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Basketball

11 November, 2024

Wildcats claim two titles in Horsham

The Warracknabeal Wildcats had three teams in the Grand Finals in the Horsham Intersport Junior Classic Basketball Tournament, winning two of them.

By Chris Graetz

The Wildcats winning under-16 girls team.
The Wildcats winning under-16 girls team.

In their first grand final on Sunday, the under-16 boys in division two played the Terang Tornadoes and lost 24-11. Tyler Preston led the Wildcats with six points.

The under-16 girls in division two had a tremendous victory. They went into the grand final against Maryborough Blazers as the underdogs, having lost to them in their earlier match, 12-44.

Milla Adams and Piper Knorpp led the Wildcats exceptionally well, and the rest of the girls took it in their stride. They blew the Blazers away early and powered on for the rest of the half to lead by 12 points at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Blazers came back at them, applying plenty of pressure and forcing turnovers, reducing the margin to four points at one stage. The Wildcats, however, held their nerve and ran out 28-20 winners.

Adams scored 13 points and was named MVP, and Piper Knorpp scored 10 in the win.

Adams said it meant a lot.

"It's pretty good to win after they smashed us in the earlier game we played," Adams said.

"We came into the game with the mindset that we could win and were ready to go, whereas they probably thought they had it.

"The MVP means a lot, and I couldn't have done it without my team."

Wildcats coach Bonnie Gunn said they were ready.

"In that game before, we took the opportunity when we were down to rest our bigger girls and coming into the grand final, we decided we would go back to our original game plan, working together as a team and bringing everyone into the game," Gunn said.

"What we have been working on at training fell into place, and we got ahead at the start and were able to build on that as the game went on.

"It was a brilliant win, and the girls couldn't have done more than we asked of them."

"With three minutes to go, we called a quick time-out strategically, knowing there was a timeout with two minutes left. We wanted to wind down the clock, and I told the girls to cool their jets, breathe, and regroup as they came hard at us.

"It worked. They held their composure and got the job done, which is good."

Gunn said it was a memorable win, especially since the basketball court in Warracknabeal is being resurfaced, and the domestic competition is not underway yet, making training difficult.

"Any tournament is special to win, and it's nice for the girls to have the belief that they can do it," Gunn said.

"They have shown they can mix it with the big towns. We are a small community and to mix it with them is good and humbling at the same time.

"We came off the previous tournament in Swan Hill winning a couple of games, and being a fairly new team and not having our domestic comp up and running, we are going through the motions."

"The girls have worked together as a team, and to get the win is very special."

The Wildcats' 18-under boys in division two had a tournament to remember. They made the grand final after a thrilling win in their semi-final against the Maryborough Blazers.

With a minute left, the Wildcats trailed by one point. The pressure was high, and both teams were unable to capitalise on their opportunities.

Hayden Polack drew a foul with 10 seconds left, made the first free throw to level the scores, and missed the second.

Following the free throw, the Wildcats had possession in their half of the court. Jeremy Williamson was passed the ball, and he made a layup with four seconds left to give the Wildcats a two-point win.

In the grand final, they played the Colac Kookas, who they defeated by 32 points on Saturday.

The Cookas brought the heat early, and the Wildcats took a one-point lead into half-time.

The Wildcats then started to slowly get on top, getting out to a handy five-point lead early in the second half. They were able to extend the lead and win by eight points, 31-23.

Jeremy Williamson led the way with 16 points and was named MVP. Cooper Preston scored 11.

Coach Luke Bellis said he was proud of the boys.

"I am super proud of them as they worked hard at training and have been training at a high intensity. We set ourselves the goal to win, and they got the rewards," Bellis said.

"Heading into the grand final, I told the boys there was no room for complacency, and that grand finals are funny things where anything can happen.

"We knew we wouldn't be able to walk over them, and they made us work hard for it, and kept their cool and composure and got the win in the end."

"We had a pretty even spread of contributors, and when you have a big guy like Jeremy Williamson who is a monster inside pulling boards and scoring, and having multiple guards such as Hayden Polack that can do lots of things is handy."

"I am very happy for all the boys. They deserve it."

"Our next goal now will be Portland in February, and we will be going into that tournament with confidence, and we will be aiming to win."

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