Round 2 Wrap Up!

An exciting second round of Big V action. Let's wrap up the weekend and review the standout games from each division. Have a read below:

 

CM

Camberwell 92 def. Bellarine 85

This one went right down to the wire on Saturday night at Balwyn High School. Bellarine, with the addition of second import Joshua Chery, proved to be a lot more explosive on the offensive end than in round 1, causing the Dragons some serious issues early. Joshua Chery and Max Kos carried the scoring load with 21 each but it was Marko Vekic who proved to be the spark off the bench popping in 18 points to go with 8 boards. For Camberwell, it was Ben Crowe and Fisto Bizima who kept the scoreboard ticking for the second week in a row, including a massive 3 from Ben Crowe down the stretch which ultimately lead the Dragons to the hard-fought win.

Camberwell		Stat	Bellarine
Ben Crowe	20	Points	21	Max Kos/Joshua Chery
Anthony Kimble	12	Rebounds	8	Jalen King
Tim Angus	6	Assists	7	Lewis Varley
Fisto Bizima	3	Steals	5	Lewis Varley

 

CW

Hume 71 def. Sunbury 64

This game was a struggle the entire match-up, with Hume controlling the first and last quarters whilst Sunbury tightened up their defence in the middle two quarters. Young star Emma Povh proved to be the difference late in the game as she made some critical plays to get her team up and about, she finished with 14 points to go with her 9 rebounds. For Sunbury, it was Chloe Hildebrand and Maddison Ford who were strong contributors across the entirety of the game, having 16 and 15 points respectively whilst carrying a lot of the offensive load of the Jets. With some lapses of concentration and ill-advised shots down the stretch, the Jets will be disappointed that they didn’t come away with this one.

Hume		Stat	Sunbury
Emma Povh	14	Points	16	Chloe Hildebrand
Kayonna Lee	14	Rebounds	11	Darcy Saunders
Tegan Hindle	5	Assists	6	Chloe Hildebrand
Jessica Azzopardi	3	Steals	3	Emily Conn

 

D1M

Pakenham 76 def. Shepparton 73

What a finish to this game of the round! A Joe Davis 3-point make, off the milestone man Josh Dow’s assist gave the Pakenham Warriors a 3-point win. The newly promoted Pakenham Warriors would’ve entered this game knowing very well that they were facing one of the favourites in the Shepparton Gators on the back end of a double-header weekend. With the Gators missing centre Matt Andronicos, it was Warriors star Joe Davis who took the game by the scruff of the neck with 25 points to go with his 9 rebounds, whilst Josh Dow, in his 150^th game, was a solid support act with 16 points and 4 assists. For Shepparton, it was Derek Murphy with 25 points and 8 rebounds keeping them in the game alongside Joshua Kooiman with 15 points and 5 dimes.

Pakenham		Stat	Shepparton
Joe Davis	25	Points	25	Derek Murphy
Joe Davis	9	Rebounds	10	Sam Beks
Dow/Weideman/Johns	4	Assists	5	Bartlett/Kooiman
Joshua Dow	+12	+/-	+10	Staci Richardson

 

D1W

Mildura 60 def. Craigieburn 58

Another week, another buzzer beater! This time an offensive rebound that fell into the lap of Demalza Henry resulted in a layup to win at the buzzer. Despite controlling the rebounds for the majority of the game, Craigieburn couldn’t win this arm wrestle not without the best efforts from Courtney Strait and Carley Cranston who finished with 14 and 10 points respectively. For Mildura, it was that usual name again… Vanessa Power, 20 points to go with her 5 rebounds and 3 assists made her this games MVP. Coach Madigan will be happy to get this win despite the 4^th quarter rally from the Craigieburn Eagles.

