THE MELBOURNE Tigers are now just two wins away from the Big V Youth Women’s Championship title for 2025 after defeating the Dandenong Rangers by 22 points in the first week of the finals over the weekend.

The Tigers have been the best side in it throughout season 2025, finishing the home and away fixture with a record of 21 wins and two losses in a near flawless campaign. Melbourne had the most productive offence and restrictive defence in the competition, and were going to take some stopping if anyone else was going to take out the title this year.

The first team tasked with slowing down the Tigers was Dandenong, with the Rangers enjoying a solid campaign themselves. They won 15 of their 23 games on the season, and had looked tough to stop throughout stages of 2025, but would need to bring their absolute best against the championship favourites at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers did most of their damage in the first half, boasting an 18-point buffer at the main break and holding on to claim a 22-point triumph and advance through to the penultimate week of finals.

Melbourne Tigers (77) def. Dandenong Rangers (55)

The Tigers started the game as productive as they have been all season long, although the Rangers were up for the fight in the opening minutes of the match. The Rangers had tied up proceedings at 10 apiece, but Melbourne broke away with a 12-3 run to close out the period in style, with Josie Agnew starting to have her say as the Tigers held a nine-point lead at the first change.

The second quarter saw the home side put the foot down, as the Tigers stepped up their game on the defensive end. The Rangers simply could not get a consistent level of good looks to generate scores, and fell behind as a result. Dandenong was held to just nine points for the quarter, and the Tigers pushed their lead out to 18 points at the main break, taking full control of the match with the Rangers needing a miracle in the second half.

It was certainly an improved effort from Dandenong coming out of half time, particularly on the offensive end, with baskets falling much more frequently than the first half. However, they still struggled to contain the Tigers defensively, with Melbourne continuing to find open looks offensively as it has done all season long. After three quarters, the margin sat at 21 points, completely out of reach of the Rangers.

Both sides began to slow down in the fourth quarter, with the offence getting much scrappier down both ends of the floor in a low-scoring finish to the clash. Despite the Tigers producing their lowest output of the match, they still managed to stretch their lead out by a point in the fourth term, cruising home to a 22-point win.

Agnew starred in the Tigers’ first final, leading all-comers with 22 points for the match to go with four rebounds and five assists on 9/19 shooting from the field in a tremendous display. She is one of the most exciting talents in the competition, and showed exactly why on the big stage.

Captain Leila Davis was at her reliable best with another double-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, while Meera Coburn was excellent with 13 points in 22 minutes and Hayley Cumming rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points.

Dandenong skipper Georgia Taylor was solid all game for the Rangers, looking to spark her side when they needed some offence and finishing the contest with 14 points, while Tiedore Puoch flirted with a double-double of nine points and 16 rebounds, with eight coming on the offensive end.

Across the courts

Sandringham (73) def. Casey (57)
Kilsyth (92) def. Keilor (59)
Altona (84) def. Waverley (80)