Round 2 of Big V is a wrap and it was another weekend of nice wins for 3 of our 4 teams. Among the highlights were some good first up performances of our 2 imports Bh’rea Griffin and Joshua Chery in their respective opening games for the Storm.
Championship Men
Bellarine 85 lost to Camberwell 92
(Joshua Chery, Max Kos 21 points, Marko Vekic 18 points)
21 points from new import Joshua Chery and Max Kos wasn’t enough to get our Championship Men across the line for their opening win of the season, going down to Camberwell by 7 points at their place on Saturday night.
It was another bright start for the Storm, heading into the first break with a narrow 3 point lead, before the Dragons steadied and grabbed the lead by 10 points by half time.
That break proved to be instrumental in the end, as both sides traded baskets for most of the second half, with Bellarine hitting the front in the last quarter via a Max Kos trip to the foul line.
The lead then changed several times in the last three minutes of the contest, with the Storm threatening to get away from their opposition, before a breakdown in communications saw the Storm on the end of 2 technical fouls, giving Camberwell 6 free throws, making 4 of the 6 then getting possession of the ball and draining a 3 pointer along with a free throw for the foul, sinking the hopes of the Storm.
Division 1 Women
Bellarine 73 defeated Warrnambool 69 (OT)
(Bh’rea Griffin 21 points, Georgia Varley 16)
Who says lightning doesn’t strike twice?
It has for our Division 1 Women as they snared another overtime victory against Altona on Saturday night, to give us a 2 – 0 opening to the 2023 season.
Altona set the early running, establishing a 6 point advantage by the first break, with the Storm’s shooting radar off a little early doors.
In the second quarter, Bh’rea Griffin, in her first outing for the Storm, underlined her ability and value to the team, by compiling a 10 point second quarter to will her side to a 1 point lead at the main break.
This was a very even contest as the Gators go their noses in front again at three quarter time by 3 points heading into the final stanza, before extending that to 7 points early in the last.
The Storm then dug deep and forced their way back to level the scores midway through the final period, gaining a brief ascendency before the visitors levelled things again with just a minute remaining in regular time.
In that last minute, neither side could get it done offensively, despite a few opportunities respectively, to ice the game, with the scores tied at 60 each at the end of 40 minutes.
Extra time was Dominated by Bh’rea Griffin and Georgia Varley as they led the Storm to a 4 point victory.
Youth League 2 Women
Bellarine 53 defeated Whittlesea 52
(Summer Field 15 points, Ash Withers 15 rebounds)
Close results were the order of the night for our Women’s teams, as our Youth League Women had their own scare before hanging on for a 1 point win against Whittlesea.
Bellarine opened with a 10 – 2 run, before the Pacers got going, with the Storm lead at quarter time only 1 point.
The second quarter continued in much the same vein, with both sides keeping each other in reach and it was only a couple of late scores for the Storm through Eliza Haugh and Summer Field that allowed the Storm to extend their lead by 2 at the half.
Whittlesea came out with renewed vigour in the third term and after taking the lead 2 minutes into the quarter, went on a 21 to 13 run to lead by 5 points with one to play.
The visitors managed to push their advantage to 9 points early in the last, before Bellarine began to reel in their opponents, hitting the lead via a Summer Field lay up with just under 2 minutes remaining in the game.
Whittlesea quickly struck back to grab the lead by 1 with just seconds remaining, before a Piper Copeland ‘hail mary’ under a tonne of pressure went in, giving her side the lead and in the end, the win.
Youth League 2 Men
Bellarine 78 defeated Chelsea 66
(Sam Maher, Mitch Smith 20 points)
A strong first half set up win number two for our Youth League Men at Chelsea on Saturday night.
Mitch Smith was in nice touch in the first term to provide some instant offence off the bench, compiling 10 points for the term.
The Storm continued to press their advantage into the second term, finishing the half with an 11 point buffer 37 to 26.
In a much more even second half, the Gulls threatened to get back into the contest, making early inroads into our lead in the third term, before we steadied and maintained a 7 point advantage heading into the final period.
Chelsea managed to reduce the deficit to just 2 points early in the last, before Sam Maher saddled up and poured in 11 points from that stage, to lead his team to a comfortable 12 point win on the road.
THIS WEEKEND
ROUND 3
Saturday 1st April 2023
Division 1 Women
Bellarine v Warrandyte @ Bellarine Secondary College 5:30pm
Championship Men
Bellarine v Western Port @ Bellarine Secondary College 7:30pm
Youth League 2 Women
Bellarine v Albury/Wodonga @ Myrtleford Indoor Sports Stadium 5:00pm
Youth League 2 Men
Bellarine v Albury/Wodonga @ Myrtleford Indoor Sports Stadium 7:00pm
Sunday 2nd April 2023
Division 1 Women
Bellarine v Warrnambool @ Bellarine Secondary College 12:00pm
Championship Men
Bellarine v Hume @ Bellarine Secondary College 2:00pm
Youth League 2 Men
Bellarine v Wangaratta North East @ Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre 3:00pm