Milestone: Kilsyth Cobras veteran Gemma Kerr will notch up 250 games when her team plays in the South East Australian Basketball League south conference final this Saturday night. Picture: Sam Stiglec
KILSYTH Cobras veteran Gemma Kerr will notch up a major milestone when her team plays in the South East Australian Basketball League south conference final this Saturday night.
Kerr will play her 250th game for the club, becoming just the second Cobras to pass the milestone behind Erica McMenamin.
Just to add to the occasion the Cobras will play arch-rivals Knox Raiders at Kilsyth Sports Centre at 7pm.
The match will be a replay of the major semi-final in which the Cobras upset the Raiders to earn home-court advantage for the conference final.
Kerr, originally from Shepparton, has played with the Cobras since under-14s and is a two-time championship player with the Cobras women at SEABL level in 2002 and 2008.
Kerr is having her best statistical season since 2008 averaging 9.3 points, 1.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds and has become a key-performer in the balanced Cobras’ lineup.
She said it was an honour to play her whole SEABL career for Kilsyth but she didn’t want the milestone to distract from the task of beating the Raiders.
''It’s a real big honour to play all my 250 SEABL games in a Kilsyth Cobras uniform,'' she said.
''This game is so much more than a milestone for me though. It’s a grand final against the club’s biggest rival in Knox and I don’t want to shift the focus from the game at hand.
''I expect to see all the Cobras fans down on Hugh McMenamin Court this Saturday to cheer the team to a victory.”
The winner of the south conference final will play either Dandenong or Geelong in the SEABL grand final next Saturday at the State Basketball Centre, Wantirna South.
The Cobras women host Knox Raiders in the SEABL south conference final at Kilsyth Sports Centre this Saturday night (Sept 1) at 7pm.