Elsie Lange
Fourteen-year-old Rachel Stewart from Gisborne has made her way to Perth to represent Country Victoria state team in the under-16 Australian Junior Championships for basketball.
Rachel has been preparing for the week-long competition for three months and said she felt “honoured” to be chosen.
“I’m proud to represent Country Victoria, it’s a great experience for me and the girls and the opportunities you can get, and the pathways – it will be awesome,” she said.
The teen, who’s played basketball since she was in grade one, said she’d love to go and play the sport in the United States for university one day.
“I would love to play basketball until my body burns out,” Rachel said.
“It’s like my little place where I can escape from reality a bit, it’s like my therapy, in a way.”
She said it was “fascinating” to see Bendigo’s Dyson Daniels drafted to the NBA last month, picked by the New Orleans Pelicans at number eight.
“[It’s] awesome to see how country kids still get recognised, because a lot of people focus on the city kids and it’s kind of upsetting because there’s such good basketballers around the country areas and half of them don’t get recognised,” she said.
The under-16 Country Victoria team are guaranteed five games during the tournament, running July 3 to 10 at the Warwick Stadium in Perth. They are currently into their second game.
Cooper Duff-Tytler and Sonny Maxwell from the Macedon Ranges have also been selected in the under-16 Victorian Country State team squad.
