NAVEXA DIVISION 1 MEN
Our Division 1 men hit the court twice this weekend for the first time in 2022 as they took on the ladder leading Melbourne Uni Saturday night before hitting the Geelong Arena for a battle with the Warrnambool Seahawks on Sunday.
The top of the table clash between the Rays and the Uni Blacks was a physical affair with plenty of crashing bodies and fouls at the rim. A depleted Stingrays missing many key players fought hard but were unable to overcome the onslaught from Melbourne Uni. A tightly contested game with the margin being single digits for the majority of the game and plenty of lead changes, just couldn’t fall the way of the Stingrays on the night, with them falling 92-83. Cohen Blythe (Pivot City) led the way with 25 points and 8 rebounds and was backed up by Jack Moran’s (Surfcoast) 14 points off the bench. Aaron Ruiz (Pivot City) and Michael Rebula (Vytis) also contributed well with 11 each.
Sunday saw the men determined not to lose two in a row as they dominated the Seahawks from wire to wire. Coming away 24 point winners, 92-68, the Stingrays showed their defensive brilliance holding the Seahawks to just 25 points in the first half. Jack Moran led way off the bench with 18 points while Aaron Ruiz backed him up with 15 points of his own. Rody Spoormakers (SG Kings) was a lightning spark off the bench with 15 points in just 18 minutes including 4 threes.
The men will face an away double header as they take on rivals Bellarine Storm on Saturday night before hitting the road to Southern Pen to take on the Sharks in two must-win games to keep them clearly in the top 4 picture.
TOP PERFORMERS
Cohen Blythe 25 points 8 rebounds 2 steals
Jack Moran 14 points 4 rebounds // 18 points 6 rebounds
Aaron Ruiz 11 points 9 rebounds // 15 points 6 rebounds
Rody Spoormakers 15 points (4 3pm)
NAVEXA DIVISION 2 WOMEN
Our Division 2 Women hit the highway to take on Collingwood on Sunday, with the handy addition of Carly Remmos and Bree Nielson-Matthews injecting plenty of scoring in the 107-45 point demolition of the All Stars. After a shaky start heading into the second quarter down 2, the Stingrays turned on the jets as they trounced the All-Stars 32-4 in the second quarter alone. It didn’t stop there as the team went on to outscore Collingwood 60 to 24 in the second half.
Carly on debut led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds and was backed up by other debutant Bree, who poured in 16 of her own. While Jess Scannell was her usual dominant self with a 18 point 10 rebound double double.
Up to 6th on the ladder, the team will look to push into the top 4 with a win against Blackburn on Sunday at the Geelong Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Carly Remmos 26 points 10 rebounds 4 steals
Jess Scannel 18 points 10 rebounds
Bree Nieslon Matthews 16 points
NAVEXA YOUTH LEAGUE 1 MEN
A tough trip across the bay to Frankston has seen our short-handed youth league men take a tough loss 103-63. Missing two key starters to the NBL1 men, United just couldn’t get going on the offensive end as the Blues cruised to an easy 40 point win in front of their home crowd. Jasper Cheney led the way for United with 14 points and was backed up by Matthew Jennings who posted 12 points and 8 boards.
The boys will look to get back in the winning column with a double header against Collingwood and then Craigieburn on Sunday at the Geelong Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jasper Cheney 14 points 4 rebounds
Matthew Jennings 12 points 8 rebounds 2 steals
NAVEXA YOUTH LEAGUE 1 WOMEN
A tough weekend for our Youth League Women as they faced a double header onslaught from McKinnon and Collingwood. Saturday night did not go in favour of the girls as they struggled to get going on the offensive end, going down to the Cougars 90-48. Casidhe Green (Pivot City) off the bench led the way with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Sunday the girls backed it up against Collingwood in a tightly contested game. Going into the fourth up 4 the team just didn’t have enough gas left in the tank as they were outscored 9-20 and dropping the game 49-55. Grace Spehar led the way on Sunday with 11 points and a massive 18 rebounds and was backed up by Casidhe Greens 14 points who was inserted into the starting lineup.
The girls will look to next weekend where they have another double header, they will face Craigieburn on Saturday before returning home and will hopefully get some revenge against the McKinnon Cougars at the Geelong Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Casidhe Green 11 points 10 rebounds // 14 points 4 rebounds
Grace Spehar 10 points 11 rebounds // 11 points 18 rebounds
