2023 Basketball Australia Schools Championships Insider: All the stories behind day two’s action

She is the New Zealand international turning plenty of heads at the schools champs, but this Marsden star is adamant there is a reason the school is winning games. Read more in our tournament Insider.

Keriana-Marie Hippolite has never been afraid of the big stage and her performances at the Basketball Australia Schools Championships are proof of that.

On the Show Court on Tuesday, the star guard knocked down 36 points in just 30 minutes of action as Marsden State High powered past Sydney rivals Westfields.

It continued an unbeaten start for the Brisbane-based powerhouse ahead of their showdown with South Australia’s St Michael’s College on Tuesday night.

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Marsden State High player Keriana-Marie Hippolite during the Basketball Australia Schools Championships. Picture: Taylor Earnshaw

Hippolite, who has been at the centre of Marsden’s successful start, said it all boiled down to the bond within the group.

“We have such a strong connection, we play as a family and it is a really strong bond,” Hippolite said.

“The program is so good, the coaches look after us. We have ice baths, we have facilities that we can work in, they help us out a lot.”

The New Zealand under-16 international has long been a star in the making and her talent was on the world stage when she competed in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship in Jordan this year.

Marsden State High player Jema Sebasio during the Basketball Australia Schools Championships. Picture: Taylor Earnshaw

Marsden State High player Peata Manumaleuga during the Basketball Australia Schools Championships. Picture: Taylor Earnshaw

“It was amazing, the quality of basketball was so much better,” Hippolite said.

“I am so proud to represent my nation and my family, so it was a good experience, it helped me out a lot and hopefully I can do it again next year.”

The 16-year-old already has brief experience in NBL1 but is eager to have a greater role moving forward as she intends on continuing her development in Australia.

“I am not too keen about college, I want to stay here in Australia and get into NBL1,” she said.

“I am with the (Brisbane) Capitals right now, I am training in the squad, so hopefully I can (put in a good) performance this season.”

DART’S DREAM FINISH TO SCHOOL’S JOURNEY

The Moreton Bay College juggernaut continued to roll on as it made it three wins from three in the women’s under-20 Division 1 competition on Tuesday morning with young superstar Alice Dart spearheading the attack.

Dart pierced her way through the opposing defences the previous day as she recorded a division-high 83 points from two games, including an impressive 11 threes.

Thankfully for her Australian opponents, they will not have to feel her wrath for much longer as the 17-year-old has just inked a deal with Washington State University for next year.

Starting in June 2024, Dart is headed across the Pacific to spend the next four years taking on some of the USA’s most promising basketballers.

Moreton Bay College star Alice Dart at the Basketball Australia School Championships.

“I’m looking forward to playing a different style of basketball over there and learning from some of the best players in the States, it will be good for my development,” she said.

“From what I’ve seen, it is a very fast-paced game and very physical so it will be good to play against that and get better against older girls as well.

“I want to have a good four years over there and once I’m finished, I want to come back and have a strong NBL1 season and maybe get into the WNBL.”

With just over six months to prepare before tackling the United States, Dart is hoping to hit the bullseye from beyond the arc more regularly.

“I want to get a more consistent three-point shot and I am going to work on different finishes around the rim,” she said.

There is one player who Dart has looked up to throughout her career and it is none other than her talented older sister Lil Dart, who has made a name for herself as a dangerous point guard in the NBL1.

“I have been playing since I was about 10 years old,” Alice said.

“My older sister was playing before I did, so I just followed in her footsteps and picked up the ball and started playing.

“She has been a huge inspiration for me, she is two years older, she is obviously very good in her own right and she is definitely a good person to look up to.”

Along with her older sister, the WNBL and import players who have guided Dart through the early days of her NBL1 career have been pivotal to her success.

“I have had two seasons in NBL1 for Southern Districts Spartans and last season was a pretty good season for me,” she said.

“It has just been really good to play against older women and grow my game from that.

