Men’s game:
The men’s team were adamant not to have the same result as the week prior, and with the addition of Aleksander Bandilovski, they were fired up and ready.
The game started quickly, with a Harvey Moore triple, and things took off from there. While the Winged Victory were cold from three after their first, Bandilovski (13pts, 9reb, 7ast, 3stl) made sure to crash the boards and give his team second chance points. After only four minutes, they had a ten-point lead, which only grew, putting up a 33pt first quarter.
Although the scoring slowed in the second quarter, the lead became 20pts by half-time, and from there, it was hard to see the University of the Sunshine Coast coming back. Captain, James O’Hara (11pts, 6reb, 5ast) and Morgan Brown (15pts, 8reb, 3ast) were the only players to score in double digits, whereas the Winged Victory had six.
While it was a high scoring affair for the home team, the game was won on defence and in the rebound count – the Winged Victory with almost double the amount of their opposition, 61-35. 19 of the 61 being offensive rebounds, meaning that they had plenty of second-chance opportunities. Whether it was through offensive rebounds, or stops down the other end, Melbourne University had 20 more shot attempts than their opponents, a clear advantage and reason they took the win.
Women’s game:
After a close loss last week, the women’s team had their sights set on a win, and with the return of Kayla Salmons and Jess Freeman, they were on their way to one.
In what can only be described as a roller coaster of a game, with 21 lead changes, and the largest lead being only seven points, it went down to the wire.
The Melbourne University women showed great aggression to the basket early, the University of Sunshine Coast struggling to navigate screens, their drops action allowing the likes of Lara Essex (15pts, 4reb) and Layla Prince (18pts, 8reb) to get downhill.
Neither team could get hot from the three-point line, but UniSC weren’t afraid of getting them up, 27 for the game. Luckily for the Winged Victory, they didn’t drop, but at the same time, the home side couldn’t buy a layup – something that would come back to bite them.
Kayla Salmons found herself in early foul trouble, and it was during this time that UniSC were able to take advantage, earning themselves second chance points off rebounds – something that happened a lot less when Salmons (16reb) was on the floor. As Salmons was the only true centre of the team, it made things difficult. Salmons’ first points came by two three pointers late in the fourth.
The Winged Victory’s defensive pressure was vital to them staying in the game, but it was their inability to convert at other the end that hurt them.
Salmons’ first points came by two three pointers late in the fourth. Prince was using her body built for football to help win the ball, and while the team’s efforts couldn’t be faulted, it wasn’t enough. The shooting from Jazmin Blundell and Jemma Bennet, and the steady hand of Bella Heath took the game out of the home side’s hands, another close loss the result.