SWAN Hill’s junior Flyers have returned from Wodonga after another successful tournament, where the under-12 girls dominated their Division 1 opponents.
Six teams made the journey to Wodonga to represent Swan Hill at the Wodonga Basketball Junior Invitational Tournament.
The only Swan Hill team to be placed in a Division 1 bracket, the under-12 girls, were victorious after going undefeated in their four pool games.
The girls finished in second place behind one of the Bendigo Braves sides, who gave them their only blemish before the finals with a 24-24 draw.
Wins against the other Braves side, the Echuca Pirates and the Wodonga Wolves guided the young Flyers to a grand-final rematch against the teams who couldn’t be separated.
With the title on the line, Swan Hill defeated the Braves 19-17, thanks to eight points from Ivy Patterson and six to Mabel Spitty.
Swan Hill had three of the top five scorers for the division. Ivy Patterson led the scoring with 46, while Stella Scott and Mia Hirst had 29 and 26 each.
The under-12 boys just missed out on a grand-final berth, winning three of their four pool games.
Rafael Foott starred for the boys, finishing second in the scoring with 44 points, just three points behind the leader.
The Flyers under-14 boys faced some tough competition in their pool games, but were too good for the Wangaratta Warriors, 39-16.
Ethan Clarke was the standout in that game, scoring 14 points, while Archie McCombe and Henry O’Bryan both scored eight.
It was a similar story for the under-14 girls, whose only win came against Benalla Breakers by just a point.
Willow Vearing top-scored for the Flyers with seven points, including the winning free-throw at the end of the game.
The under-16 boys fought hard for little reward, and were unlucky not to walk away with a victory.
The under-16 girls’ only win came against Wangaratta, with a big 18-point margin, Scarlet Grey top scoring with 18 and Miela Roberts on 10.
Grey was one of the side’s better performers, finishing third in the division’s scoring with 41 across the four games.
