BIG V WRAP 6th & 7th July 2024
YOUTH LEAGUE WOMEN
SATURDAY
BELLARINE 58 lost to WESTERN PORT 69
(Sienna Quinlan 15, Lucy Howard 13 & 12)
SUNDAY
BELLARINE 51 lost to SUNBURY 63
(Summer Field 16 & 12, Ella Wolfenden 14)
Not a good weekend for our Youth League Women as they dropped another two contests, both at home.
Whilst a spot in the post-season appears to be reasonably likely now, it’s all about final positions in the run home and the twin losses give the Storm a little bit of work ahead of them over the next two regular season rounds, to get back into position for a potential home final.
Saturday’s contest against Western Port was a pretty even one up to half time, with the Steelers leading by five points at the main break. The second half was a game of two quarters, as the Storm pushed the margin to just one point with one quarter to play and seemingly in the box seat to work their way to a win.
Things looked promising at the start of the last as the Storm grabbed the lead through Summer Field, however, all their good work was undone in the last as Western Port retook the lead shortly after and didn’t surrender it again.
On Sunday, it was a bright start for the Storm, establishing an early break before Sunbury raised the stakes grabbing a handy nine point buffer at the first break. Ella Wolfenden was instrumental early for the Storm, giving her team an avenue to the basket.
From quarter time, it was all Sunbury as maintained their early lead and didn’t allow the Storm to get it back for the rest of the contest. Summer Field finished with 16 points and 12 boards, whilst Ella Wolfenden finished with 14 points to be the leaders for Bellarine.
YOUTH LEAGUE MEN
BELLARINE 48 lost to SUNBURY 94
(Levi Rickard 16)
Going into this contest, with Mitch Smith still on the injured list and playing a top four team, it was always looking like a tough ask for our Youth League Men on Sunday.
Sadly, it went to script as Sunbury took control of the contest early doors and didn’t concede for the rest of the day. Whilst Bellarine were reasonably competitive to half time, the third quarter was the back breaker as Sunbury went 23 to 2 on the scoreboard to completely outplay the Storm.
Levi Rickard was the only player for the Storm that made double figures, with 16 points including three of four from outside the arc for the match.
CHAMPIONSHIP MEN
SATURDAY
BELLARINE 91 lost to HUME CITY 94
(Kavione Green 30 & 20, Nick Velasquez 18)
SUNDAY
Bellarine 92 lost to MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY 116
(Kavione Green 29 & 13, Nick Velasquez 28)
A costly weekend for our Championship Men as another weekend of back to back losses has seen them tumble out of the top five and in danger of not making the post-season festivities.
On Saturday night, Bellarine were seemingly in control of the battle, leading by six points with one quarter to play, however, a known kryptonite of Bellarine in the form of Scott Stone had a different thought on how this contest should end.
With the Storm in front with less than four minutes remaining, it looked like a potential home victory. Enter Stone who dropped 12 points inside the last three minutes of the game, to snuff out any thoughts of a Storm win.
On Sunday, Bellarine backed up to host Melbourne Uni with fresh hope of arresting their losing streak, however, that didn’t eventuate as the Black Angels controlled the game from early in the first and then for the rest of the afternoon to run out comfortable winners by 24 points.
CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN
BELLARINE 98 d HUME CITY 56
(Courtney Strait 23, Olivia Virt 17)
The only shining light for the weekend, was our Championship Women, who bounced back from their losses last week, to take care of Hume City on Saturday night at Storm HQ.
Bellarine seized control of the contest early in the first quarter and there they stayed for the remainder of the night to cruise to a comfortable 42 point victory and move closer to hopefully locking in a home final in a few weeks time.
Courtney Strait was in control of the contest and leading the Storm charge with her 23 points, whilst Olivia Virt was a very able deputy as her recent run of form continued with her 17 points.
THIS WEEK
SATURDAY 13th JULY
Championship Men v Keysborough at Rowville Secondary College 6:00pm
SUNDAY 14th JULY
Youth League Men v Maccabi at Bialik College 11:30am
Youth League Women v Southern Peninsula at Rosebud Stadium 12:00pm
Championship Women v Warrnambool at The Arc, Warrnambool 1:00pm