Albany Raiders under-15 girls claim Basketball WA Country Championships title

Albany Raiders under-15s girls claimed the Basketball WA Country Championships title after winning their grand final against the Karratha Cyclones on Sunday. The Raiders side lost to the Cyclones in last year’s grand final but got their retribution with a 45-31 triumph over the Cyclones in the decider at Bendat Basketball Centre led by Dakota Dimer with a team-high 15 points. Dimer had the hot hand from beyond the arc with 12 of her points coming from three-pointers while Myla Griskonis and Torie Lethbridge each hit a triple on their way to five points. Cyclones’ Tayla Robbins was instrumental across the floor with 17 points and was judged grand final MVP. The Raiders qualified for the grand final after defeating Esperance 30-27 in the semi-final, again led by Dimer who scored a game-high 15 points. Raiders coach and Albany Basketball Association president Darren Berry said the victory was a great reward for effort for the girls. “To see all the hard work the girls have been putting in for the last two years,” Berry said. “They’ve been building all the way through for this so it’s good to get a reward at the end of it. “Two years worth of work with the girls and they got to the pinnacle of their competition. “We made the grand final last year against Karratha as well and they beat us so it was good to come out 14-point victors. “This year we were a bit smaller than previous years so we just really had to work on our defensive effort and intensity.” Their campaign was off to a rocky start after losing to the Busselton Blazers 17-16 before discovering their groove and winning the next four matches to finish top of the ladder. “An early loss in a tournament like that can catch you out, because it can quickly slip away,” Berry said. “But it was quite an even competition throughout the whole grade.” Dimer led her side in scoring with 76 points across the seven games, including seven threes. “She had a consistent weekend for us, but we also had a couple of girls really step up for us,” he said. “Belle Palmer was really good for us and Tory Lesley was always throwing her body on the line and doing all the hard work for me.” Berry also said the victory is a testament to the Raiders program that develops the talents of young basketballers in Albany.