Basketball
14 November, 2025
Hornets take to the road
The Horsham Hornets men’s and women’s teams will continue their push for finals this weekend as they travel to Millicent and Portland for round seven of the Country Basketball League.
The Hornets will cross the border on Saturday to take on the Millicent Magic, with the Lady Hornets playing at 6pm (ACDT), followed by the men's game at 8pm.
The teams will then return to Portland on Sunday to take on the Coasters, with the women's game starting at 1pm and the men's game from 3pm.
With the top four teams set to progress to the semifinals, the Hornets men are currently in fourth place with a 4-2 record.
Millicent is 1-7, while Portland are also 4-2, right on the heels of the Hornets.
Despite playing away, the Hornets bring plenty of momentum into the round, having won four straight, including an emphatic 29-point victory against a solid Colac outfit in round seven.
But Hornets coach Scott Benbow is not taking the road trip lightly, expecting Sunday’s clash against Portland to be particularly challenging.
“It's always a tough game against Portland,” Benbow said.
“They’re very physical, so we’ll build ourselves up for that, but obviously, we'll try and beat them at pace, because we think we're the fastest team in the league.”
Benbow acknowledges that securing the two victories is paramount as the Hornets finish the regular season against Ararat and Mount Gambier, who are second and third, respectively, in next week’s eighth and final round.
“Mount Gambier are going to be tough, and we have them in the last game of the normal round,” Benbow said.
“So we really need to get our two wins next weekend so we can solidify our finals spot and not rely on those last two games, because they are going to be tough games.
Asked about reigning MVP Micah Livingstone after last week’s win, Benbow said the youngster, currently averaging over 25 points per game, continues to evolve after receiving extra attention from the opposition this season.
“Micah’s really matured, even in just the last three games,” Benbow said.
“He had a bit of a tough game in Hamilton, where they worked him over and he missed some gettable shots.
“He learnt from that, went to Colac and had 35, then he’s had 25 and 26 in the last two games.
“For a kid that’s 17 years old, the sky is really the limit for him.”
For the 1-5 Lady Hornets, the chances of a finals spot are slim, but with a six-team league competing for four final spots, the Hornets are still in contention.
However, they face the ultimate test on the weekend, going against first-placed Millicent on Saturday and then second-placed Portland on Sunday.
Coach Jordyn Burke is not deterred by the challenge, believing the side can carry the momentum of their round six win against third-placed Colac into the weekend.\
“Most of our games, we’ve been in it and it shows how close we are,” Burke said.
“Particularly now that we’ve got that first win, we’re not far off putting a couple more wins together and getting that momentum going.
“The road trip will definitely be tough, but I think if we play our style of game and defend like we did on Saturday, then we have a chance.”
With slow starts being a weakness of the team this season, including in their first matchup with Portland, Burke knows better starts will be pivotal.
“We haven’t played Millicent yet, but getting a rebound game against Portland will be nice,” Burke said.
“We allowed them to get the jump on us in the first quarter, and that is something we will be focusing on again.”