THE ELTHAM Wildcats held on for a thrilling one-point win over the McKinnon Cougars in Round 5 of the VJBL Under-18 Girls VC Championship over the weekend, with Sophie Richardson starring once again for the victors.

Both sides came into the clash on the brink of being inside the top-four, and although the Sandringham Sabres are the runaway favourites for the title, the race for a spot in the finals is extremely tight, so Friday night’s clash at Montmorency Secondary College could prove crucial in that battle.

The two teams went back and forth throughout the clash as the lead changed hands countless times, but the Wildcats were able to deliver when it mattered most, holding on for a tense win that could be vital in their postseason hopes.

Eltham Wildcats (56) def. McKinnon Cougars (55)

The Wildcats wasted no time to start the match, pouring in the first four points of the match and getting the jump on the Cougars early. However, the visitors steadied, and bounced back to never trail by more than four points as the two sides went end to end with their scoring efforts, and the home side held a one-point buffer at the first change.

Foul trouble began to play a big role for the Wildcats in the second frame, allowing McKinnon to take the lead and snatch control of the match with easy trips to the free throw line after the hosts proved ill-disciplined when guarding. The Cougars managed to flip the script and turn their quarter-time deficit into a four-point buffer at the main change.

The Wildcats responded accordingly in the third quarter, coming out of half-time looking much more productive on both ends of the floor and finding plenty of success scoring the ball from all three levels. Suddenly, Eltham held a seven-point lead midway through the term, although the Cougars fought back to cut that back to three at the final change.

The two teams traded three-point bombs to open the account for the fourth quarter, setting the stage for some exciting back and forth action to close out the match. The Cougars held a one-point lead late in the piece, and looked a strong chance of pinching an impressive road win, before Richardson drew the foul and converted truly at the free throw line, putting her side in front and delivering the win.

Richardson was far and away the star of the show, displaying exactly why she is considered the best scorer in the competition, dropping 33 of her team’s 56 points for the match. She is averaging 23 points per game, which is the best of any player in the competition, and is proving extremely difficult for the opposition to stop.

For the Cougars, Maia Mottram and Meg Cooper did most of the heavy lifting, dropping 14 points each and almost leading their side to an impressive victory on the road, and helping McKinnon look strong in the second frame.

ACROSS THE COURTS

The Sandringham Sabres were pushed by a gutsy Dandenong Rangers side, almost facing their first loss of 2025, but the ladder-leaders simply had the class to hold on for a five-point win at the Sandringham Family Leisure Centre.

Geelong United managed to chalk out an eight-point win over the Nunawading Spectres at Nunawading Basketball Centre on Friday night, building a lead over the first three quarters before holding strong in the last.

The Kilsyth Cobras did enough to hold off the Melbourne Tigers when the two sides went head to head at Kilsyth Basketball Stadium on Friday, snagging a four-point win as they look to stay in touch with top spot in the standings.

Finally, the Keilor Thunder were simply too strong for the Bulleen Boomers to close out the action for Round 5 on Friday, posting a commanding 30-point win as the two sides locked horns at Mullum Mullum Stadium.