BIG V WRAP 27th & 28th April 2024
A very nice road double win for our Championship Women highlighted the weekends Big V action for the Storm.
YOUTH LEAGUE WOMEN
BELLARINE 78 d SHERBROOKE 59
(Sienna Quinlan 18, Lucy Howard 14 & 10)
It was another win for our Youth League Women in the first game at Storm HQ on Saturday night.
Bellarine set the pace early, before the Suns edged into the lead by mid way through the first quarter, before the Storm went on a 14-2 run to the quarter time break, holding an eight point buffer at the first break.
Sienna Quinlan was prominent for the Storm in the first term, the co-captain sinking nine points for the quarter, including two from downtown to get her team up and running.
After a pretty even second quarter, the Storm put the pedal to the metal in the third term and set about putting the contest out of reach of their opponents. The most pleasing aspect, was that there were contributions being made across the team, with no one player dominating.
With a 23 point lead heading into the last quarter, the last quarter was a pretty straightforward one, as the Storm cruised to the line to come away with win number 5 for the year.
A couple of highlights were Lucy Howard finding range outside the arc and also the contribution of Abbe Dunn off the bench with 6 points, three rebounds and a block in her 10 minutes on court.
YOUTH LEAGUE MEN
BELLARINE 78 lost to Mornington 82
(Mitch Smith 32, Bailey Goodgame 19)
It was a case of ‘the one that got away’ for our Youth League Men on Saturday night, as they were in with a strong chance to win the game late, however, just couldn’t get there in the end.
Mitch Smith was on fire for the Storm, continuing his outstanding start to the season, as the ‘headband warrior’ collected a game high 32 points for the game to have Bellarine well in control for most of the night.
The opening three or four minutes of the game gave the idea that we may have been in for a dour struggle, with neither team able to find the opening score, with Mornington finally breaking the glad wrap over the basket.
Then Smith arrived on the scene, preceding to drop 12 of our 17 points for the opening term to give Storm the edge by two points at the quarter time break.
Mornington found the lead early in the second and began to get their game rolling, before the Storm responded to level the contest again midway through the second, only to have the visitors edge ahead again by two points at the half.
Once again, it was that man Smith who shot the lights out in the third term, with 14 points including three from outside the arc to get the Storm team rolling, getting good support from Bailey Goodgame, Harry Crane and Max Maciejewski who was shouldering the bulk of the big man work, through the absence of Captain Ben Walters and Daniel Clifton.
With a five point lead in their hands, the Storm looked likely to get another win, if they could keep their opponents at bay and the hot hand of Smith could continue into the last. A couple of baskets early for Smith had the Strom looking good, however, Mornington, realising the danger he presented, increased the pressure, meaning he had to take harder shots and his impact was restricted.
The Breakers made their run at the line midway through the final quarter grabbing the lead but to the Storm’s credit, they wouldn’t lie down, with a Maciejewski tip in with less than a minute to play, saw the Storm trail by one point, with plenty of time to snatch the win.
However, in the dying moments, Mornington were able to steady and find a couple of baskets to extend their lead and run out four point winners in the end.
CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN
SATURDAY
BELLARINE 68 d SHERBROOKE 55
(Chantelle Hall 23, Bridgett Rettstatt 18 & 19)
SUNDAY
BELLARINE 86 d HUME CITY 66
(Bridgette Rettstatt 24 & 15, Courtney Strait 17)
The Storm Championship Women wagon is rolling on, with a road double win against Sherbrooke and Hume City over the weekend.
On Saturday night, it was the twin bookends of Chantelle Hall and Bridgett Rettstatt who lead the charge on the scoreboard and on the glass for the Storm. Apart from a couple of occasions early in the first term, the Storm found the front courtesy of a Hall basket, Bellarine controlled the game for the remainder of the contest, continuing to lead all the way to the final siren.
The stats sheet shows that there wasn’t a lot between the two sides across the night, with shot percentages being roughly the same. The telling differences were the Storm hitting 70% from the free throw line and being 10 ahead on the rebound count, with Hal and Rettstatt being dominant in that area and both heading to the line 12 times between them. Rettstatt was impressive at the stripe, collecting seven from seven for the game.
With that win under their belt, the Storm headed to Broadmeadows on Sunday to meet Hume City.
Again, it was Rettstatt who was the star of the show, finishing with 24 points and 15 boards for the afternoon, almost looking unstoppable at times with her speed and agility.
On the back of a 10 point lead at the first break, the Storm looked well in control of the contest. However, the Bronco’s can never be underestimated win on their home turf and they worked hard to erase some of the deficit by half time, the Storm heading in with an eight point advantage.
After an even third term, the Storm put their foot to the gas in the last, completely outplaying their opponents to charge to the line and record a 20 point victory to now move to a 4 -1 record for the season, with some big contests looming, just around the corner.
CHAMPIONSHIP MEN
SATURDAY
BELLARINE 87 lost to Shepparton 95
(Kavione Green 30 & 16, Nick Velasquez 21)
SUNDAY
BELLARINE 73 lost to HUME CITY 81
(Kavione Green 18 & 13, Jamieson Hultgren 14 & 10)
If our Championship Women had a perfect weekend on the road, the weekend turned into a bit of a nightmare for our Championship Men, as they lost both games over the weekend, when disappointingly, both games we were in a position to grab the win.
On Saturday night, the trip to Shepparton began well, as KG and Nick Velasquez set the early scoring tempo, with Rohan Jarvie also in the mix early, to have the Storm in front at the first break.
A strong opening to the second quarter by the Gators had us working hard to restrict them, with KG continuing to dominate scoring, with support from Max Kos and Velasquez. However, the home side grabbing the lead with three and a half left in the term and held on to a three point margin with a half to play.
The third quarter turned into a real arm wrestle, with six lead changes, before the Gators went on a 15-7 run to the three quarter time break to lead by seven points with one to play.
Despite still having ab big opportunity to push for a win in the last quarter, the Storm offence seemed to dry up, whereas their opponents were having much better success in getting their shots to work and were able to control the last quarter to record the win.
Things went along a similar path on Sunday, as the Storm appeared to be in a strong position to bounce straight back again for a win against Hume City, however, again, the bubble burst down the stretch.
Bellarine was able to put a little gap between the two sides through Max Kos, Liam McInerney and Jamieson Hultgren, who played one of his best games for the team to date. Courtesy of a Kos three with three and a half minutes remaining, the Storm were out to a seven point advantage and seemingly in control of their own destiny.
But Hume City had other ideas and they set about dismantling the Storm lead and then charging their way to the line as they went on an 18-3 run to completely outplay the Storm and grasp the victory.
THIS WEEK
SATURDAY 4th MAY 2024
Youth League Men
Bellarine v Whittlesea @ Bellarine Sports Centre 5:30pm
Championship Women
Bellarine v Warrnambool @ Bellarine Sports Centre 7:30pm
SUNDAY 5th May 2024
Youth League Women
Bellarine v Surfcoast @ Bellarine Sports Centre 12:00pm
Championship Women
Bellarine v Wyndham @ Eagle Stadium 1:00pm
Championship Men
Bellarine v Wyndham @ Eagle Stadium 3:00pm