THE First Hamilton Under-14 Girls team had a standout weekend, finishing second at the Basketball Victoria Junior Country Championships, making local history in the process.

The team is the first girls team to play-off in the Basketball Victoria Junior Country Championships Division 1 final, and first Hamilton team since 2009, becoming one of four teams to reach the top division decider in the history of the Hamilton Basketball Association.

Korumburra and Bendigo were the hot favourites going into the three-day event in Mildura, with the Hurricanes getting past Korumburra, but falling to Bendigo in the final.

Coach, Leesa Iredell said it was a stunning effort from the group.

“We were definitely the underdogs, undersized physically against a Bendigo side with six state players, the same team competed at the nationals in 2023, finishing eighth,” she said.

“Our motto was defensive pressure, control what we can control, and our biggest weapon was our defensive pressure, no matter how tall or big you are, you can always defend.

“Defensive pressure, fun, and I just said to the girls ‘now we’ve made it to Division 1, let’s just have fun’.”