Under-13 Geraldton girls take home silver during second week of Country Basketball Championships

Geraldton had three teams competing on the weekend in the second week of the basketball country championships, with the under-13 girls reaching the grand final.

After the first week, Geraldton had their under-12s, 13s and 14s squads in Perth at the Bendat Basketball Centre on the weekend facing off against some of the top country competition in the State.

The under-13 girls, coached by Dayna Cooper, started on Saturday with a 17-6 win against Australind, only allowing two points in the first half and putting the game away in the second.

Geraldton’s scoring came from Asta Mosiejuk, who dropped nine points in the win while four others had two points.

They fell in their next match, going down 23-31 to Karratha after a slow start put them behind for the rest of the match.

The under-13 girls turned it around for the rest of the tournament, with their game against Kalgoorlie being a back and forth contest in the first half.

The sides were tied but a late shot from Kalgoorlie put them ahead by one point at the break. Consecutive scores from Mosiejuk, along with buckets from Olivia Grover and Ariel Hurst helped Geraldton run away with the 39-25 win in the second. Mosiejuk had 17 points in the win.

A win against Collie was followed up by a dominant performance against Bunbury Red, where Geraldton allowed just five points.

The u13s girls rounded out the games with a 20-12 win over Bunbury Blue, and had them sitting second on the ladder with a 5-1 record.

Their semi-final game was a rematch against Collie, and the results didn’t change as the Buccs got up 34-26 and became the first Geraldton side to reach a grand final in the country championships this year.

In the grand final match, they faced off against Karratha again, but an unfortunate start saw them score just three points to Karratha’s 17.

Despite a comeback attempt in the second half, the deficit was too much and Geraldton lost 20-29, claiming the silver medal.

Along with finding team success, some individuals stood out with Mosiejuk finishing as the top scorer for the under-13 girls with 76 points, averaging 9.5 points per game.

In the under-14s division, Geraldton’s side found success under coach Ben Pepper despite a loss in their first game against Mandurah.

They Buccs girls bounced back in their match against Kalgoorlie, taking a 32-22 win, as Addison Van Tiel had 10 points in the victory.

Geraldton went on to win three in a row, notching ladder points against Albany and Karratha before they took a loss against Australind in their last match before the finals.

The 3-2 record put the u14’s side at third and had them in the finals against Mandurah.

While it was a close contest in the first half, with Geraldton trailing by just five points, they were outpaced in the second and fell 18-31, ending their tournament run. Indie Comeagain scored nine points in the finals match for Geraldton.

The under-12 girls struggled to find success over the weekend, as the squad coached by Teresa Tomlinson ran into tough competition.

They finished with a 0-5 record and missed out on playing in finals.

For the third week of the carnival, Geraldton again has three sides travelling to Perth with the under-14 boys, under-15 girls and under-18 girls competing this coming weekend.