Live stream: How to watch the Basketball Tasmania Under-14 and Under-18 State Championships
The Redhoppers turned the tables on a rival while Southern Wolves rode a hot start to a big win as the Basketball Tasmania U14, U18 state titles wrapped up in style on Sunday. Re-live all the action.
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Breaking the long-held strangleholds of their rivals was the prevailing theme as Ulverstone and the Southern Wolves saluted in Sunday’s U18 state championship basketball deciders in Launceston.
Ulverstone bounced back from Saturday’s 88-83 pool loss to Burnie, where Tiger Lewis Rattray drained 46 points, with an 82-71 victory in the final.
Ulverstone ‘big’ Josh Vimpany (27 points) was dominant in the paint and guard Ty Withers (23) pulled the strings nicely as the Redhoppers led for the majority of the contest.
Rattray top scored for Burnie with 21, while Will Goninon (18 points) played assertively in attack and defence.
Burnie went unbeaten through the Tasmania Junior JackJumpers League to qualify for the tournament.
Their cause wasn’t helped by key player Emig French being forced to sit for much of the second half due to foul trouble, but the Redhoppers deserved their victory.
“They beat us yesterday and played really well, especially Lewy (Rattray),” Vimpany said.
“Today we used our size a bit more and stopped their three pointers.”
Ulverstone coach Kellie Jones said the rivalry with Burnie is a healthy one, which spurs her side on to improve.
“While they’ve got a good rivalry, they (both teams) have got a good friendship as they play in the SDP (state development program) together,” she said.
“Pre game they’re all sitting together. It’s really good to have that and the rivalry as well when they go on the floor.
“I’m so proud of the group and the way they play as a unit. They don’t care who scores, they play for each other.”
It was a similar scenario in the U18 girls where the Southern Wolves rode a hot start to secure a rare win over Devonport 64-54 in the final.
Travelling with just six players, the Wolves scored the first 10 points and led by as many as 19 in the third quarter.
Portia Chopping scored 25 points, Claire Murray 15 and Chloe Broomhall 11 as the Wolves never trailed at any point, while Claire Martin (19) capped a strong campaign for Devonport.
“We’ve never beaten Devonport in the state champs, so it’s a big deal for us,” Chopping said.
“It was very motivating, we just wanted this win and we’re proud of everyone.
“Our team worked exceptionally and we’ve known each other from a very young age, so our chemistry’s just there.”
Burnie fared better in the U14 boys championship final with a 69-43 win over Launceston Lightning.
The win was set up by a dominant 37-14 first half, with Johnty Dynan (28) the standout.
Devonport claimed the U14 girls championship division title by beating Glenorchy 73-48, with Sianna Adkins (25) leading the way.
The U14 girls shield final saw the Lightning beat Devonport 60-26, while the U14 boys shield was taken out by Launceston Lightning Black with a 60-47 win against Glenorchy.
Catch up with all the REPLAYS.
DAY TWO REPLAYS
COURT 3
Devonport Warriors v Glenorchy (U14 Girls D1 GF)
Southern Wolves v Devonport Warriors (U18 Girls GF)
Burnie Tigers v Ulverstone (Under-18 Boys D1 GF)
Somerset Heat v Glenorchy (U18 Girls)
Burnie Tigers v KHBA Kings (Under-18 Boys D1 SF)
COURT 4
Launceston Black v Glenorchy (U14 Boys D2 GF)
Launceston Red v Burnie Tigers (U14 Boys D1 GF)
Southern Wolves v Glenorchy (U14 Boys D2 SF)
Glenorchy v Latrobe Demons (Under-14 Girls D1 SF)
Burnie Tigers v Dominoes (U14 Boys D1 SF)
Penguin Blues v Ulverstone (U18 Boys D1 SF)
DAY ONE REVIEW
She learned to adapt as a role player for Australia, but as Devonport’s ‘go to’ player Lucy Aherne showed she can take them all the way after the first day of the U14/18 state basketball championships in Launceston.
Aherne, who helped Australia’s U17 team, the Sapphires, claim gold in the FIBA Asian Championships at Jordan in July, put up big numbers in Devonport’s two U18 victories on Saturday.
