THE steadily rising stocks of Bathurst Goldminers junior basketball star Matilda Flood got another boost recently when she was selected as part of the NSW Country under 16s team to contest the Australian Championships.

Having represented a NSW side at the Country Cup in Albury earlier this year and been a regular in higher-level sides over the last few years, Flood was always likely to be on the radar for such an outfit.

But she was still as shocked as anyone to have her name read out as one of the players picked for the nationals.

“I’m so, so excited about it,” she said.

“I was told three or four weeks ago, it was on the back of making an initial 40-player squad and then doing the Country Tour [to Albury]. My side won down there and from there they picked the final group of 10 players.

“I was very surprised to make it, from the final 15 players that were named before they cut the squad to 10, they were outstanding and I really didn’t give myself much of a chance to be picked ahead of some of the others.”

Flood’s selection continues the recent trend of Goldminers players climbing the ranks through the junior levels, with the likes of Emily Matthews, Will Cranston-Lown and Olivia Doble having all qualified for similar teams.

As a bottom age player, Flood still has another year of under 16s competition before she has to move into under 18s as well.

By the time NSW Country hit the courts at the nationals in Victoria on July 1, Flood doesn’t just want to be there as another face on the hardwood. 

She wants to have an impact.

“There are some good sides there, New South Wales and Victoria Metro and Country, South Australia have Metro and Country teams, so do Western Australia, Tasmania are there, New Zealand has teams, it is a massive tournament,” she said.

“The two Victorian teams are always very strong, I’d love to help us defeat them.

“The good thing is that I’ve played with or against basically all my team-mates a fair bit before, mostly in Country Premier League, so there should be good team chemistry there.”

For a player in Flood’s position – she aspires to make a career out of her chosen sport – it is events like the upcoming tournament where she will need to  catch the eye of the right people.

“There will be a lot of coaches down there from higher level teams, a lot of scouts as well, so events like this one are the sort where you want to perform at your best,” she said.

“I’ve been playing a lot lately in Western Junior League and for the Western Reds in Country Premier League, and I’ve been training every day.

“A couple of mornings a week I train with one of the under 18s representatives from last year’s Country team and basically follow exactly the same program as her.”