Round 8 was a very successful one for the Storm, with six wins from 7 games across the weekend, including a breakthrough win for our Championship Men.
Championship Men
Bellarine 100 d Western Port 95
(Josh Chery 24 points, Max Kos 17 points)
The ice was finally broken for our Championship Men on Saturday night, with a win against Western Port at Storm HQ.
In a game that was close right through the night, the Storm managed to keep their nose in front for most of the contest, before the visitors started to push their case in the last term.
Earlier in the game, Bryce Cashman made his debut for the Storm and was immediately in foul trouble which limited his court time in the first half.
Heading into the last quarter, holding a 6 point buffer and daring to feel like their first win was just a quarter away, the Steelers made the Storm tense a little bit down the stretch, narrowing the margin to 3 points with 4 to go in the term.
The game then swung on a Technical foul to Daryl Corletto allowing Max Kos to go to the line an covert both shots there to extend the lead to 5 and from there, the Storm was able to hold off the Steelers to nab a much needed victory.
Josh Chery was the main man for the Storm with 24 points for the night, Max Kos kept his early season form running with 17, whilst Lewie Varley was 1 rebound off a triple double, with 12 points , 10 assists and 9 boards.
Division 1 Women
Saturday
Bellarine 62 defeated Western Port 57
(Bh’rea Griffin 20 points & 11 rebounds, Georgia Varley 15 points)
Sunday
Bellarine 75 defeated Altona 66
(Georgia Varley 22 points, Lucy Howard 20 points & 11 rebounds)
As expected, the battle between 1 & 2 on the Division 1 Women’s ladder was a hard fort and entertaining g battle, as two well drilled outfits went toe to toe to the very end.
In a tight first half, the Storm eked out a 6 point break over the ladder leader and were looking good heading into the second half.
As expected, the Steelers pressed in the third term as the match began to tighten up again, narrowing the margin to just 1 point with a minute left in the quarter.
Into the last and with things still close, Bh’rea Griffin and Chantelle Hall came up with some clutch baskets down the stretch to hold off the top team and record an important win.
On Sunday, Altona made the Storm work hard in the first half, particularly after a tough game the previous night, leading Bellarine by 8 points at the main break.
The second half saw the Storm game get going as they narrowed the home sides lead to just 1 point at the final break.
Bellarine finally wound back the home side’s lead with four and a half left in the last, when Lucy Howard scored, was fouled and sent to the free throw line, where she converted to give the Storm a 1 point lead.
From there, Lucy Howard, in one of her best performances in Big V, took control of the contest and guided us to a 9 point win to make it a very successful weekend, with Bellarine now sitting atop the Division 1 Women’s ladder at the end of the round.
Youth League 2 Women
Saturday
Bellarine 73 defeated Western Port 32
(Summer Field 15 points & 23 rebounds, Alicia Field 12)
Sunday
Bellarine 82 defeated Southern Peninsula 52
(Ash Withers 17 points & 15 rebounds, Piper Copeland 17 points, 8 steals & 7 assists)
Saturday night was a ‘field’ day for the Storm as they had little trouble overrunning Western Port at Storm HQ.
Summer Field was outstanding for the Storm, with 15 points and a club record for our Youth League 2 Women of 23 rebounds, 22 at the defensive end of the court.
If one Field wasn’t enough for Western Port to deal with, Alicia Field also chipped in with 12 points of her own, as the Storm barely needed to get out of second gear for the game.
On Sunday, the Storm backed up again for another comfortable win against Southern Peninsula, however, the Sharks made life interesting in the first half, going in with a 6 point lead at the half.
Whatever Coach David Smith said at the half, certainly hit the spot as the Storm wiped their opponents off the court in the second half, outscoring Southern Peninsula 46 to 10.
Ash Withers was on point with 17 and 15 boards, whilst Piper Copeland also scored 17 and gave away 8 assists, breaking her own previous record for Bellarine Youth League Women of 7.
Youth League 2 Men
Saturday
Bellarine 73 lost to Wallan 76
(Mitch Smith 18 points, Ezekiel Rickard 14 points)
Sunday
Bellarine 90 defeated Melton 63
(Harry Crane 18 points, Mitch Smith & Ezekiel Rickard 16 points)
A narrow loss on Saturday night for our Youth League Men against Wallan at Wallan.
After a fairly even first term, Wallan let the Storm back into the contest in the second term, the Storm outscoring their hosts by 6 points in the second term, to trail by 10 at the half.
Bellarine were able to narrow the margin to 7 points heading into the last and continued to press in the final quarter.
When Captain Ben Walters hit a clutch 3 pointer to narrow the margin to just 2 points, the Storm were in it up to their necks before they sent Wallan to the line with 20 seconds remaining in the game.
Wallan’s Dion Stacey hit the first at the line to give his side a 3 point lead and then missed the second, with Wallan getting the offensive board. Enter Keegan Johnson who picked up the steal giving the Storm a chance to at least send the game to extra time, however Mitch Smith just couldn’t land the 3 point attempt.
On Sunday, a third quarter blitz of 22 to 11 by the Storm put paid to any ideas of Melton getting away with a win at Storm HQ.
The stand out for the Storm was the performance of Harry Crane who is really beginning to make an impact in his first season of Senior competition, with 18 points for the match to lead the Storm to the win.
Mitch Smith and Vinnie Whelan were also main contributors, keeping their nice early season form going with 16 points each.
THIS WEEKEND
ROUND 9
Saturday 20th May 2023
Youth League 2 Men
Bellarine v Melbourne Uni @ Melbourne Uni Sports Centre 4:30pm
Championship Men
Bellarine v Melbourne Uni @ Melbourne Uni Sports Centre 6:30pm
Division 1 Women
Bellarine v Melbourne Uni @ Melbourne Uni Sports Centre 8:30pm