Top-four in sight for United

A fast start on Friday night and a defensive masterclass on Saturday has the Hoop City Geelong United Supercats Women pushing for a spot in the NBL1 South top four.

United improved its record to 6-3 and would sit fourth on a ladder adjusted for head-to-head after seeing off Hobart and Launceston.

Fast out of the blocks against the Chargers, United jumped to a 30-12 lead at quarter time.

However, the home team wasn’t planning on rolling over for Matthew Paton’s group and bounced back to take the lead on a three-pointer from former Supercat Sarah O”Neill with 7:06 remaining in the contest.

However, eight consecutive points from Eve Braslis, including six free throws, turned the contest back in United’s favour.

Braslis’s impressive scoring run continued with 22 points at 73 per cent.

Chantel Horvat (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Agnieszka Skobel (15 points, ten rebounds) posted double-doubles, with the Polish star also logging six steals.

Captain Sarah Elsworthy provided a handy fourth option with 15 points to go with seven rebounds.

“The Hobart game was really a tale of two halves,” coach Matthew Paton said.

“We dominated early, but to the Chargers’ credit, they made some adjustments and swung the momentum to get back into the game.

“I was very proud of how the group stayed together and simply found a way to arrest that momentum, especially on the road, and came away with a strong win.”

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If Braslis was big on Friday night, she came up huge on Saturday evening as United got some small revenge for being knocked out of last year’s playoffs at the first hurdle by Launceston.

The left-hander dropped 30 points on 75 per cent shooting while also adding seven rebounds and four assists.

Horvat was also influential, with 20 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.

Skobel added 14 points, and Jess Scannell (nine points, five rebounds and three assists) played some solid minutes off the bench.

Elsworthy also stuffed the stats sheet with seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

“(It) was a clinical performance and showed we had learnt from the previous night’s game,” Paton said.

“The players executed the scout with great efficiency and were able to take advantage to forge and maintain a strong lead throughout.

“Overall, it was a fantastic weekend for the team, with different players stepping up throughout to contribute, and the results were just reward for the work the players have been putting in at training.”

United now turns its attention to a meeting with ninth-placed Nunawading, who welcomed back Alice Kunek on the weekend at Geelong Arena on Saturday night.

Tickets for Hoop City Round are now available at https://bit.ly/3JspNN5.