THE UNDER-20 National Basketball Championships were held over the past week, and New South Wales snatched the Women’s title with a powerful finish to its clash against Victoria on Sunday morning.

NSW claimed gold in Geelong, downing the Vics in the final thanks to an excellent performance in the second and fourth quarters. Victoria stormed out to a comfortable lead in the first term, but New South Wales was not going to quit without a fight, remarkably taking the lead by half time.

Although proceedings were still tense in heading into the last, NSW got the job done with a sizzling finish to the game, completely outplaying the opposition to claim a 71-61 victory.

Emma Donnelly top scored for the victors with 24 points off the bench in just 26 minutes of action. The talented youngster saved her best game for last, shooting 8/16 from the field and 6/6 from the charity stripe.

Carla Pitman also caught the eye with 22 points (7/11 FG, 3/5 3PT) to go with six rebounds and five assists while Isla Juffermans claimed the Bob Staunton Medal for the Women’s competition after posting 16 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

New South Wales (71) def. Victoria (61)

Behind the efforts of VJBL guns Hannah Wickstrom and Lily Carmody, Victoria got out to a stellar start, with its offence firing in the opening quarter of play. Although New South Wales was warming into the game, it was not enough as Victoria continued to chug along nicely. The Vics were up by as much as 13 before the margin was whittled down to eight at the first change.

New South Wales came out of quarter-time with improved success shooting the ball, but Wickstrom managed to answer down the other end seemingly every time. It ensured the deficit remained around 10 points, before NSW began to attack the paint and draw contact. Repeat trips to the free throw line erased Victoria’s lead, giving New South Wales a two-point lead at the main break.

Victoria came out of halftime and put the pressure immediately back on the opposition, snatching a slim lead early in the third. The two sides traded baskets, with both teams finding better success inside the paint as the shooting form from the second period cooled off. Donnelly nailed a crafty floater on the eve of three-quarter time to bring NSW within one point and set up a thrilling final term.

Although the first three quarters were tightly contested, the last 10 minutes of the match were all one-way traffic. New South Wales completely took over, outscoring the opposition 20-9 in a game-winning run. Pitman was the closer, pouring in the last nine points for NSW as Victoria cooled off. It was a dominant period that ended up being the difference as New South Wales stormed home to gold.