The Lakers Under 12 Girls continued their winning ways by winning the Grand Final at the Hamilton Junior Basketball tournament last weekend.

The Lakers finished the weekend with 6 wins including a thrilling 2 point win against host Association, Hamilton, in the final.

They started the Tournament with a tough win over Terang, 22-16 and followed up a comfortable 37-19 win against Warrnambool. Their closest contest of the minor round was against Hamilton when the margin was just 3 points, 22-19.

The Lakers then completed the minor rounds with solid wins, 27-12 over Horsham and 30-7 against Portland.

The Lakers and Hamilton finished first and second and hence met in the grand final. The match followed the earlier contest and was a close, exciting affair. The Lakers set up a 2 point lead with seconds on the clock and managed to maintain possession until the final siren and record a thrilling win, 19-17.Members of the team are Siobhan Adams, Tara Bryant, Alannah Clayton, Ella Coleman, Alyssa Duncan, Abby Knowles, Megan Reid and Shelby Ryan. Coach is Steve Reid. 

The Lakers Under 14 Boys Division 1 team defeated Horsham 27-26 in the minor round games only to have Horsham reverse the result in the semi-final, 24-25. This competition was very close and the Lakers were somewhat unlucky losing to Warrnambool 24-29 and to Hamilton 32-34 in their other games. Duncan Reid, Joel Duncan and Ollie Thomson were consistent contributors over the weekend.

A win/ loss record of 3-2 was the outcome for the Lakers Under 14 Boys Division 2 side in the Hamilton Tournament. They scored strong wins over Horsham 33-18 and Portland in their two meetings, 32-15 and 31-15. Lewis Stratford and Hugh Winterfield played well for the Lakers.

The Lakers Under 18 Men’s Division 2 team was competitive in the tough Division 1 competition. They finished on a winning note, defeating Maryborough 43-40 after being on the end of a loss 25-43 to this team earlier in the Tournament. Results of their other games were 26-42 to Hamilton, 15-32 to Millicent and 27-51 to Portland. The Lakers matched their opponents in the first half of games before the margins opened up. They trailed Portland by just 7 at half time. Coach Troy Bird noted the improvement over the weekend and was pleased with the result against Maryborough in their last Game. Emmerson White, Liam Coleman and Brodie Clark were solid in their efforts throughout the Tournament.

This weekend the Naracoorte Basketball Association is conducting its annual Junior Tournament. Nominations are extremely pleasing requiring early starts and evening finishes for the event.

 Eight Junior Lakers teams will travel to Naracoorte to compete. They are Under 12 Girls, Under 14 and 16 Girls Division 2, Under 12 Boys Division 2, Under 14 Boys Division 2 and 3, Under 16 Boys and Under 18 Men Division 2.

Under 12 Girls Div 1

Lakers 22 (Alyssa Duncan, Tara Bryant, Ella Coleman)  def  Terand 16
Lakers 37 (Alyssa Duncan, Tara Bryant)  def  Warrnambool 19
Lakers 22 (Alyssa Duncan, Ella Coleman, Siobhan Adams, Tara Bryant)  def  Hamilton 19
Lakers 27 (Siobhan Adams, Shelby Ryan, Ella Coleman)  def  Horsham 12
Lakers 30 (Alyssa Duncan, Tara Bryant, Megan Reid)  def  Portland 7
Grand Final
Lakers 19 (Tara Bryant, Ella Coleman, Alyssa Duncan, Shelby Ryan)  def  Hamilton 17

Under 18 Men Div 2

Hamilton 43 def Lakers 26 (Brodie Clark, Emmerson White)
Maryborough 34 def Lakers 25 (Emmerson White, Brodie Clark, Todd Lockwood)
Millicent 32 def  Lakers 15 (Emmerson White, Liam Coleman, Liam Ousey)
Portland 51 def Lakers 27 (Emmerson White, Liam Coleman, Johnny Cooper, Brodie Clark)
Lakers 43 (Brodie Clark, Emmerson White, Matt Sochacki, Liam Ousey)  def  Maryborough 40

Under 14 Boys Div 2
Warrnambool 29  def  Lakers 24 (Max Lockwood, Lewis Stratford, Hugh Winterfield, Darcy Lillecrapp)
Lakers 32  (Craig Nathan, Lewis Statford, Toby Hateley)  def  Portland 15
Hamilton 34  def  Lakers 32 (Hugh Winterfield, Craig Nathan)
Lakers 33 (Darcy Lillecrapp, Hugh Winterfield, Lewis Stratford)  def  Horsham 18
Lakers 31 (Craig Nathan, Alex Jarnevic)  def  Portland 15

Under 14 Boys Div 1
Portland 44 def  Lakers 22 (Oli Thomson, Duncan Reid, Will Wright)
Lakers 27 (Joel Duncan, Duncan Reid, Oscar Adams)  def  Horsham 26
Hamilton 31 def Lakers 23 (Will Wright, Oli Thomson, Duncan Reid)
Horsham 25 def Lakers 24 (Joel Duncan, Oli Thomson, Duncan Reid)