Milestone games for basketballers
Personal milestones will add extra interest to this weekend’s Country Basketball League fixtures for Wimmera teams in the south-west conference.
Caitlin Story will play her 100th game with Horsham Hornets women as they return after the holiday break, making her the first woman to officially reach the feat since records have been kept.
Horsham Hornets men will join the women’s team in playing two games at Horsham Basketball Stadium this weekend, against Warrnambool and Millicent opposition.
Jake Hobbs is sitting on 99 games for the Hornets men and could reach triple figures this weekend if selected, having last been named for the team against Portland Coasters in December.
The Hornets men are coming off a narrow sixpoint win against Terang Tornadoes on Saturday night.
Terang stayed with the Hornets throughout the first term, before a scoring onslaught put the Horsham team 12 points clear heading into the second half.
A relatively even quarter followed in the third before Terang put the onus back on the Hornets, outscoring the favoured away team 27 to 16.
Tall Matthew Brown finished at the top of the scorers column for the Hornets on 24, followed by Cody Bryan, 23, and Austin Mckenzie, 17, as the team emerged six-point winners.
The Hornets sit in first, equal on points with Mt Gambier Lakers, ahead of their games against Warrnambool at 8pm on Saturday and Millicent at 2pm on Sunday, which will also be their last games before finals.
Ararat Redbacks are set to play Millicent Magic for the second time in two weeks, and Portland Coasters at Ararat Fitness and Leisure Centre, after an unsuccessful away trip to Millicent on Sunday.
The Redbacks’ 17-point loss against the Magic
was the first time the two teams had met this season.
The Redbacks had a strong first term, finishing within three points of the home team, before Millicent pulled away in the second.
The Ararat team was competitive for the rest of the game without being able to claw back the second quarter margin.
Blake Thomas, 17, and Fletcher Burger, 14, led the scoring for the Redbacks, who have a busy finish to the regular season, seeing them play four games in two weekends of competition.
The Redbacks’ first match of the weekend will take place at 7pm on Saturday before a 12.30pm game on Sunday.
The Hornets women sit in third place on the ladder and have two games in hand on the Portland Coasters, who are equal first on wins with Warrnambool Mermaids.
They will play the final two games of their regular season this weekend, hosting Warrnambool at 6pm on Saturday and Millicent at noon on Sunday, with several teams still jostling for finals positions.