Division 1 Men
Bellarine Storm 84 defeated Corio Bay 71
A big win on the road for our Div 1 Men as they knocked off cross-town rivals Corio Bay at their place on Saturday night to score Home court honours for week 1 of the Finals this weekend.
The Storm were out of the blocks early, with Lewie Varley leading the way and setting the tone for the night, too set up a 13 point buffer at the first break.
The ‘Rays managed to work themselves into the contest by the half, before Lachlan Headlam got the home side back into the lead by three quarter time with a barrage of shots from outside the arc.
However, the last quarter was all Storm as the boys went to work and ran right over the top of the hosts with a 27 to 9 final stanza, to record a barnstorming win by 13 points to seal the deal.
Lewie Varley had a night out with 23 points, Leigh Saffin chipped in with 17 and Max Kos finished with 15 against his old side.
The win sets up a blockbuster this Saturday night at Storm HQ, for the rematch in week 1 of the Finals.
Division 1 Women
Bellarine Storm 64 lost to Camberwell 66
Despite not getting the win in their final game for the season, it was still a great performance by our Div 1 Women as they fell just 2 points short of causing a boilover against one of the title favourites.
The Storm were neck and neck with their opponents for the majority of the night, with the Dragons just managing to keep their noses in front, leading by 8 points at the final break.
With nothing but pride on the line, the Storm fired up for their last quarter of 2022 to press Camberwell right to the line, outscoring the visitors by 6 points.
Sadly, a few unsuccessful trips to the free throw line late in the last quarter, turned out to be the difference by the time the final buzzer sounded for the Storm’s 2022 campaign.
Charlotte Armstrong played probably her best game for the season, with 20 points and 14 boards for the night, whilst Olivia Virt finished on 17 points for the night.
Youth League Women
Bellarine Storm 65 defeated Blackburn 51
Bellarine Storm 62 defeated Wallan 49
Our Youth League Women finished off the regular season, the way they started, in winning touch, with 2 wins for the weekend to wrap up top spot in their debut season.
On the back of 23 points and 10 rebounds from Carly Sanders, the Storm cruised to a 14 point win against Blackburn on Saturday night.
Despite a slower start to the game, the Storm kicked into gear in the middle stages of the contest to set up a nice buffer by the final change, before the Viking’s saved one final effort in the last, before the Storm rallied and moved to another win and all but seal top spot on the ladder.
On Sunday, if there was any doubt about the Storm finishing on top, they made sure of it, by overcoming second placed Wallan on Sunday.
In a good workout heading into the Finals, Wallan pushed the Storm heavily in the opening quarter, setting up a big break by the first break before Bellarine began to find their feet and begin to exert their dominance on the visitors to wipe out the 11 point quarter time deficit and establish a 7 point lead at the half.
From there on, the Storm controlled the narrative for the remainder of the day, to wrap up top spot with a 13 point victory.
The win earns the Storm a week off in the first week of the Finals this weekend.
Youth League Men
Bellarine Storm 103 lost to Whittlesea 109 (OT)
Someone may have forgotten to tell these two sides that there wasn’t anything riding on this game in terms of ladder positions, as they put on a cracking contest at Storm HQ on Sunday, having to go to extra time to get a result.
It was like watching a boxing match against two heavyweights as the two sides went full on for 40 minutes in a very physical contest, neither one wanting to be the first to blink.
A Vinnie Whelan two gave the Storm the lead with less than a minute remaining in regular time, before Zac Donoghue made the lay up with less than 30 seconds remaining and was fouled on his way to the basket, where he hit the bonus to give the visitors a 2 point buffer.
With only 7 seconds left to go, Ethan Nicholls, who had a superb match with 25 points for the day, was fouled and went to the line where he iced both to tie it all up.
Heading into extra time and Pacers shooters in Donoghue and David Barron hit some clutch threes to dominate extra time and escape with the win.
The Storm will now head into week 1 of the Finals with a home elimination Final on Saturday night, with a win in that game, taking them into another Elimination final the following day, against the loser of Keysborough and Sunbury on the road.
Next Round
Saturday 6th August 2022
YLM v Melton @ Bellarine Secondary College 5:00pm
D1M v Corio Bay @ Bellarine Secondary College 7:00pm
YLW – BYE