Turning out for the Southland women’s team as part of the Schick 3x3 basketball tournament at ILT Stadium Southland was the perfect way to sign off on her high school sporting career, Laura Jackson said. 

The four-day event held in Invercargill earlier this month was part of a busy finish to the basketball season for Laura and teammate Maddie Tinnock, who are both members of SBS Bank Academy Southland, including qualifying for and then taking part in the Basketball New Zealand Secondary Schools Nationals. 

James Hargest lost only one game, in overtime, in the Invercargill qualifying tournament for teams south of Christchurch, to book a much-awaited spot at the national event in Palmerston North in early October.\

 

Caption: Maddie Tinnock in action for the Southern Storm. Photo: Basketball NZ/Angela Ruske

 

“For the past few years we’ve been dying to go to nationals, but because of Covid it hasn’t happened for us – we've qualified but nationals didn’t go ahead,” Laura said. 

The Hargest team, coached by Lucy Kean and Bert Tobia, went on to finish 15th at the national tournament, stepping up well to the adddtional physicality and the rigours of managing two games each day. 

“Conserving energy was really hard. It was a big step up from our usual Friday night games and the qualifiers. We started off a bit rocky, we were a bit nervous and a bit new to nationals...but we ended up 15th out of 24 teams. We had a lot of close games, losing in overtime or by a couple of points. By the end we were really playing our game and playing the way we wanted to play.” 

Playing for the Southland Storm in the nationally-televised 3x3 tournament in Invercargill was a totally different experience, Laura said. 

“I was roped in at the last minute and I did wonder what I was getting myself into. It was amazing playing against such great competition, against Tall Ferns, and it was cool to put myself against those sorts of people. We were kind of the underdogs, but we held our own once we got into the games,” Laura said. 

“It’s cool to watch because it is so fast, but it takes the energy out of you really quickly, you are just moving all the time and it can be quite strategic. Things can change really quickly, you’ve got to be 100 percent into the game from the start.”

 

Caption: 2022 Southern Storm 3x3 team, from left, Laura Jackson, Maddie Tinnock, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, Lucy Brown. Photo: Basketball NZ/Angela Ruske

 

Without the space to play her natural speed game, Laura said she had to adjust and be prepared to take the knocks in order to get a shot away. 

“I just didn’t let that phase me. It was kind of our team mindset as well, we weren’t the most experienced, but we just kept going. Getting interviewed on Sky Sport and having commentators and things, it was really cool.” 

Laura said her two years in the SBS Bank Academy Southland programme would stand her in good stead as she looks ahead to starting an engineering degree at the University of Canterbury next year. 

“I’ve definitely seen a lot of change in myself, on and off the court, mainly with my confidence. I wasn’t as self-assured as I am now and that’s really taken me further over the past year. I think confidence and backing yourself can really set you apart and I really credit that to the Academy.” 

Article added: Wednesday 26 October 2022