Wallan Panthers’ women had an incredible win against Surf Coast after a close match in round four.
The game was close from the start as the Panthers bagged four points in the first few minutes, but the Superchargers – who were on a winning streak in the Big V competition up until round four – dominated towards the end of the first quarter.
The close competition endured into the second quarter, with Wallan guns Olivia Dalmau and Melissa Buckley coming out strong with three-pointers and two-point layups, bringing the game back to within three points.
Impressive defence from the Panthers saw the scores level by the end of the second quarter, finishing 31 to 33.
At three-quarter time, the Panthers were down by one.
Surf Coast seemed to run out of charge towards the end of the match and suffered its first loss of the season – 77 to 83 – after the Panthers made small adjustments to secure the big win.
Top scorers for the Panthers were Kylah Collins on 30 points, 15 rebounds, and seven steals, while Olivia Dalmau had 21 points, followed by Melissa Buckley’s 19-point contribution.
Bridge said it was a ‘good collective game’ with a mix of veteran and young players.
“We’ve had some up and down games, but this one … everything sort of stuck together, it was just one of those things – it felt right,” he said.
It’s the second win of the season for the Panthers so far, who will compete against Western Port this weekend.
Bridge said there was no particular focus going into next week’s game aside from keeping the momentum rolling.
Men
Wallan Panthers’ division two men went down in a challenging match against Melton on Saturday night in the Big V competition.
Wallan went into the game focusing on defence, but the Thoroughbreds controlled the tempo from the very start, taking advantage of Wallan’s missed shots to bag a 24-point lead by the end of the first quarter.
Despite the scoreboard lacking in the first two rounds for the Panthers and only 14-points made in the second quarter, the side brought the heat for the third quarter.
Several jump shots and layups from Wallan’s captain Dominic Bruno and returning player Arcaim Lallemand contributed to Wallan making 24 baskets while Melton only made 21 in the third quarter.
While Wallan started to fight back in the final two quarters, the final buzzer saw the Panthers lose 107 to 70.
Wallan Panthers will face Collingwood in round five of the competition this Sunday.
