Phina Newton; 19 March
Men
The 2024 UBL season is officially underway, and our student-athletes kicked off their campaigns yesterday at Latrobe University. The reigning premiers started the season as they finished their last, with a win! Head Coach Shawn King has returned with what looks to be another strong outfit – despite the absence of University Basketball stalwart Joel Rimes after completing his studies, this squad looks promising and each week is sure to be competitive.
The Men had a strong start and led early thanks to solid work from returning players Will Bruhn, Dihan Wiggett and Kai Garnaut. They finished the first quarter up by an impressive 18 points, new player Harvey Moore leading the way with seven points to his name.
The second term played out similarly to the first, as the team started to find their shooting form with all but two players getting on the board. Wiggett did what he does best, by finding his way to the ring and facilitating on every other occasion. Latrobe matched Melbourne in scoring, cutting the margin to 14 at the main break.
The second half was more challenging, the ball wasn’t finding its way through the bottom of the net and Melbourne's defensive energy was lacking because of it, Garnaut finding himself with three fouls. Wilson Amos proved to be a good addition, helping offensively, but Erik Kafritsas for Latrobe was doing more and proving to be a force at the other end. Melbourne struggled on defence, allowing 13 points from second chances and nine points in transition for the quarter.
Latrobe were slowly but surely edging their way back into the game and by the fourth quarter things weren’t as pretty as the first. Wiggett, Amos and Bruhn were able to stop Kafritsas and hold on to nab a nine-point win.
Reflecting on the game, Captain Dihan Wiggett said "It was a hard-fought game for our first hit out of the year. We’ve added some great new talent this season and are already playing like a unit. Going forward, we need to be more consistent on defence and dominate the defensive boards.”
Women
Our Women’s team faced a tough first match-up as they took on the reigning premiers from the last two UBL seasons. Speculation had suggested that this year’s Latrobe was the best yet and they certainly went about proving it.
It was a low-scoring start to the game, with both teams struggling to find the bottom of the net. The Women had some good looks, and Victoria Poulos gave the team multiple second chances from offensive rebounds, but unfortunately, they wouldn’t drop. They were very much in the game, only five points down at the end of the first.
From the second quarter onwards, the Latrobe team took flight and made shots left, right and centre. It wasn’t just one player either as there were threats across the floor. Their defensive pressure was also amplified, and this took our team by surprise, leading to some static play and lapses in offence.
Despite the frustration on offence, Meera Coburn, Hayley Cumming and Lana Hollingsworth continued to battle and find ways to get points on the board. Their defensive effort was also strong, and they must be credited for digging deep on that end – their energy never dropped. Poulos was finally rewarded and able to knock down some threes.
In the end, Latrobe was too strong and created an impenetrable lead. Despite a disappointing loss, the Melbourne women have plenty to learn from the experience. They are a relatively new team, and there is no shortage of potential for them this season and we can’t wait to see them bounce back.
Captain, Meera Coburn is confident they can only go up from here,
“We will definitely learn and grow from our mistakes. It was nice to get out on court again. I am excited to be back playing with some girls from last year’s Uni Nationals team and look forward to seeing how we can improve in the next round.”