EBONY Extrem gave herself little chance of making the NSW Country under 14 basketball team to play in the Australian Country Championships in Albury next January.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
She was among the 100 or so hopefuls invited to a three day talent identification camp held in Newcastle.
“I didn’t think I was good enough,’’ Ebony said.
So she admits to being ‘really surprised’ when she was informed she was in the squad for the championships to run from January 14 to 21.
Ebony is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 open order at Iguana.
NSW will send 30 players to Albury with the players to be split into sides. The majority of Australian States will be represented along with teams from New Zealand and Ebony is excited at the prospect of playing in the championships.
She usually plays guard. Ebony rates basketball as her favourite sport, although she’s a versatile athlete who also shows promise in netball and touch football.
Ebony was an early starter on the basketball court. She began when she was in year three at St Joseph’s Primary School in the popular Saturday morning school competition run by Taree Basketball Association.
Ebony was soon showing enough promise to be targeted for a place in the Taree Tornadoes sides to play in the Northern NSW Junior League. She’ll be a member of the Taree under 14s in next year's league. Her team enjoyed a successful campaign in 2016, making the playoffs although they were eliminated from the main draw in the opening match.
Basketball takes up a sizable chunk of Ebony’s week. She plays on Tuesdays along with Saturdays while she also trains with the rep squad.
Tuesday games in the women’s competition can result in some family rivalry, with Ebony coming up against the team that includes her mum, Keiryn and elder sister, Hope. At the moment the matches are a tad one-sided.
“We get smashed,’’ Ebony says with a grin.
Ebony's game high points haul stands at ‘20 something’ at the moment.
However, she's also making a mark at netball, where she was a member of the Taree under 12s side that played in the State Age Championships this year.
Ebony will attend trials on Sunday for the Taree touch football teams to play in State Junior Cup next February. She’s a State Cup veteran, having been involved since she was eight. Ebony played three years in the under 10s. But basketball remains he passion.
“Everything,’’ she answered when asked what she likes about the sport.
Fellow Taree player Kaylah Thompson also gained a berth in the Country side and will win a sportstar award in coming weeks.