Border product Lily-Anne McClure wins gold at Country Cup

The 14-year-old starlet stood tall as the only Border player to emerge with gold at the Australian Junior Country Basketball Cup, and is now laced up to tackle the Bendigo Junior Classic with Wodonga Wolves on Thursday.

Because as she knows, big dreams require even bigger sacrifices.

"I'm just doing what I love so it doesn't really bother me," she said.

"My next goal is to make it to the state combine to hopefully make it into the state team for Country Victoria, then maybe get picked into the Australian team.

"And maybe even get the institute of sport if I'm lucky enough."

A sliver of luck is often required on the rise to the top, but is hard to quantify.

What is easier to measure is raw talent, and in McClure's case, she has it in spades.

Standing at 180 cm tall at just 14, the rangy centre was a force for the Victorian Bushrangers' under-16 side during its gold medal run at the Country Cup, racking up 46 points during the tournament.

She'd previously earned selection to the team through Basketball Victoria's State Development Program trials, and soon thrived among new company.

"After being selected, we boarded with each other for a week," she said.

"I made lifelong friends through the team which will be good throughout my career if I want to go further."

McClure maintained consistent scoring form while being one of the Bushrangers' youngest members at the Country Cup.

Her most influential performance came against New Zealand Kea in the first round of finals, dropping an 11-point game to kick off a golden run which consummated in a 53-44 grand final victory over Victorian Goldminers.

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"My favourite moment was the gold medal - it was honestly really overwhelming since we put in all the hard work," she said.

"It was pretty exciting being on the court, especially with locals watching as well.

"It really made me feel welcomed into the stadium and pumped and passionate to get more."

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