BIG V WRAP 29th & 30th June 2024
YOUTH LEAGUE WOMEN
BELLARINE 40 lost to MORNINGTON 46
(Karli Bruce 15)
After an even opening term, the Storm crumbled in the second quarter, outscored 19 to 3 by the home side and from there, it was going to be all uphill to get back and win the game.
Despite winning both the third and fourth quarters, the early lead conceded, proved too much for the Storm, as they fell six points shy of the win in a low scoring contest.
Karli Bruce was the shining light for the Storm with her 15 points
YOUTH LEAGUE MEN
SATURDAY
BELLARINE 58 lost to MELTON 62
(Mitch Smith 12)
SUNDAY
BELLARINE 43 lost to WESTGATE 95
(Harry Crane 10)
It wasn’t a good weekend for our undermanned Youth League Men as they dropped both games on the weekend.
On Saturday night, to the Storm’s credit, they were in with a real chance of back to back wins, just two points adrift at three quarter time. However, the last term became a case of the Storm trying to get their noses in front without success, whilst Melton clung to their lead to fall across the line in the end.
Bellarine’s case wasn’t helped by key playmaker Mitch Smith sustaining injury in the game, although he did top score with 12 points.
Sadly, Sunday was all one way traffic as Westgate jumped a significantly undermanned Storm outfit, with Smith not able to back up after the previous night.
Like their first meeting back at the start of the season, Westgate started all guns blazing and had set up a 24 to 8 lead at the first break.
Whilst the Storm were able to be a bit more competitive on the scoreboard through the middle of the game, Westgate, sensing an opportunity for a big win, put Bellarine to the sword with a 38 to 10 last term.
Harry Crane was the only Storm player to make double figures for the game, with his 10 points.
CHAMPIONSHIP MEN
SATURDAY
BELLARINE 102 lost to WYNDHAM 110
(Kavione Green 34 & 13, Nick Velasquez 18)
SUNDAY
Bellarine 86 lost to WESTERN PORT 101
(Kavione Green 25 & 14, Nick Velasquez 15)
A double loss weekend has seen our Championship Men drop to fifth on the ladder.
Saturday night promised to be a tough but winnable battle against Wyndham, who were no doubt looking to avenge their defeat by the Storm at Eagle Stadium a few rounds ago, which still remains their only loss for the season.
In fact, the Storm again held the upper hand for most of the night, leading at the end of each quarter, looking to repeat the dose on the visitors.
KG was relishing playing against his old side and Nick Velasquez continued his nice run of form to have the Storm on the path to victory, however, the top side had a different script in mind for this one.
Wyndham’s Tomi Ayilara put his team on his back and shot Wyndham to victory in the last term, his 11 points in emphatic fashion ended up being the difference as the visitors claimed an 8 point win.
Sunday was always going to be a struggle from the get go as the Storm, also troubled by injury and availability, went into this contest with only seven players and whilst they remained competitive for most of the afternoon, the lack of rotations available and the energy expended the previous night, told the tale of the tape.
KG again led the way on the scoresheet, backing up his previous night’s 34 & 13 with 25 & 14 in this game, whilst Nick Velasquez was also prominent with his 15 points.
CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN
SATURDAY
BELLARINE 74 lost to WYNDHAM 77
(Courtney Strait 18, Olivia Virt 13)
SUNDAY
BELLARINE 78 lost to SHERBROOKE 79
(Bridgette Rettstatt 27 & 19, Courtney Strait 14)
Our Championship Women also hit a bit of a speed bump on the weekend as they also dropped both their contests on the weekend.
As with the Championship Men’s clash with Wyndham, the Women’s clash between these two sides was also eagerly anticipated and it was also a quality game, with neither side taking a backwards step from the other throughout the night.
The key moment in this contest came mid way through the last quarter, with Wyndham key player Amanda Paschal fouled out of the game, presenting an opportunity for the Storm to press for the win, despite being eight points behind on the scoreboard.
A Georgia Varley triple with just on a minute to play, had the Storm trailing by just 2 points and in with a chance. However, Julia Brousseau stepped up with her trips to the foul line to deny the Storm a win.
Sunday’s contest was also a close fought affair, this time the Storm falling by just one point to Sherbrooke Thein the end.
The final scoreline demonstrated the closeness of this contest throughout the afternoon, with neither team, despite both sharing the lead throughout the game, weren’t ever able to shake the other off for the whole 40 minutes.
Bellarine headed into the last with a five point buffer at three quarter time and beginning to look like they were beginning to get their machine rolling towards atoning for the previous nights defeat.
Both sides were finding scoring hard in the last quarter as the pressure intensified. Then, the scoring flood gates opened both ways with five lead changes in the last minute and a half as both sides fought tooth and nail for the win.
When Tenaya Sooalo hit a two pointer with around 20 seconds to go, it game the Suns a one point lead. The Storm certainly had their chances to snatch the win, with three shots going up inside the last 20 seconds, none of which would drop before the final buzzer to give the visitors a one point win.
THIS WEEK
SATURDAY 6th JULY
Youth League Women v Western Port at Bellarine Sports Centre 3:30pm
Championship Women v Hume City at Bellarine Sports Centre 5:30pm
Championship Men v Hume City at Bellarine Sports Centre 7:30pm
SUNDAY 7th JULY
Youth League Women v Sunbury at Bellarine Sports Centre 11:00am
Youth League Men v Sunbury at Bellarine Sports Centre 1:00pm
Championship Men v Melbourne University at Bellarine Sports Centre 3:00pm