An NBL1 South women’s playoff berth is now a certainty for the Hoop City Geelong United Supercats after rolling through their home-road double with wins over Melbourne Tigers and Frankston.
After seeing off the Tigers with ease, 84-56, on Friday night, United (4th, 13-5) headed around Port Phillip Bay on Saturday night with the Blues, who are also in the hunt for a double chance.
Leading 39-35 at half-time, Matthew Paton’s team held the home team to just five points in the third quarter to extend the lead to 15.
“If you told me earlier in the year that two weeks out from the regular season, we’d be locked into finals and be able to hone our craft as a team, knowing we were going to play a post-season game, I would have been ecstatic,” Coach Paton said.
“I’m very proud of the group that we’ve been able to lock it in so early.”
The only disappointment for United was narrowly missing head-to-head with Frankston, who won the earlier-season meeting by 13 points, and now sit fifth on the ladder with a 13-6 record.
“We knew it was a game within a game,” Paton said. ” We addressed it briefly before the game from an awareness point of view.
“Then, when we had a 15-point lead at three-quarter time, we knew we’d do well to hold that because we knew that they were playing at a 2-0 deficit at that point.
“They’d come back from margins all season; Melbourne Tigers, Eltham, had led them going into the last quarter, and then come back to win those games.”
NBL1 MEN – FROM DESPAIR TO DELIGHT
Co-captain Sarah Elsworthy produced another high-quality weekend, starting with 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals against the Tigers before producing 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists at Frankston.
“If anyone embodies getting down in the trenches and playing well above her size, it’s Sarah,” Coach Paton said.
“Sarah is someone I’d love to see at the next level again. It amazes me she’s been overlooked.
“She was massive. When we needed a basket, she would come up with that captain’s knock of getting us that tough finish at the rim or a steal.”
Ella Tofaeono had two decent cracks at a 20-20, with 15 points and 20 rebounds on Friday night and 20 points and 18 rebounds on Saturday evening.
Eve Braslis and Agnieszka Skobel averaged 17.5 and 15.5 points for the weekend, respectively, with Skobel also producing seven steals against Frankston.
However, Coach Paton was full of praise for co-captain Jess Scannell, with the Irish guard playing the weekend under duress.
“She was under the pump with a bit of a cold/flu-type situation,” he said.
“She battled brilliantly and played 40 minutes on Saturday night, backing up from a game the night before.
“She showed real character and grit.”
Geelong United will welcome back Chantel Horvat, who claimed a bronze medal with the Opals, and Monica Okoye, who claimed a silver medal with Japan, from the Asia Cup for this weekend’s road-home double.
The Supercats travel to Ringwood (7th, 11-8) on Friday night before returning to Geelong Arena on Saturday evening for a meeting with Ballarat (19th, 3-16).
Tickets for Saturday night’s NAIDOC Week/First Nations Round matchup with the Miners are selling fast at bit.ly/3JspNN5
The night also doubles at the inaugural battle for the Mark Leader Shield, where the aggregate scores from the women’s and men’s games between the two clubs will be calculated to determine the winner.
