There was only one thing which could have made Dubbo College's Astley Cup netball win over Orange High even sweeter for Kiara McKeown.
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McKeown was named player of the match on Thursday, June 27, after Dubbo produced an utterly dominant performance and ran out 48-28 winners.
Given it came shortly after Dubbo's basketball win over Orange the bumper crowd at Sportsworld was in full voice, but there was still one thing missing for McKeown.
That one thing was her sister Makayla, who couldn't play on Thursday due to a serious finger injury suffered while playing league tag with the Macquarie Raidettes recently.
"I really wanted to play with my sister," McKeown said.
"It would be a really good experience playing with my sister and family. Family is a big thing to me so for her to be on the bench was a bit disappointing, but I just had to do it for her."
All Dubbo College athletes did their bit on Thursday during what was an outstanding day one against Orange.
As well as winning the basketball and netball, Dubbo also won the tennis and athletics to move within reach of overall victory ahead of Friday's hockey, rugby league and boys' and girls' soccer.
In the netball, Saxbii Shaw was also missing for the hosts due to representative school sport commitments, putting even more pressure on the players who were there.
But you wouldn't have known it, as McKeown ran the match from centre while Sienna Marchant was a tower of strength in defence and goal-attack Retori Lane was full of energy.
The hosts led 12-9 after the first quarter and then 19-14 at the main break.
The third quarter was where things really changed. McKeown always seemed to know where to be and kept Dubbo moving with her short and long passing, while her interceptions in midcourt kept her side on top.
Dubbo raced out to a 33-22 lead and then the final quarter was one-way traffic and the final margin was 20.
"We all came together as a team and we played together. That's what got the job done," McKeown said.
"Obviously the crowd was behind us as well. I was a bit nervous coming into it because I didn't know what to expect but they really got behind us so we could get that victory."
Given McKeown's performance, you wouldn't know know the challenges of simply playing netball.
One of the city's rising basketball stars, McKeown was recently selected in the NSW All Schools under 16s side which will contest the national championships.
"It is hard transitioning (between sports) but I love netball," McKeown said.
"I've always grown up with netball, but it's the same with basketball.
"It is hard but I really like doing both sports and I like that I'm still able to do it at this age."
If the satisfaction of playing well, beating Orange and building a strong overall Astley Cup lead wasn't enough, the Dubbo side also got another reward on Thursday.
It wasn't too long after full-time players started cheering McDonald's was coming their way.
"Our coach said she'd buy us McDonald's or Subway so we really got the reward," McKeown laughed.
On the Orange side of things, the students were staying upbeat despite a disappointing loss.
"We tried our hardest and that's all we could really do," Orange captain Sadie Keegan said.
"I'm proud of all the girls, we gave it our all.
"It was early on when they got away and we tried to get up but they were just too good."
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
