BMPS girls dig deep to become state runners up

THE Bacchus Marsh Primary School girls’ basketball team have been named runners up in the 2024 School Sport Victoria Primary Girls competition.

BMPS PE and sports coordinator Dave Champness said the grade 5 and 6 pupils achieved their state championship result at the State Basketball Centre at Wantirna South last week.

“To make it to this level, they beat every team at the district competition, every team at the division level and won the regional competition in overtime,” he said.

“On the day, the girls beat St Joseph’s Wonthaggi, Ashburton PS in a tight encounter, then St Mary’s Myrtleford, and qualified for the final game of the season.

 

“In the grand final, BMPS played St Joseph’s Warrnambool and met a highly skilled opponent who played smart basketball and generated good scoring options.”

The BMPS girls were trailing 16-8 halfway through the game but Mr Champness said the team”dug deep” when they returned to the court.

“They forced their way back into the game, bringing the margin back to two points on many occasions,” he said.

“Unfortunately the girls never hit the front and St Joseph’s prevailed in an epic game.”

 

The final score was 36 to 32, with St Joseph’s on top.

Mr Champness said the state result followed a summer sport season for BMPS where the girls’ team won 14 consecutive games.

“An unbelievable effort to cap off some outstanding results in a number of sports, including regional football (runners up) and regional netball,” he said.

“We know we have some highly skilled basketballers in Bacchus Marsh and this was confirmed again in 2024, after the girls team also made it to State Champs in 2023, narrowly missing out on the grand final.”