Mildura		Stat	Craigieburn
Vanessa Power	20	Points	14	Courtney Strait
Brooke Edson	12	Rebounds	12	Molly Young
Power/Henry	3	Assists	3	Strait/Wood/Cranston
Tracey Sherlock	3	Steals	3	Courtney Strait

 

D2M

Wallan 92 def. Mornington 89 OT

In a week of blowout wins in this competition, we had an overtime game between Wallan and Mornington. Whilst Wallan had control of the majority of the game, it was a 52 to 39 middle two quarters that kept Mornington in it, dictating the play and scoring at will. The addition of Brad Murfett into the team this week, clearly meant a lot for the Breakers as he contributed 17 points to go with 11 rebounds, working well with King and Kelly. For Wallan, it was the usual suspects of Arcaim Lallemand and Tyler Best who carried their team to a tough overtime victory. 

Wallan		Stat	Mornington
Arcaim Lallemand	30	Points	25	Andrew Kelly
Tom O’Connor	12	Rebounds	11	Brad Murfett
Dominic Bruno	6	Assists	6	Kieran McQueen
Tyler Best	+9	+/-	+3	Calvin Jackson

 

D2W

Wallan 68 def. Coburg 55

In an incredibly hard-fought battle, it was a strong third quarter from the Wallan Panthers that helped them take a hold of this game and become eventual winners. Whilst neither team were particularly influential from beyond the arc, or get to the free throw line much, it became a game about who could control possession more, with Coburg turning it over 7 more times, costing them in the end. Kylah Collins continued her dominant form to start the season, finishing with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, whilst, for the Giants, it was Siobhan Mac Aodha who kept them in it with 18 points, 9 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals as she stuffed the stat sheet. The Giants will need more consistent contributions to form others if they are to win games like this one!

Wallan		Stat	Coburg
Kylah Collins	22	Points	18	Siobhan Mac Aodha
Olivia Woods	11	Rebounds	13	Emily Verey
Olivia Dalmau	8	Assists	4	Siobhan Mac Aodha
Olivia Dalmau	5	Steals	4	Siobhan Mac Aodha

 

VYCM

Melbourne 111 def. Dandenong 95

In what was already a competitive round 1, Melbourne and Dandenong continued this trend by forcing one another into an overtime hit out with the Tigers walking away with a massive win over the Rangers. It was Mason Gaze who was as straight as an arrow on the stripe knocking down 2 free throws to put the game to 92 a piece by regulation time. It was the Tigers who dominated the last 5 minutes scoring 19 points, and holding the Rangers to just 3 points. Wilson Amos had a massive game with 31 points collecting 7 rebounds, 4 assists and snatching 3 steals. Justin Asi did his best on the other side with a big double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds yet unfortunately it just wasn’t enough.

Melbourne		Stat	Dandenong
Wilson Amos	31	Points	30	Justin Asi
Amos / Gaze	7	Rebounds	11	Justin Asi
Ellul / Gaze	6	Assists	5	Nathan Raymond
Mason Gaze	5	Steals	2	Duol / Dali

 

VYCW

Casey 48 def. Nunawading 47

In one of Big V’s lower-scoring games for the weekend, Casey held on tight to a 1-point win over the 2022 runners-up Spectres. Both teams scored less than 10 points in a quarter throughout the game this turned into a defensive battle. The game came down to the last minute after a timeout with Kyra Webb’s layup snatching the lead from the Spectres. The Spectres had an opportunity but couldn’t capitalise and house to play the foul game to get the ball back. Myah Healey top-scored for the game with 18 points with Asha Nightingale closely behind with 12 points to go with her 15 rebounds.

Casey		Stat	Nunawading
Myah Healey	18	Points	16	Sophia Hickey
Asha Nightingale	15	Rebounds	10	Neave Hancock-Wolfe
Asha Nightingale	4	Assists	3	Taylah Murtagh
Kyra Webb	2	Blocks	1	Nikki Stanic

 

YL1M

Bulleen 88 def. Sherbrooke 78

Bulleen have gotten off to a flying start to the 2023 season proving to the league they’re greedy and ready to step back up to VYCM. Taking down the Suns in a tight battle it was their 2^nd quarter taking charge as they went into the half-time break with a 14-point lead. The Suns made a late run for the finish line but it was too late, even Bailey Moss’s tip at the end of regulation couldn’t help them. Bailey Milligan and Josh Uhr-Henry both walked away with a 20-piece with bother Jamie Uhr-Henry snatching a 13 and 13 double-double. Jacob Bourke-Doggett looking to have an MVP candidate season with 22 points but couldn’t do enough this week.

