In an exciting weekend of Championship Women, Pakenham triumphed over Camberwell 81-62, led by Haille Nickerson's 23 points, while Bulleen faced a tough 71-80 loss to Sunbury despite Keli Romas' 22 points. Other notable games included Bellarine's narrow defeats to Wyndham and Sherbrooke, and Camberwell's 75-54 first victory of the season over McKinnon.
Pakenham (81) def Camberwell (62)
Bouncing back from a poor performance last weekend, the Dragons started the first of their double header in strong form taking the lead in the first break 24-22. The challenge was going to be whether Camberwell could sustain that level of scoring across four quarters and sure enough the power of Pakenham took over in the second quarter winning it 26-11, including a 13 point run at one point. Whilst Pakenham won each of the remaining two quarters, it was highly competitive, but the 23 points from Haille Nickerson led the way for the Warriors. For the Dragons, Georgia Fagan with 4 makes from the perimeter at 50% was a strong contributor.
Sunbury (80) def Bulleen (71)
Is Bulleen’s mid-season of concern? The defending champions have lost 3 of the past 5, with the most recent loss coming at the hands of a team at the other end of the form spectrum – Sunbury are on the charge! The Jets jumped to a 9 point lead at quarter time, that difference being the final amount and the Boomers never getting back in front of hitting the opening bucket of the game. Despite that, Bulleen mounted multiple challenges in the third and fourth quarters, but couldn’t get their noses in front. The Boomers are still safe in the playoffs for now; but Sunbury now stands equal with three others from 4th-7th in a significant turnaround from the start of the season. The reliable Keli Romas was again strong for Bulleen with 22 points, but it was Abby Hildebrand who was the star of the game with an impressive 28 points at 56% from the field including 3/7 3FG, well supported by Veronika Mirkovic with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Wyndham (77) def Bellarine (74)
It could be argued Bellarine took the powerhouse that is Wyndham by surprise earlier in the season, but that would also discredit the Storm’s performance. Is the battle between these two teams a preview of the quality that lay ahead in the playoffs? Amanda Paschal and the crew from Wyndham headed to Bellarine ready to stamp their position as title favourites. The talent in the two teams was reflected with a tied ball game at the main break with the transition game of both sides reigning supreme in the first half. From there, both teams were safer with the ball, but also locked things up defensively, with neither team shooting the ball from 3 at the percentages they’d normally desire. Despite this, it was Wyndham able to get a stranglehold on the game leading by 10 at the final break. The Storm made a charge in the fourth and final quarter, pulling the game back to just 2 points with 29 seconds to play. Bellarine had several opportunities in the closing stages, but it was Wyndham’s Julie Brousseau who was clutch going 4/4 from the Free Throw line in the final stages to secure an eventual 3 point win for Wyndham. It was Paschal and Lauren Jones who were reliable for Wyndham in keeping the scoreboard ticking over with 28 and 21 points respectively, not to forget Paschal’s additional 11 rebounds and 6 assists in another League MVP candidate performance! With Wyndham locked in for the playoffs playoffs, and Bellarine looking solid – this could be one of the best Championship Women’s finals series we’ve seen for some time and the first time that Bellarine have featured at the level.
Camberwell (75) def McKinnon (54)
The common word around the circles is the Championship Women’s competition has become a lot stronger in 2024 across the board and there is no better example of this than two talented teams in McKinnon and Camberwell being at the lower end of the ladder. Camberwell have had many single digit losses, but also suffered some blowouts, and were yet to secure a win, going up against a Cougars outfit that have collected a few wins, but less than they’d be accustomed too. The Dragons jumped the Cougars leading by as many as 11 in the first quarter with Camberwell finishing at 54% around the rim to McKinnon’s 18% demonstrating the difference early. McKinnon were strong in the second and third quarters and at times looked to be taking control of the game, making a shot in the closing stages of the third quarter to take a 2 point lead into the final break. We’re not sure what was said or happened at three quarter time, but the Dragons exploded in the final quarter winning it 30-7 and running away with a 21 point win shooting at an extraordinary 81% from 2pt range and 57% from beyond the arc, including back to back 3’s from the experienced Gemma Fyffe. Impressive for both teams was the broad range of scoring options. For Camberwell, Valos, Fyffe, Whitehouse (3/4 3FG) and Fagan all hit double figures, and for McKinnon all nine players scored, with 2024 recruit Maltezos leading the way with 12 of her own.
Sherbrooke (79) def Bellarine (78)
A heartbreaking weekend for Bellarine, losing both games by a combined 4 points, yet only moments away from it being a 2-0 weekend! On the flip side, for the Suns this win continues their drive back to the playoffs where they featured in 2023. We spoke of the standard of Championship Women increasing this season and it is Sherbrooke that have taken a little to find their stride, but find their stride they have! An away win at Bellarine is a big scalp in 2024! It was a ding-dong battle, with the biggest differential being just 8 points for the night. With differing styles, Sherbrooke getting feet in the paint, whilst Bellarine played a more inside-outside game firing 29 attempts from range. Bellarine went into final quarter with a 5 point lead and playing at home, some confidence they could lock away the win. For more than 9 minutes of game time in the final quarter – they were right! On the back of a huge haul of 27 points (63 FG%) and 19 rebounds from Bridgette Rettstatt the Storm had every right! But the Suns are in the midst of a playoff fight and they needed this one! With 23 seconds remaining Tenaya Sooalo made a layup to get her team back in front. With the final play, Bellarine had two further opportunities to steal the lead back, but to no avail and such a brilliant win for Sherbrooke. Courtney Strait and Georgia Varley were other big offensive contributors for Bellarine, but for Sherbrooke it was scoring by committee with 5 players coming up big with Sooalo and Carline with 18 each, Powell (14), Pal (12) and Gartner (11) all shouldering the scoring load.
With four teams now tied on W/L for fourth – these final rounds and matches are going to be big!
Bulleen (77) def Hume City (75)
Bulleen headed to Broadmeadows with a need to right the ship. With a loss at home to Sunbury, the need to win and stay above the chasing pack was of the upmost importance, but for Hume City with just 3 wins, the need for wins to stay clear of relegation was critical. If you weren’t to know the scores, but were told Bulleen were never headed for the afternoon, led by as many as 22 points, and had 14 second chance points on the back of 13 offensive rebounds, you might assume it was a blow out win…. You’d be wrong! Bulleen dominated the first half leading 44-27 at the main break and extended that to 22 points midway through the third quarter. Then the Bronocs arrived at the Corral and off they went! On the back off a 33 point performance from Megan Ormiston, along with 18 rebounds, the Broncos finished the last 1 ½ quarters on a 42-22 run! With 45 seconds left, the Broncos were still down 7 points, with buckets from McKellar and Mucha dragging the game back to a 2 point difference with 13 seconds left. Out of a Bulleen time out, Ormiston stole the ball and a 3 point launch from McKellar with seconds left, bounced out and Bulleen had secured the win. Keli Romas was again important for the Boomers with 18 points with young Tahlia Leeson again strong off the bench with 13 points. A great effort from the Broncos, but a much needed win for the defending champions who now put some pressure for a top 2 finish back on Bellarine.
You can view our First Teams of the week here.
You can view our Second Teams of the week here.
