MELBOURNE Tigers will be thanking their lucky stars that the buzzer beat a rampaging Keilor Thunder in the final quarter of the two sides’ Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) Under 18 Girls’ VC Ashe opening round last Friday night.

The Tigers lead by as much as 13 points with three and a half minutes left on the clock at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre as young gun Gabriella Conti nailed a long-range three-pointer to notch up 14 points for the match.

Though at that stage the 52-39 scoreline looked comfortable, the Thunder had other ideas, piling on the last 11 points of the game. Maddison Brady (four points) and Maya Barnes (three) were crucial in the dying moments, while Elle Price had herself a quarter, sinking nine points for the term to help steer the visiting Thunder back into the match.

While it ultimately proved in vain for the night’s result, it would have given Keilor plenty of confidence heading into Round 2. Price’s 13 points were only eclipsed by Conti’s 14 in the 52-50 final result, while the latter’s partner-in-crime Ellie Fielding put down 10 points in the game.

It was not the only thrilling comeback that fell short in the VC Ashe grade with Casey Cavaliers charging home against McKinnon Cougars but falling five points short at Casey Stadium. Mica Nightingale managed 14 points in the victory with the Cavaliers trailing by as much as 12 points in the final minute of the third term.

Incredibly that deficit was cut to just five points in the opening couple of minutes of the last quarter, and even went as close as three with 28 seconds on the clock. However deliberate fouling in the dying moments sent McKinnon to the charity strip and Meg Cooper gave her team some breathing space for the ultimate 46-41 victory.

Cooper and Daisy Nousis finished with 14 points apiece in the victory, the same as Nightingale on the losing side. The comeback was spearheaded by an 18-13 final term after Casey scored just 13 in the first half to McKinnon’s 21.

In other VC Ashe results, Westgate posted a four-point victory over Sandringham 2 (50-46) as Chiara Sultana (18 points) and Ruby Jones (15) did the bulk of the damage, while Surf Coast and Sandringham 1 both notched up massive wins over Frankston and Eltham respectively. Talented Geelong Falcons footballer Greea McKeegan was the standout across those games, putting up 18 points for Surf Coast.

Looking to the VC Watson pool and the results were fairly one-sided. Kilsyth punished Melbourne Tigers’ second team with a 64-38 result, while it was a similar story in Dandenong as the Rangers easily accounted for the Casey Cavaliers’ second side, 61-39.

In the other matches, Bulleen defeated Ballarat by 23 points (50-27), Nunawading knocked off Bendigo by 16 (63-47), while Geelong also won by the same margin against Diamond Valley, 68-52.