LOCAL junior basketballer Sienna Stone is taking a huge step in her representative journey after being selected for the School Sport Victoria under-16 side to attend the national championships in July.

After competing in three different try outs the 15-year-old found out on Facebook that she’d been selected as one of 10 players from across the state.

“We were meant to find out around June 13 but then it popped up on the Facebook page (on Wednesday) about a week earlier than it was supposed to so that’s how I found out,” she said.

“I was super excited but also kind of shocked, I was probably the third tallest there and the girls there were very good and they all just went for it.

“A lot of them knew each other through VJBL (Victorian Junior Basketball League) and the coaches as well so I wasn’t sure how I’d go.”

This selection is another step for the young player who has been involved in the representative pathways from a young age, including currently participating in the State Development Program.

The 182cm (5ft9) post player will come up against some of the best from around the country with the July 27-August 1 tournament in the Gold Coast involving teams from New South Wales, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.

“After the try outs I think I’ll be either in the post or playing in a number four position which involves more cutting and moving through the key,” she said.

“My teammates are really good, most of them have already represented Vic Country or Vic Metro teams and the ball skills of our guards is just incredible.”

With Stone competing in plenty of different sides and being exposed to coaches and philosophies that feed into Basketball Australia, she said one of the main focuses has been making sure players are putting in 100 per cent in each game.

“They’ve talked a lot about international efforts which is chasing every loose ball and being really hard at it,” she said.

“It’s about never giving up and as soon as you make a mistake or the shot goes up it’s about getting ready for that next thing. It’s something I’d like to work on a bit more.”

Leading up to the tournament Stone has a short break and then will continue her next block of State Development Program training.