THE MELBOURNE Tigers made it two from two in Round 10 of the Big V Youth Championship Women’s competition over the weekend after defeating the Nunawading Spectres in the former’s second clash in as many days.

The Tigers have been an extremely balanced outfit throughout the course of the 2025 season to date, making them a tough matchup for opposition teams. Earlier in the round, Melbourne dismantled the Ringwood Hawks to the tune of 21 points at MSAC, so it certainly came into the contest in excellent form.

After stamping their authority early in the piece, the Tigers managed to cruise home to another big win, besting the Spectres by 12 points at MSAC to continue their good run of form.

Melbourne Tigers (74) def. Nunawading Spectres (62)

It was a strong start from the Tigers, who found their feet early in the first quarter, and managed to put the Spectres on the back foot with a flurry of baskets midway through the period. After the teams went bucket for bucket in the opening couple of minutes, the home side went on a 13-0 run to storm out to a double-digit lead. Although the Spectres fought back late, they still trailed by five points after the first 10 minutes of play.

The second quarter was more dominance from Melbourne, with the Tigers finishing the half strongly to take a solid buffer into the main break. After Nunawading cut the margin to three points in the first couple of minutes, the hosts closed out the term in style, storming out to another hefty lead to set the margin at 14 points at half time.

Things looked to be going from bad to worse for the Spectres coming out of half-time, with the margin stretched out to as much as 19 points in the third quarter. However, the visitors were much more competitive in the closing minutes of the period, with Tegan Potter‘s late basket ensuring the margin only sat at 16 with a quarter to play.

With the result nearly sealed by the time the final quarter began, the Tigers took the foot off the pedal to start the fourth frame, and it gave the Spectres a sniff in the first couple of minutes of the period, with the margin trimmed back to six points. However, a timely triple from Hayley Cumming steadied the ship for Melbourne and the Tigers were able to hold on from there.

Again, it was a balanced number of contributors for Melbourne in the win, not relying on any one player for offensive production. Leading the way was Cumming, who dropped five triples en route to a game-high 18 points. Captain Leila Davis stuffed the stat sheet with a double-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while Josie Agnew (15 points, six rebounds and five assists) and Meera Coburn (10 points) rounded out the top performers.

For the Spectres, the duo of Potter and captain Zoe Shanahan did most of the heavy lifting, both pouring in 16 points and playing vital roles in the gutsy fightback in the final term. Also impressing was Tala Mcmechan, who had 14 points of her own in an eye-catching display.

ACROSS THE COURTS

Melbourne (75) def. Ringwood (54)
McKinnon (58) def. by Casey (93)
Kilsyth (89) def. Bendigo (35)
Diamond Valley (67) def. by Sandringham (70)
Bulleen (56) def. by Dandenong (69)
Pakenham (52) def. by Keilor (71)
Ringwood (68) def. by Altona (92)
Dandenong (91) def. Diamond Valley (52)
Frankston (60) def. by Waverley (76)
Keilor (98) def. McKinnon (50)