HAVING gone through all of 2025 undefeated, the Sandringham Sabres have reaped the ultimate reward for their dominance, defeating the Dandenong Rangers by nine points in the VJBL Under-18 Girls VC Championship Grand Final.

The Sabres have been the benchmark for the entire competition this year, and were heading into Saturday evening’s decider with a perfect record both before and after the regrading. Under head coach Sally Burke, Sandringham put together one of the most dominant seasons by a team in competition memory, and stormed towards the big dance with the best possible form.

They were coming up against a Rangers side that had enjoyed a strong campaign themselves, finishing inside the top three courtesy of a strong start in the first half of the season. They held on to earn a double-chance and defeated the Kilsyth Cobras in the preliminary final to go within one win of the ultimate prize.

In Saturday evening’s clash, Dandenong did everything it could in the last term to keep its title hopes alive, but the Sabres were simply too good, holding on to cap off their campaign perfectly lift the trophy aloft at State Basketball Centre.

Sandringham Sabres (52) def. Dandenong Rangers (43)

It took a while before either side could hit the scoreboard, with Sandringham’s Ella Wickstrom opening the scoring with back to back baskets as the Sabres scored the first four points of the game after an initial stalemate. The Rangers steadied via the free throw line, but after a late basket to Madison Ryan, it was the ladder-leaders who led by two points at the first change after a scrappy opening 10 minutes to the contest.

The second frame was defined by free throws, with both teams increasing their physicality and looking to drive into the lane, where shots were heavily contested. A three-point bomb to Lily Newman-Morris gave the Sabres some breathing space in the back end of the quarter, before back to back triples to Melinna Kapetanas and Madeline Angus respectively saw Sandringham take an eight-point buffer into the main change.

The margin stretched out to double-digits after the Sabres scored the first two baskets of the third quarter, picking up right where they left off at half time. Dandenong’s deficit stretched out to as much as 18 points, and the Rangers trailed by 17 at the final change after a match-defining period of play from the Sabres, who showed exactly why they had not lost a game all season and were considered one of the best teams in the country.

The Rangers tried to ignite some much-needed offensive production in the final quarter with the championship on the line, but simply could not get the defensive stops needed against a balanced Sandringham roster. The final score ended up flattering Dandenong thanks to a pair of late three-pointers, with the Rangers never getting closer than the final nine-point margin.

In a terrific team showing on the big stage, the Sabres had eight players hit the scoreboard, generating plenty of avenues to scoring in a clear demonstration of how deep their roster was all season long. Still, Ryan was named Grand Final MVP for a terrific performance on the big stage, stepping up to lead all comers on the scoring front with a game-high 14 points.

For the Rangers, the duo of Zara Sestan and Fakalata did most of the heavy lifting on the scoring front for the Rangers despite the loss, each pouring in 13 points to try and inspire their team in a pair of strong performances to close out 2025.