Casandra Woods coached the under-16 girls to the division five grand final, whilst the under-16 boys reached the division six quarter-final.

The Redbacks' under-16 girls took on Lakes Entrance first up.

They gained control from the start, played their own game, and put their plays into action in a 51-27 win.

Their next match-up was Phillip Island.

It was tightly contested for the entire match, as Phillip Island made a layup in the final second in a 21-23 defeat.

The girls regrouped, knowing the next match would be tough against Mildura.

They fought hard in a 45-26 loss.

The girls found themselves in Division five with one win and two losses.

Wallan was their opposition for the qualifying final on March 17.

By quarter time, the Redbacks' full-court defence had kept Wallan scoreless.

With a final score of 40-8, the team faced Corryong in a semi-final match.

The Redbacks kept the lead for the entire match, and won by three points, 26-23, and found themselves in the grand final.

The Ararat Redbacks' under-16 girls fought super hard for the title against Mansfield.

It was once again a closely contested game where Mansfield grabbed the lead three times by one point throughout the match.

The Redback Girls never gave up.

They played three full games of basketball in six hours and came away as champions in a 35-33 victory.

The Junior Country Championship Ararat Redbacks team consisted of team captain Nevani Woods, Addison Lardner, Bridie Price, Eleanor Sladdin, Mackenzie Johnson, Mia Gardiner, Ruby Thomas and Violet Day.

The squad was managed by Ros Thomas.

For the Ararat Redbacks, it's been a long time since a girl's team has participated in the state championships.

The association struggles to run a girl's competition, having to combine four age groups to gather enough girls to play.

The last team to win a JCC was the 2015 under-16 boys in division 4.

Ararat had a tough start to their under-16 boys campaign.

Oli Reynolds top-scored with six points as the Redbacks were defeated by Mansfield 19-49.

This was followed up by losses to Myrtleford 35-54 and a 10-point loss to Morwell.

Reynolds and Billy Jenkins added eight points against Myrtleford as Tanu Parsons tipped in 10 in the second match.

Both Parsons and Reynolds scored eight points, but the Redbacks were defeated by Maryborough 43-23 in the semi-final.

Reynolds finished with 29 points from the four matches.