Bathurst Goldminers under 14s finish runners-up in NSW Country Basketball Championships division three

Held at Newcastle from June 12-14, Bathurst was drawn in a pool with Illawarra, Newcastle Academy, Port Macquarie and Maitland, achieing wins against all teams, before progressing from the quarter finals to the grand final, ultimately going down to Lithgow Lazers in the decider.

All round, Pheils said she was proud of her team's performance at the country championships.

"We've had a bit of rough season, just learning the game. But they played exceptionally well on the weekend," she said.

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"They came together and played really well as a team and started to believe in themselves and each other. They continued to build as a team throughout the tournament and that lead them to the grand final. We're very proud.

"My assistant coach Zoe Burton and I are very proud in the fact that the boys dug in and didn't go missing when the games got tough. We had a good weekend where we came away with a disappointing loss in the decider but it was a great result overall."

Bathurst started its campaign on Saturday with a 47-25 win over Illawarra, followed by a 47-16 victory over Newcastle Academy and a defeat of Port Macquarie 28-12.

On Sunday, Bathurst won its fourth and final pool game, comprehensively defeating Maitland 74-9 before backing up that day for a 30-15 quarter final win over Illawarra.

Bathurst was drawn to play Port Macquarie again in the semi-final and it was a much closer game compared to the pool stage, with the Goldminers just getting home 26-25.

The grand final was held on the Monday too and Bathurst was no match for its local rivals, going down to Lithgow 40-17.

Pheils said it was a great learning experience for her team.

"We played in division three, which had 15 teams, so to come second in that division is a feat in itself," he said.

"Those teams ranged from Moss Vale, up as far as Port Macquarie and everywhere in between.

"There were a lot of bigger city areas, that have a bigger talent pool to pick from. They did really well to get where they got and it's a very great outcome."

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