Basketball On The Internet.

FORESTVILLE's Olivia Thompson today won SA's most coveted individual honour, the Halls Medal, and Woodville import Nelson Kirksey its men's equivalent, the Woollacott Medal.

The pair polled an identical 50 votes on the 3,2,1 voting system applied by the match referees after every regular season game of the state's Premier League.

Thompson made it a sweep when she also won the MVP award as adjudged by her playing peers, and won All Star Five selection.

Kirksey's achievement as only the second Woollacott Medallist in Woodville's long, storied history, was similarly definitive with his selection in the men's All Star Five.

But Southern Tigers swingman Mitch Creek was voted MVP and finished second to Kirksey for the Woollacott with 45 votes.

He unquestionably lost votes to teammate Alex Starling, who polled 42 votes. All three were All Star Five selections.

BOOMER SEASON: Olivia Thompson (Melbourne) battles Sara Blicavs (Rangers) for the ball.

THOMPSON always has been travelling down the road to success, making her arrival as a medallist no huge surprise.

She fell in love with the game at an early age, living with her family in Balaklava, about 90-odd kilometres north of Adelaide.

Her father Paul recognised her burgeoning ability and tentatively brought her down to Adelaide where she started as a wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights athlete with Forestville Eagles under-12s.

The decision only heightened and hastened her love of basketball, prompting Paul to erect a basket inside his barn so she could practice her shooting, and rebounding, and moves until the sun had long set and all creatures great and small already were deep in slumber.

At 13, Liv was a key player on a Forestville team which went to the Under-14 Nationals and made the Final Four - one of her teammates was Rio Olympian Steph Talbot - before SA Country state selections followed as a matter of course.

National junior selection for the gazelle-like nonstop competitor and an AIS scholarship weren't long in coming, and neither were WNBL opportunities.

Thompson played with Townsville Fire under current MAC Adelaide Lightning coach Chris Lucas, and is back again with Melbourne Boomers and coach Guy Molloy.

Unfortunately, that meant she missed the presentations today as she became Forestville's first Halls Medallist of this century.  Something tells me there will be a few other medals in her future.

 

ALL OF SA's PREMIER LEAGUE WINNERS

Women

Halls Medal: Olivia Thompson (Forestville Eagles)

Merv Harris Medal: Tahlia Fejo (West Adelaide Bearcats)

Most Valuable Player: Olivia Thompson (Forestville Eagles)

All Star Five: Tahlia Fejo (West Adelaide Bearcats), Jessica Good (Norwood Flames), Tavarsha Scott (Woodville Warriors), Mollie McKendrick (Southern Tigers), Olivia Thompson (Forestville Eagles).

Best Defensive Player: Ashlea Vordermaier (West Adelaide Bearcats) and Sarah Elsworthy (North Adelaide Rockets)

Coach of the Year: Tim Brenton (West Adelaide Bearcats)

Phil Yuill Memorial Trophy, Referee of the Year: Andrew Filmer

Statistical Award Winners:

Top Scorer: Olivia Thompson (Forestville Eagles) 22.4 ppg

Top Field Goal %: Chelsea Brook (Norwood Flames) 52%

Top 3 Point %: Shannon McKay (North Adelaide Rockets) 37%

Top Free Throw %: Jo Hill (North Adelaide Rockets) 84%

Top Offensive Rebounder: Tavarsha Scott (Woodville Warriors) 4.6 orpg

Top Defensive Rebounder: Olivia Thompson (Forestville Eagles) 10.1 drpg

Top Rebounder: Olivia Thompson (Forestville Eagles) 13.9 rpg

Top Assists: Dani Angley (Sturt Sabres) 4.5 apg

Top Steals: Teonna Campbell (West Adelaide) 2.9 spg

Top Shot Blocker: Tara Robinson (Southern Tigers) 1.8 bpg

Men

Woollacott Medal: Nelson Kirksey (Woodville Warriors)

Frank Angove Medal: Isaac White (Sturt Sabres)

Most Valuable Player: Mitchell Creek (Southern Tigers)

All Star Five: Adam Doyle (Forestville Eagles), Nelson Kirksey (Woodville Warriors), Matthew Lycett (Norwood Flames), Mitchell Creek (Southern Tigers), Alexander Starling (Southern Tigers).

Best Defensive Player: Mitchell Creek (Southern Tigers)

Coach of the Year: Paul Rigoni (Sturt Sabres)

Phil Yuill Memorial Trophy, Referee of the Year: Nathan Durant

Statistical Award Winners

Top Scorer: Mitchell Creek (Southern Tigers) 29.2 ppg

Top Field Goal %: Luke Stanbridge (Woodville Warriors) 59%

Top 3 Point %: Isaac White (Sturt Sabres) 48%

Top Free Throw %: Jacob Holmes (Norwood Flames) 98%

Top Offensive Rebounder: Alexander Starling (Southern Tigers) 4.8 orpg

Top Defensive Rebounder: Alexander Starling (Southern Tigers) 9.6 drpg

Top Rebounder: Alexander Starling (Southern Tigers) 14.4 rpg

Top Assists: Andrew Webber (Norwood Flames) 4.9 apg

Top Steals: Alexander Starling (Southern Tigers) 3.4 spg

Top Shot Blocker: Daniel Carlin (Central Districts) 1.6 bpg

 

Top Halls Medal Votegetters Per Club

Alisha Carlin (Central District Lions) 8; Brooke Basham (Eastern Mavericks) 17; Olivia Thompson (Forestville Eagles) 50; Jo Hill (North Adelaide Rockets) 29; Jess Good (Norwood Flames) 31; Ieva Nagy (South Adelaide Panthers) 16; Mollie McKendrick (Southern Tigers) 43; Lauren Gibbons, Nicola Matthews (Sturt Sabres) 3; Tahlia Fejo (West Adelaide Bearcats) 21; Tavarsha Scott (Woodville Warriors) 38.

Top Woollacott Medal Votegetters Per Club

Daniel Carlin (Central District Lions) 17; Devon McGee (Eastern Mavericks) 7; Adam Doyle (Forestville Eagles) 34; Luke Mapunda (North Adelaide Rockets) 19; Matthew Lycett (Norwood Flames) 37; Adrien Coleman (South Adelaide Panthers) 24; Mitch Creek (Southern Tigers) 45; Isaac White (Sturt Sabres) 21; Demetrius Perkins (West Adelaide Bearcats) 24; Nelson Kirksey (Woodville Warriors) 50.