Sharks a class above in win over Wildcats

SHARKS Basketball Club has rectified last year’s Qualifying Final shortcomings to earn direct entry to this year’s Geelong United RL Signs Winter Women’s Championship Grand Final.

Sharks defeated Wildcats Basketball Club 77-69 last night (Tuesday, September 3) at AWA Alliance Bank Stadium, through its staunch defence late in the contest and potent backcourt duo of Cortney Hollowood and Georgia Varley.

The minor premiers started the game with the upper hand, getting out to a 22-15 advantage against their opponents following 10 minutes of play.

Wildcats did well to respond in the second quarter, evening the ledger at half-time 41-41 as Bellarine forward Chantelle Hall provided valuable contributions on the glass.

Sharks bounced back from an average second quarter to narrowly hold a slim three-point buffer at the final intermission.

The favourites locked down Wildcats when it counted, limiting their opponents to nine points in the final quarter to run out with an eight-point win.

Hollowood led Sharks in the scoring pool with 23 points, sharing the bulk with Varley’s 22, Ebony Rolph’s 14 and Alex Duck’s 13 points.

Hall’s 26 points was a game high, while youngster Jasmine King was superb with 25 points for Wildcats.

Sharks will enjoy a deserved week off while it awaits its Grand Final opponents.

Wildcats returns to AWA Bank Stadium next Tuesday in the Preliminary Final.

Quarter by quarter:
Sharks: 22, 41, 63, 77
Wildcats: 15, 41, 60, 69

Bears blast past YMCA in Elimination Final

TRY Boys will play in next week’s Geelong United RL Signs Winter Women’s Championship Preliminary Final following a convincing 15-point rout of YMCA in yesterday’s (Tuesday, September 3) Elimination Final, 77-62.

Following a slow opening quarter in which Try Boys trailed at quarter-time, 13-14, the Bears fought hard to control the remainder of the game.

The turning point for the Bears came in the second quarter, outscoring their opponents by 7 and taking a 39-33 lead into half-time.

Matilda Camm opened the ledger at the start of the third for YMCA, but Try Boys quickly quelled the attack to extend its advantage to 10 points with 10 minutes left in the contest (55-45).

The Bears fended off any fourth-quarter comeback attempts to ultimately walk out of AWA Bank Stadium with a 15-point victory to advance through to the next round of finals.

Four Bears scored at least 10 points, led by Olivia Virt’s 19 points despite her four fouls, while Alivia Osborne, Jacinta Maloney and Ashlea Withers accounted for 17, 15 and 14 points respectively.

Geelong United NBL1 sharpshooter Poppy Stevens finished with a mammoth 27-point effort for YMCA, whereas Willow Smith was the only other teammate to reach double digits with 13 points.

Try Boys will square off with Wildcats next Tuesday, with the winner to meet Sharks in this winter’s Grand Final in a fortnight.

YMCA was hoping to cause an upset, following a seven-win and 11-loss regular season to sneak into finals, but will instead regroup for the coming Summer Season.

Quarter by quarter:
Try Boys: 13, 39, 55, 77
YMCA: 14, 33, 45, 62