THE first week of finals has wrapped for the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) Under 18 Girls competition, and the Melbourne Tigers were among the big winners as they emerged victorious in their clash against the Casey Cavaliers at Waverley Basketball Stadium on Friday night.

Melbourne Tigers 13 | 19 | 6 | 30 (68)
Casey Cavaliers 8 | 6 | 19 | 27 (60)

The Tigers finished higher on the ladder with a strong record in the back half of the season, and were looking the most likely to get the job done here, although it was no guarantee. The opportunity to advance through to the preliminary final would have been playing on the mind of both sides, and it showed in a low-scoring opening term.

The nerves from the two clubs saw just 21 points scored for the entire opening period, with the Tigers the stronger of the two sides. As it has done all year, Melbourne pushed the ball across the top of its key, and utilised rapid-fire ball movement to create better looks than its opponent, and took a five-point advantage into the first change.

The second term saw the Tigers roll into some serious form on both ends of the court. Casey’s offensive woes continued, unable to find a bucket despite shot attempts from both inside and outside the arc. On the other hand, the Tigers were able to punish the opposition in transition, making the most of a strong rebounding performance to record points on the fast break. The margin ended up being pushed out to 18 points, as Melbourne tightened its grip on a prelim final appearance.

Quarter number three saw the Cavaliers flip the script in an attempt to get themselves back in the game. Despite the Tigers coming out of half time with all the momentum, it was Casey that owned the third term, outscoring Melbourne 19-6 and reducing the deficit back down to five points, putting all the pressure on the opposition in the final 10 minutes.

It was a high-scoring finish to the contest, with both sides easing up their efforts on the defensive end, in a polar opposite look to the first term. A combined 57 points were registered in the final quarter, with scores coming from all over the court. The Cavaliers made a late charge, but Melbourne was ultimately too strong offensively, and managed to scrape through to an eight-point triumph.

The Tigers were led by a trio of contributors on the offensive end, with a number of players getting involved in the high-scoring final quarter. Edie Clarke was the top-point scorer for the team, finishing with 14 points, and not far behind were Neve Giddey and Keisha Hooper, both of whom registered 13 points for the match. Kayley Kavanagh and Bonnie Autupuna also chimed in for some timely baskets and combined for 16 points.

The Cavaliers could not quite get that job done in the end, but there were still some telling individual performances. Lucy Dexter was the match’s top-scorer with 17 points for the match, and looked the most dangerous prospect for Casey when they were making their third-quarter push. Dakota Crichton was also impressive with 13 points, although foul trouble kept her off the court at stages of the game, while Kaitlyn Scott rounded out the double-digit points scorers with 10 of her own.

The win means the Tigers have earnt themselves a week off, and are now just two wins away from claiming the season’s title, while the Cavaliers are now set to face off against the Knox Raiders in the semi-finals, with no second chances given anymore.