WALLAN Panthers began their 2023 Big V campaign with a bang, posting wins across the board in round one.
Wallan’s division two men downed Melton 87-81 in a tough, come-from-behind victory, but the big talking point was the women, who dominated their division two match-up with 2022 preliminary finalist RMIT to win 89-52.
USA recruit Kylah Collins lived up to her big billing with a superb all-round performance, posting 27 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and six steals on efficient 53 per cent shooting from the field.
Also notable was new recruit Olivia Woods, who joined the Panthers after playing for Coburg last season and scored 17 points.
Other Panthers to fill out the score sheet were Sarah Scott, 11 points, Amber Ross, nine, and Olivia Dalmau, eight.
Coach Carey Papanicolaou said his team was seeing early rewards for an ideal build-up to the season, which included an undefeated performance at a Big V pre-season tournament in Ballarat.
Papanicolaou said the team had greater depth than in previous seasons.
“We won in Ballarat and we won our other practice games, so the pre-season really set us up. We prepared well and the girls played hard, so they deserved to have a big win in the first game,” he said.
“We’ve changed our personnel from last year. We’ve brought a few of the girls up from the youth league side, Liv Woods came from Coburg and we’ve added Kylah.
“Most of them have come up through our system, which is good. We’re pretty happy about that. It’s an encouraging sign.”
Papanicolaou said Collins would be a valuable addition to the team.
“Kylah is a good player. She played great in our practice games in Ballarat and she’s a really good asset for us,” he said.
Wallan’s women will make their home debut this weekend with a double-header, hosting Coburg at 6pm on Saturday and Collingwood at 1pm on Sunday at RB Robson Stadium.
Men
Wallan’s men will seek to sustain the momentum of a strong second half that saw them overcome the Melton Thoroughbreds at the weekend.
While hot shooting from Melton’s Liam Allison and Michael Thompson saw the home side leap out to a 24-16 quarter-time lead, Wallan worked back into the game with a well-rounded team effort.
Forward Tyler Best led all scorers with 24 points, while Tom O’Connor had 15 and Arcaim Lallemand, Dominic Bruno and Jayden O’Brien had 12 apiece.
With the game in the balance in the final two minutes, Best nailed four crucial free-throws to preserve Wallan’s slender lead.
The Panthers will play another road game against Mornington at 2pm on Saturday.
Wallan’s division two youth league men also started their season in impressive fashion, downing Melton 94-76.
Dion Stacey and James Bonnici led the way with 19 and 16 points respectively, while Luke Cairns went 4-4 from three-point range off the bench.
The side will travel to face Western Port at 7pm on Saturday night.
