Results wise, Round 15 didn’t have much to celebrate in terms of wins, with only our Youth League Women coming away with the points.
Championship Men
Saturday
Bellarine 75 lost to Sunbury 93
(Lewie Varley 21, Max Kos 15)
Sunday
Bellarine 74 lost to Wyndham 121
(Lewie Varley 21, Bryce Cashman 20)
It was a very tough weekend for our Championship Men as they came head to head with two of the power teams of the competition and came away with two disappointing results.
On Saturday night, a well drilled Sunbury side set the early pace and the Storm needed to work hard to keep in touch for most of the night.
Max Kos and Bryce Cashman were prominent early for the Storm, with Lewie Varley eventually working his way into the game after a couple of weeks off.
Despite the end margin, there were still some positives for the Storm, with the continued nice form of Nathan Gronbeck, Seb Thomason and Joe Boyle off the bench, all making a solid contribution on the night.
Sunday was a day best left in the rear view mirror as the reigning title holders Wyndham, served up a masterclass to sweep away the Storm by 47 points.
Lewie Varley made it a consistent weekend with another 21 points ad Bryce Cashman finished with 20 points, while Max Kos was again amongst the leading scorers with 14.
Division 1 Women
Bellarine 80 lost to Mildura 86
(Jaimee Crombie 25, Georgia Varley 17)
A vintage performance from Jaimee Crombie from outside the arc, still wasn’t enough for the Storm to get the points in the toughest road trip in the division, up in Mildura.
The Heat, who are well and truly in Championships discussions, jumped out of the blocks early and making the early running, before the Storm steadied, to level things up midway through the first, before the Heat surged again, to lead by eight at quarter time.
The hosts continued to hold a handy lead throughout the second term, with the margin being 13 points at the half and a bit of work to do for the Storm to get away with a win.
Into the third term and enter Jaimee Crombie, who piled on 11 points for the term, to have the Storm within 5 points with a quarter to play.
A Crombie three pointer to start the last, had the Storm within 2 points of the lead and looking like they might run over the top of the Heat but the home side rallied again, before the Storm surged and found the lead courtesy of a Georgia Varley score and trip to the foul line.
There was one further twist as Mildura edged ahead again, in the shadows of full time and this time they were able to hold off the Storm, who had their chances down the stretch.
Jaimee Crombie ended with a 25 point return, including a Club Division 1 Women’s record 7 successful 3 pointers in a game, Georgia Varley finished with 17 and Olivia Virt had 14 for the night.
Youth League 2 Men
Saturday
Bellarine 69 lost to Sunbury 96
(Jack Davies 12, Mitch Smith 11)
Sunday
Bellarine 65 lost to Surf Coast 91
(Ezekiel Rickard 13, Sam Maher 11)
A disappointing weekend for our Youth League Men, with two losses for the weekend.
On Saturday night at Storm HQ, the boys faced a well drilled Sunbury Jets side who set the tempo of the night from the outset.
Making things tough for the Storm, was early foul trouble for Vinnie Whelan, who had 3 to his name for the first quarter, when he looked like being a real factor in the paint.
Jack Davies was working hard for the Storm and was getting good support from Ben Walters, before he too got into foul trouble before half time.
Facing a 27 point deficit at the half, it was all uphill for the Storm and despite some hard work to try and erase the deficit through Nate Dawson and Vinnie Whelan, however, the Jets were just finishing their work a little better and with a number of players in foul trouble, it was difficult to keep a consistent five on the court for most of the term.
To their credit, the Storm still fought out the contest, outscoring the Jets in the final term by three points, with Mitch Smith and Bailey Goodgame prominent down the stretch.
On Sunday, the Storm headed to Torquay for the local derby against Surf Coast and things looked promising as the scores were tied at quarter time at 23 each.
Unfortunately, as has been the case a number of times this season, a one term lapse has proved costly and on Sunday it was the second term that cost the Storm, as the Chargers went on the attack and put together a a 27 to 13 term and all but seal the contest.
Ezekiel Rickard, Sam Maher, Harry Crane and Jack Davies worked hard all day, to try and keep the Storm in the contest, however, the half time margin proved just too much to overcome in the end.
Youth League Women
Bellarine 69 d Sherbrooke 65
(Ash Withers 17, Piper Copeland 16)
It was hard fought win for our Youth League Women on Saturday night, as Sherbrooke served it right up to the home side for three quarters.
By quarter time, it looked like a familiar storyline, as the Storm started like a steam train and a big win looked on the cards. However, in the middle two quarters, the Suns were all over the Storm, outscoring them by 20 points across the second and third terms, to trail by just 2 points with a quarter to play.
In the final term, the Storm key playmakers in Ash Withers, Summer Field and Piper Copeland took charge and steered the Storm to a four point win and seal up top spot nice and tight heading into the post-season with just one game remaining in their 2023 regular season.
THIS WEEKEND
SATURDAY 15th July 2023
YL2 Women
Bellarine v Southern Peninsula @ Hillview Stadium 5:00pm
Division 1 Women
Bellarine v Western Port @ Somerville Recreation Centre 5:00pm
YL2 Men
Bellarine v Wallan @ Bellarine Secondary College 7:00pm
Championship Men
Bellarine v Western Port @ Somerville Recreation Centre 7:00pm