Abbi Gibson and Brodie Dixon impress in tough campaign for WA Country at Australian Junior Championships

Two young Albany basketball stars, Brodie Dixon and Abbi Gibson, competed at the Australian Junior Championships in Victoria last month. The best young basketballers from across the country competed at the event from April 10-17 in Ballarat, with 12 female teams vying for the gold medal. The under-18 girls’ division was made up of New South Wales Metro, New South Wales Country, Queensland North, Queensland South, ACT, South Australia Metro, South Australia Country, Victoria Metro, Victoria Country, Tasmania, WA Metro and WA Country. WA’s country side didn’t register a win during the competition but Gibson and Dixon were handy contributors for their team across the tournament. Gibson was the top point-scorer in the WA Country team and fourth out of all WA girls, averaging 7.7 points a game. The young star caught fire from deep, averaging a three-point shooting percentage of 60.47 across the competition, the highest of all the WA girls, while also pulling down the most rebounds for the country team. Gibson said the tournament provided a unique and special opportunity for her team. “It was a really good opportunity, I’m really lucky,” she said. “I was the top scorer in the competition and I also had the top three-point percentage in my team and second in the competition, so I was really happy with that. “I think one of the highlights was watching all the talent out there and being able to learn from it and try different things out, so it was just great to be there. “I think one of my goals in the future is to try out for the Perth Lynx squad, which will definitely bring more opportunities.” Albany guard Dixon said she enjoyed the opportunity to compete despite the results at the tournament. “We didn’t do the best, not winning a game, but we fought hard and it was a fun experience,” she said. “It was good to get the opportunity to go on a trip and play in Victoria because we don’t usually get to play in that competition. “We have under-20s trials later in the year, so that’s something to look forward to.”