ISLA Juffermans has proven herself to be one of Australia’s best junior female basketballers.

The former Coffs Harbour Suns junior produced outstanding performances playing for the NSW Country Under 18 Girls team at the recent Australian Junior Championships in Ballarat.

The seventeen-year-old centre was one of the standout players of the competition playing against other state representative sides.

Juffermans was a dominant force in the key for NSW Country, leading the competition in both points and rebounds averaging 20.9 points a game and a phenomenal seventeen rebounds.

As well as excelling individually, she was also a part of the NSW Country team which won the bronze medal at the national championships, which also featured Coffs Harbour Suns player Felicity Cook as assistant coach.

Juffermans stepped up big time in the bronze medal game, rising to the occasion with 27 points and 24 rebounds in a seven-point win against Queensland North.

Juffermans started the national championships in fine style, leading her side to a 79-63 win against Victoria Country scoring 23 points and grabbing 20 rebounds.

The young centre had another fine performance in her side’s seven-point loss to South Australia Metro, scoring 22 points and grabbing nineteen rebounds.

She again led her side to a victory scoring 23 points and grabbing nineteen rebounds in NSW Country’s win against Western Australia Metro, and came up big again in NSW Country’s quarterfinal win against NSW Metro scoring 20 points and having ten rebounds.

She had a top game for NSW Country in their semi-final loss to Queensland South, scoring 22 points and grabbing seventeen rebounds.

Her stellar performances were made all the more sweeter having returned from a recent injury.

She explained to News Of The Area the hard road she faced trying to return to the court.

“I was out for four months as I tore my medial and lateral meniscus last November and had to get surgery on my right knee,” she said.

“So I went home for two months for the holidays and then had a really good recovery, one of the best recoveries and rehabs that my physios and coaches have ever seen.

“And then I had around four weeks of full training to prepare for nationals.”

Having played in last year’s national championships, she said this year was different due to the resilience needed coming back from an injury.

“Coming back from an injury made me a lot stronger mentally and physically,” she said.

“I had a lot more discipline on defence this year as well, allowing me to be a strong force on the court.”

The NSW representative spent six months last year in Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport, as part of a scholarship provided by Basketball Australia’s High Performance team.

 

By Aiden BURGESS