Aherne and Devonport ‘big’ Claire Martin contributed 24 and 23 points respectively in a 79-31 win over Glenorchy in their first match.
SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH THE REPLAYS FROM DAY ONE IN LAUNCESTON
After a quiet first half against Somerset, a replay of the Tasmanian Junior JackJumpers League northern conference final, Aherne exploded in the third quarter to help Devonport win 54-50.
Devonport trailed by one point at halftime but a 19-12 third term was pivotal, with Martin (17 points) and Aherne (14) again leading the way.
Lucy’s father Adam was drafted by Hawthorn and Brisbane in the early 1990s, mother Jo played state league netball and her brother, Jack, plays TSL with North Launceston.
“I do a lot of work with my mum, she’s always rebounding for me and I’m probably a bit hard on myself, so she is there to get me up and about,” Lucy Aherne said.
“Because they (parents) have been on that elite pathway, they just tell me what’s best for our body and mum takes care of all our meals.
“I was a bit tired coming into the game and I was getting down on myself, so (in the third quarter against Somerset) I brought myself back up and started to talk.
“I thought we looked inside well, especially for our ‘big” Claire Martin, she’s a great person to have on your team.”
Aherne said playing a specific role off the bench for the Sapphires, vastly different to being the centerpiece for Devonport, was a valuable learning experience.
“It was a pretty incredible experience. Obviously I wasn’t one of the main players, but being coached by and playing with the best, you take away so much,” she said.
“I was there for defensive pressure and to be a cutter, which is very different, but it’s for the team.
“I have people in our (Devonport) team who play the exact same role, it makes me realise how important they are.
“I was probably a bit hesitant when I went away (with Sapphires) it’s a great opportunity to have, and I need to talk it up.
“I’m a very quiet person when I meet people, but on the court I usually bring energy.”
REPLAYS
ELPHIN COURT 3
KHBA Kings v Southern (U14 Boys D2 3rd-Place)
Launceston Lightning Red v Penguin Blues (U14 Boys D1)
Burnie Tigers v Ulverstone Redhoppers (U18 Boys D1)
Devonport Warriors v Glenorchy (U14 Girls D2)
Launceston Lightning Red v Launceston Lightning Black (U18 Boys D1)
Burnie Tigers v Glenorchy (U14 Boys D1)
Devonport Warriors v Launceston Lightning Black (U14 Girls D2)
Ulverstone Redhoppers v Glenorchy (U18 Boys D1)
COURT 4
KHBA Kings v Dominoes (U14 Boys D1)
Glenorchy v Southern Warriors (U18 Boys D1)
Devonport Warriors v Glenorchy (U14 Girls D2)
Penguin Blues v KHBA Kings (U18 Boys D1)
Southern Wolves v Launceston Lightning White (U14 Boys D1)
Devonport Warriors v Glenorchy (U18 Girls)
Launceston Lightning Red v Launceston Lightning White (U14 Girls D1)
PREVIEW
The U14, U18 Basketball Tasmania State Championships on Saturday and Sunday will feature the best sides from across the state, who needed to finish in the top four of their regional Tasmanian JackJumpers Junior Leagues to qualify.
It’s the first time a Tasmanian state championships has been live streamed, and Basketball Tasmania chief executive Ben Smith was excited by the opportunity for their junior talent.
“Our intention will be to get as many of the 64 teams through the streamed courts on the Saturday, and on Sunday all the finals will be played there,” he said.
“When we did the junior finals we had about 2000 viewers that weekend, and this potentially goes to a national audience as well.
“What we haven’t done previously is combine age groups, we did the under 16s and under 12s the other week.
“We’ve combined two age groups because essentially a lot of the same volunteers - coaches, umpires, volunteers and officials - used to have to do four straight weeks of state titles, which is taxing on them.
“But we’ve found combining age groups is also really challenging in terms of courts and some refs do five games in a day, which is not ideal.”
The state championships are generally played in Launceston given it’s central for teams from the northwest and south to attend.
Smith said teams from Smithton to Kingborough will compete, with all teams playing at least three games and the grand finalists five.
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