Surfcoasters win grand final in double overtime

THE Surfcoasters have won the Basketball Geelong Division 2 Women’s premiership after defeating Try Boys Bears in the grand final.

The game was incredibly close, with double overtime being needed for a winner to be decided.

Surfcoasters’ Sophie O’Meara, who scored 10 crucial points on the night, said it was a fantastic way to end a strong season.

“We had a great group of girls who were excellent team players and we were thrilled to come away with the premiership after working so hard all season.”

The two sides exchanged the lead throughout the game, but with 10 minutes remaining the Bears had managed to build a 26 to 20 lead.

But in the final minutes of the game the Surfcoasters managed to pull their oppositions back and equal the scores and force the game into overtime.

In overtime the narrative followed a similar pattern, with the Bears taking the lead only for the Surfcoasters to once again pull level.

This sent the game into a second period of overtime, where the Surfcoasters quickly took the lead and held it to win 39-34.

Surfcoasters coach Tammy Vos said it was a very tense game but one she was thrilled for her side to have won.

“It was a very close game and to win in double overtime was extremely stressful, but the girls held their nerve through it.

“We were all very relieved. It was such a good thing to do with those girls, because it’s such a good group of girls and they all deserved the win as well.”

The Surfcoasters were defeated by the Bears in the second semi-final but won the preliminary final to force a rematch for the premiership decider.

It was not a season without problems for the Surfcoasters, either.

The team lost multiple players to injury, including Vos, who intended to be a player rather than a coach before her injury at the start of the season.

They also had a number of players who were in Torquay’s football team, which made for awkward scheduling with the football games generally on Sunday and the basketball on Monday.