With the regular season done and dusted, our Division 2 Women have wrapped up their season while our Men will look to next weeks crucial elimination final. See how our teams faired this past week below.
NAVEXA DIVISION 1 MEN
Our Big V men finished off the regular season with a doubleheader weekend against Bellarine and Coburg, Facing off against the Storm on Saturday, the winner would claim the advantage of a home final against the other come this Saturday.
Both teams started slow out of the gate at the Arena on Saturday before the Storm were able to jumpstart their offence and grab a 13-point lead heading into quarter time. The Rays sprung to life in the second and were able to cut the deficit to single digits clawing back to be down 7 heading into halftime. The water during the break kicked the Rays into fifth gear as they mounted a massive comeback to jump out to a 5-point lead heading into the final 10. It was not to be however as the team ran out of the gas as Bellarine regained control and took the game away by 13, 71-84. Cohen Blythe was sublime in the game posting 19 and 14 but the crucial scoring runs from the Storm allowed them to collect the crucial home final.
Looking to end the regular season with some momentum the Men travelled to face the Giants in Coburg on Sunday. Leaving nothing to chance the team’s offence started quickly in the first quarter, rattling the Giants 31-19 for a 12-point first quarter lead. Unfazed in their final game of the season, Coburg woke up from the 3-point line to tie the game at 49 a piece at the half. A close third quarter saw the team trailing by 1 heading into the final quarter before some ridiculous shooting from 3 including 5 from 8 from Kevin Brandariz saw the team pour in 37 points in the final term to take the 15-point win and ensure they would sit alone at 5th on the ladder.
Despite a tremendous amount of injuries, illness and missed games from crucial pieces, the team never waivered, finishing the season off with a 13-9 record, setting them up for a cross-town rivalry match for a spot in the Semi-Final in which the winner will look to knock off Melbourne Uni or Keysborough. With the game set for 7 pm at Bellarine, it will be one you don’t want to miss so make sure to get down and support the team as they look to make a deep playoff push.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jack Moran 29 points 13 rebounds 1 assist
Cohen Blythe 19 points 14 rebounds 3 assists
Kevin Brandariz 18 points 2 rebounds 3 assists
NAVEXA DIVISION 2 WOMEN
In their final game of the season, our Division 2 Women looked to knock off finals contenders RMIT on the Arena homecourt. A close first half saw the team jump out to a 7-point advantage before the Redbacks steadied to regain the lead by 3 at half-time. With everyone hitting the court and scoreboard, it was still anyone’s game into the third as RMIT took a 8-point lead heading into the fourth. Fighting back valiantly the team just fell short of a comeback victory to end off the season, falling 68-71 to the Redbacks.
With Round 18 completed the team’s season has come to an end. Fighting many season-long injuries, the team never waivered and took each week as it came. Finishing with an 8-10 record and 7th place on the ladder, the team was just outside the realm of a finals berth as they took it to the top teams week in and week out, rattling the competition all season. Speaking with Coach Jase, he truly believed that a fully healthy year would see this team ending up near or on top of the ladder, and from what we have seen all season there is no reason to think otherwise. While it wasn’t the ending they were after, we are super proud of the team and want to congratulate them on a great season!
TOP PERFORMERS
Jess Scannell 21 points 10 rebounds 3 assists
Abby Loughhead 11 points 8 rebounds 5 assists 2 steals
Alex Trezise 11 points 7 rebounds
