TAREE Tornadoes girls under 12 representative basketball team are NSW Country champions following titles held in Newcastle.
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The Tornadoes has to compete in a pool of 10 teams from around the State.
Taree played seven games over the three days. After convincingly winner four pool games, the girls went on to defeat Gosford in the quarter finals 55-6, Shoalhaven 61-10 in the semi- final before winning the championship by defeating Queanbeyan in the final 38-10.
“This amazing group of very talented girls have only come together into the representative team over the past few months, and the hard work that they have been putting in during training certainly paid off,” coach Steve Atkins said
“Taree was the talk of the tournament, everyone who saw the girls play could not believe the skill level of these mostly 11-year-old girls, as well as the great bond between them and the tremendous sportsmanship they displayed in every game.”
Amazingly after playing seven games the 12 Tornadoes scored 433 points and only had 59 against.
Testament to the strength of the Taree junior basketball scene is the fact that this team is made up of girls from Taree, Old Bar, Wingham and Forster, who have come together to form a great team.
Tough for 18s
TAREE’s under 18 boys will use the experience gained in the Country championships as preparation for the next round of the Molten Waratah Northern Junior Basketball League next month.
Playing in a tough pool, the Tornadoes struggled in their first game against the Queanbeyan Roadrunners to suffer a 61-25 defeat. Taree turned in a far better performance in the second game to push the Gosford City Rebels all the way to the full time siren only to come up short 42-38. The boys fought hard before going down to the Central Coast Waves White 49- 38 and then in their quarter-final ran into the red hot Goulburn Bears, losing 45-22 to be eliminated from the tournament.
Meanwhile referee Jack Scott was appointed to the U12 girls division two final while in Berkeley Chris and Jaland Small received praise for the way they controlled games rostered to them.