Bulleen		Stat	Sherbrooke
Milligan / Uhr-Henry	20	Points	22	Jacob Bourke-Doggett
Jamie Uhr-Henry	13	Rebounds	5	Aikman / Browne
Josh Uhr-Henry	5	Assists	4	Geordie Daff
Jamie Uhr-Henry	3	Blocks	2	Matthew Tielen

 

YL1W

Coburg 83 def. Sunbury 73

One of our most interesting games for the Big V competition as we found 2 new teams in a division face-off early in the season. Coburg won Youth Two in 2022 moving up and Sunbury took the relegation from Youth Champ. Coburg proved to be the better team on the day losing just one quarter in the 3^rd closing out the game with a 28 to 19-point 4^th quarter. In an offensively focused game, it was the Giants who shot the ball better with 43% for the game, capitalising at the stripe and shooting 70%. 4 of their 5 started walking away on double figures with the Jets have 4 double figure scores themselves proving the can be in the mix. Turnovers will be a key focus for both these groups in the future as they both notched over 25 each.

Coburg		Stat	Sunbury
Jacqueline Torrini	22	Points	16	Ogston / Cameron
Jacqueline Torrini	14	Rebounds	7	Cara Beattie
Jacqueline Torrini	7	Assists	2	Beattie / Hanna
Eva Bazzanella	6	Steals	3	Grace Cooper

 

YL2M

Mornington 86 def. Pakenham 84

Youth Two Men are continuing to have some of Big V’s most exciting games thus face this season. Both groups having strong years in 2022 back again for a possible finals matchup it was the Breakers who took the W at the last second on this Saturday night in Pakenham. It was Mitchell Bates Webb off the bench who stole it away from the Warriors in the dying seconds coming off a steal from Lachlan Marshall. Matthew Wolfe took the game-high with 22 points shooting over 60% from the field. With the Warrior's stronger bodies Michael Johns coming off the bench with 16 points, Jackson Grey is doing his part in the starters finishing with 21 points and pulling in 6 rebounds. The shooting seemed the key for the Breakers as they shot 33% from the land of plenty to the Warriors 13%.

Mornington		Stat	Pakenham
Matthew Wolfe	22	Points	21	Jackson Grey
Max Cairns	14	Rebounds	7	Jarred Small
Kye Taylor	6	Assists	5	Dylan Jenkinson
Taylor / Blanchard	3	Steals	4	Jarred Small

 

YL2W

Bellarine 53 def. Whittlesea 52

Like our Youth Two Men, we are seeing some close exciting games in our youth divisions with the Storm snatching the game off the Pacers with just 8 seconds left in the game. Guard Piper Copeland flung up a wild hook shot from just inside the 3pt line to put the Storm up by 1, a highlight without a doubt by the looks of the reaction from their bench! Whittlesea quickly to a timeout but couldn’t manage to get a shot off. Summer Field top-scored for the Storm with 15 points with Ashlea Withers pulling down 15 rebounds to go with her 6 points. Isabella Ryan did all she could for the Pacers walking away with 17 points and 14 rebounds but it just wasn’t their night as the ball had its mind made up with a floating banked hook shot from Copeland.

Bellarine		Stat	Whittlesea
Summer Field	15	Points	17	Isabella Ryan
Ashlea Withers	15	Rebounds	14	Isabella Ryan
Field / Haugh	4	Assists	3	Zara Locklier
Emily Benson	4	Steals	6	Rani Taylor