The Jayco Division 2 Women were one day away from their debut in 2020 when COVID19 put a halt to their, and everyone elseβs. It was a devastating time for the Basketball community and more so for the newly formed team, raring at the opportunity to play Big V again.
Fast forward 12 months and the team took the court for the first time, falling short to perennial finals team, the Blackburn Vikings by 18 points. It was a rough start to the season for coach Abby Loughhead and the team. Falling on the wrong side of victory by the closest of margins each week, it was inevitable that the team would eventually break through and find its groove.
Find their groove they did, round 9 saw the teams first win, an 11-point margin at home against the RMIT redbacks saw the team taste success for the first time in 2021! Just 18 hours later the team did it again with a 1-point OT thriller against the Mornington Breakers in Mornington.
It was jubilation for the women who had been building towards success since January 2020 when their first trainings commenced. It is always tough for a new team to find its feet in an established and competitive league, but the women have hit their stride and claimed a third victory in a row following on from their impressive double header weekend with a 10 point away win against Collingwood.
While the team currently sits 7thΒ during our COVID break, they are only 2 games back of 6thΒ placed RMIT and are hunting down a finals spot, something that the team has been striving towards since the beginning of the season.
The team is led by experienced veterans in Shayna Poto, Abby Loughhead and Meg Hanna, coupling this with the young talent that has come up through the ranks of the VJBL program, the teams is building a formidable defence and a high-powered offence. With 3 double digit scorers there is not a lack of output on the offensive end. While the height of the front court and the speed of the backcourt makes the team a difficult defensive unit.
While the season is on hold for at least another week as we head into the long weekend, we all know that when the time comes, the Women will be ready to step back on the court and continue it just how they left it. With more wins and a push towards a finals berth to hopefully come!
