ROUND 1 of Big V Women’s kicked off over the weekend with the closest game decided by 14 points. The round was dictated by dominant scorers and individual efforts with a number of players stepping up to the challenge and leading the way for their respective sides as Sunbury, Casey, Wyndham and Bulleen registered wins.

Southern Peninsula (46) defeated by Sunbury (60)

It took a while for both sides to get going with Southern Peninsula only recording a mere three points in the opening term. However Sunbury were not that much better finishing the quarter with nine points to their name. Scoring opened up in the second term as they both got a feel for the game and settled into the contest with Sunbury extending their lead at half time. The third term followed suit with the Jets piling on the scoreboard pressure thanks to their 16-12 point quarter. That ascendancy filtered into the final stanza of play as Sunbury overcame a sloppy and slow opening term to run home 14 point victors.

Tanarly Hood spearheaded the attack for Southern Peninsula knocking back 12 points and reeling in a whopping 10 rebounds. Teammate Jayde Popovski also played a crucial role for Peninsula posting 11 points albeit at a lowly 37 per cent while also producing six rebounds and two steals. Abbey McNamara and Mikaela Watson slotted six points apiece with the former also managing four rebounds. Sunbury was led by a trio of stars with Bianca Dufelmeier topping the tally thanks to her 16 points at 67 per cent from the field. Emily Conn and Tahnee Cannan were other handy options for the winners knocking back 12 points each along with a combined 14 rebounds.

Casey (77) defeat Hume (45)

In a one-sided affair it was Casey that walked away with the four points thanks to their 32-point demolition job of Hume. Casey jumped out of the blocks quickly claiming the ascendancy as shown through their 23 to 11 first term of basketball. That pressure did not falter throughout the contest as Casey looked to inflict a wealth of pain on their opponents who simply had no answers for what was being thrown at them. With the damage already well and truly done Casey took the` foot off the pedal in the final quarter.

It was a one woman display for Casey as Shereesha Richards dominated on the scoreboard with a whopping 35 points. Her efforts were undeniable, exploiting her opponents’ weaknesses and attacking the rim with great anticipation. Her stat line also saw her collect 14 rebounds, with 12 of them defensive highlighting her overall presence. Taylor Lee was the next best posting 14 points to accompany her six rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block. No player from the Broncos was able to really find their stroke, instead Hume relied on a couple of players to chip away at the scoreboard. Sophie Byrnes topscored with 10 points as Jessica Azzopardi slotted six points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks.  Nikki Spencer was dynamic in the loss adding six points to the tally while also collecting four rebounds, two steals and a block.

Whittlesea (57) defeated by Wyndham (76)

Wyndham wasted no time asserting themselves on the match, quickly creating some scoreboard separation between them and Whittlesea. The Pacers were forced to play catch-up immediately and ultimately were unable to work their way back into the contest such was the pressure and game plan implemented by Wyndham. A blistering third term from Wyndham all but set up the win, keeping the Pacers to as much as eight points while going on a scoring spree of their own sinking 26 points. Although Whittlesea bit back in the fourth it was too late to mount a comeback as the damage had already been done. It was the perfect way for Wyndham to kickstart their 2021 campaign producing a comprehensive win and most importantly digging deep to withstand the fightback.

Indiana Bodley took the reins for the Pacers knocking back 24 points and 11 rebounds in an all-round strong showing. Saule Kontautaite chipped in with 13 points and it did not stop there as she collected 10 rebounds, four assists and a whopping eight steals. Teammate Lyndsey Hoogenhout also made her presence amassing 11 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. For Wyndham there were four players that hit the double-digit mark as both Courtney Middap and Lauren Jones topscored with 14 points. Middap managed six rebounds as Jones amassed seven assists and four steals. Sam Moodie slotted 13 points while Jamielee Pearce finished the match with 11 to her name alongside six rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Bulleen (88) defeated McKinnon (65)

A dominant second half of basketball gifted Bulleen with the win over McKinnon after the Boomers were caught napping in the opening two quarters. Bursting out of the gates, McKinnon made their intentions clear but could not sustain that high octane style of basketball, well and truly tiring in the third as Bulleen let loose. The Boomers unleashed in the third nullifying McKinnon in every which way possible to keep them to six points as they piled on the pain through their 26 points. That level of intensity continued into the final term as Bulleen could sense a victory and McKinnon were all out of moves, eventually going down by 23 points, despite their initial efforts.

Headlined by a trio of Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) stars the Boomers made their presence felt with Rebecca Cole doing plenty of the hefty lifting thanks to her 31 points. Although not overly accurate from beyond the arc her range from the charity strip was solid converting at 71 per cent. It did not stop there for Cole with the Southside Flyers represent reeling in 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Cole was ably assisted by Kate Gaze who produced 21 points in the win. Gaze managed seven rebounds and three assists as Louella Tomlinson chimed in with 18 points at 67 per cent from the field. Tomlinson also impressed defensively thanks to her seven blocks, nine rebounds and two steals. There were only two players that managed double-digits for McKinnon as Amelia Todhunter stepped up to the challenge producing 21 points. Todhunter was strong off the boards with nine rebounds as Rosie Fadljevic walked away with 16 points and six rebounds to her name. Morgan Ili was a star off the boards for McKinnon credit to her 12 rebounds while also producing nine points, four steals and six rebounds.

At time of publishing results for Hawthorn and Keilor had not been confirmed.