PORT Macquarie duo Maddi Baxter and Shannon Burton are one step away from being named in the NSW Country under-16 basketball team.
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The teenagers were named in the squad of 17 after strong performances at the country titles in Albury.
The squad will be cut from 17 to 12 in April.
Both girls were members of St Joseph’s Regional College’s successful basketball team that finished in the top four teams in the country.
Coach Jason Berry oversaw the team’s performances in Melbourne and said the girls would bring different strengths to the NSW Country squad.
“They both work really hard and performed really well with the school team that finished fourth in the national titles,” he said.
“Both girls are in the right channels and are receiving the right coaching so where they end up from here is anyone’s guess, but we hope they can play at that high level.
“They must have done extremely well at Albury in January at the country titles to progress to the next stage.”
Berry said Baxter was a tenacious player who competed extremely well.
“She’s pretty strong on the ball and no one tries harder than her whereas Shannon has great versatility who can play a number of different positions,” he said.
“She’s probably more of a scorer than Maddi, but they both have plenty of potential.”
The duo will continue to work on their own games and admit they could be stronger in point scoring positions.
“I need to improve my shooting and when we went to Albury I was told I need to work on not being so hard on myself when I make mistakes,” Baxter said.
More at home at the offensive end of the court, Burton has set her sights on WNBL representation some time down the track.
Baxter was aiming for the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.