Praise for outstanding performance
Wimmera basketballers have won league recognition for their individual 2022-23 Country Basketball League south-west conference seasons.
Horsham Lady Hornets pair Caitlin Story and Ema Iredell won selection in the league’s south-west conference women’s All Star Five team — a collative conference-wide team.
Story also won south-west conference women’s defensive player of the year, while Iredell finished the season as the south-west conference women’s top-scorer with 224 points.
Ararat Redbacks men’s captain Zac Dunmore and Horsham Hornets’ Austin Mckenzie won selection in the south-west conference men’s All Star Five team, while Hornet Cody Bryan was men’s defensive player of the year.
Dunmore also won his second prestigious south-west conference most valuable player award for his leading 479-point season.
Story said it was ‘huge’ to be recognised as the conference’s best defensive female player. She said earning selection alongside Iredell among the conference’s top-five players was ‘great’ for Horsham basketball.
“My role in the team changed this season. I have been with the Hornets for a while now and had always played as a big, inside player. This season I was given permission to play the outside a bit more and shoot the ball,” she said.
“I still pride myself on my defensive attributes, though, on my rebounds and my split-line defence. I prefer to do my work in defence rather than offence where I can help my teammates out. I pride myself on not being beaten by my direct opponent.”
She said while it had been a disappointing season for the Lady Hornets in 2022-23, after the side missed finals, to have two representatives in the all-star team was acknowledgment of the squad’s potential. Story said she expected the entire team to return to the court in 2023-24 — its younger players another season older and more experienced.
“We had a few young players come into the team this season, alongside our core older players, and it felt great to be a leader for the younger girls coming through the system,” she said.
“I can’t see any of us going anywhere next season and with some more development work with our younger players, hopefully the entire team will step up again when we return.”