“It is definitely a different style of play, playing against older women, it is more physical and it has just been good to grow my game from that.

“The competition for NBL1 is getting better and better, there are imports, WNBL players and it is great for development.

“The WNBL players are so generous with giving advice and helping you develop as a player which has been so good.”

‘TOUGH COMPETITION’ DRIVING ST DOM’S STAR

The NBL1 has proved to be a masterstroke in developing basketball in the nation and the proof in the pudding is right in front of us with the rise of St Dominic’s young gun Jett Hickson.

Hickson lit up the floor in his side’s defeat to Willetton with 29 points and 13 rebounds at the Basketball Australia School Championships on Monday.

The Waratah 1 Youth League rookie of the year credits the NBL1 as a major catalyst for his development.

Jett Hickson topscored for St Dominic's with 29 points in their opening Basketball Australia School Championships game.

St Dominic's ahead of the Basketball Australia School Championships. Picture: Supplied

“I play rep for Penrith Panthers in the youth league and I’m a development player in NBL1,” he said.

“Just training with the other guys, it is tough competition and it makes me get better.

“It has helped my game heaps with the physicality and talking more.”

Hickson is hopeful his potential, which has been on full display this year, earns him a regular spot within the Panthers’ NBL1 rotation moving forward and has already highlighted what he intends to work on to help him achieve his goal.

“I want to get into the rotation in NBL1 and hopefully then the NBL,” he said.

“I will just work hard and stay with the team and not put my head down if I don’t get the court time.”

After a disappointing opening game where his side suffered an 18-point defeat on day one, Hickson and his St Dominic’s teammates are determined to turn things around on Tuesday.

“We were just sloppy the whole game but we just have to be better and we still have two more games,” he said.

“We just have to have effort, we need to close out harder and play better defence.

“I feel like I could have done more on the defensive end and attacked harder in the last two quarters of that game, the first half I attacked hard, but the second half I dropped off a little bit.”

Regardless of the result, Hickson is still loving his time out on the floor and cherishes every moment he gets to spend with the team.

“The highlights for me have been playing with the team and getting wins,” he said.

“We didn’t win that game but I love playing with the guys.”

WILD WEST GUNSLINGER NOT AFRAID TO SHOOT

It’s a weapon Jasmin Clark knows she has in her arsenal, and she’s not afraid to use it.

The Willetton Senior High sharpshooter pulled the trigger on her impressive range game on Monday, shooting the lights out from deep as the Western Australian school powered past Sydney wildcards Barker College.

At one point it seemed like Clark couldn’t miss from the floor, knocking down a game-high five three-pointers from nine attempts.

Clark said it won’t be the last time she employs the tactic, warning rivals they can’t leave her open deep.

“It’s been a part of my game for a while now, it was all I could do before and it is good to have runs like I did (on Monday),” Clark said.

Willetton Senior High School sharpshooter Jasmin Clark.

The Willetton girls, who sometimes are a forgotten commodity in the Championship division, have a chance to make a rather large statement on the second day of the tournament when they clash with Victorian powerhouse Rowville Secondary College on Tuesday.

Clark has been involved with the Willetton basketball program for close to a decade now as she became hooked at just eight years of age.

“The program has been so good, it has been really good in developing us, working hard and just getting us where we want to be,” she said.

Clark has her sights set on breaking into the NBL1 and her eye-catching performance on day one of the tournament did her plenty of favours.

“My goal is to keep getting better, I want to get to NBL1, I am not quite there yet,” she said.

“I probably just need to be a bit more assertive and more of an all-round player as well.”

After the perfect start to the competition, spirits are sky-high in the Willetton camp, with the team eager to take home a medal.

“I am super stoked with the girls, we have tried so hard all year, so I am so happy to get here and so stoked to win our first game by a good margin,” Clark said.

“I really want to get a medal with the girls as well.”

Originally published as 2023 Basketball Australia Schools Championships Insider: All the stories behind day two’s action