in their pool games, defeating teams from Brisbane, Cairns and Gold Coast before taking on rivals the Townsville Flames for a spot in the grand final, winning the semi 83-42.

“We sort of got better each game as the tournament went on which is always good,” said Mr Jensen.

The dominant run came to an end in the grand final, going down to the Spartans 45-70.

“They tried their best,” said Mr Jensen.

“They probably got caught up in the situation a little bit with the noise and the whole atmosphere but that’s a learning curve for them.”

The one-two punch consisting of Isabel Smith and Maggie Thorburn delivered consistent stand-out performances throughout the tournament and Mr Jensen says everyone in the team did their jobs well.

“They’re a great bunch of kids,” said Mr Jensen.

“They came together and everyone played a role at certain times and that’s what got us through to the final.”

The Meteorettes now qualify for the Basketball Australia U14 Club National Championships being held in Sydney this September.

Mr Jensen says the team will take a short break before preparations start.

“The girls are excited, it’s a great experience for the girls,” he said.

“I’ve been lucky enough to take another group to Nationals a couple of years ago so it’s exciting to go and share the experience with this group as well.”

The U14 Mackay Meteorettes finished 2nd at the Basketball Queensland U14 Girls State Championships in Cairns earlier in the month. Photo: supplied

In other news