The crowd were on its feet at the Jungle on Saturday night, with Wallan Panthers’ and Melbourne University supporters witnessing a nail-biting final between the two sides.
Families, friends, and supporters of the Panthers rallied their encouragement on the night, making enough noise to create a lively uproar for the home side, including their eye-catching banners.
The Big V Division Two Women finals was a big night for the Panthers, considering the side were in the same position last year and took home runners up against Gippsland United after a seven-point loss.
After introducing the team one by one and standing side by side for the national anthem, it was off to a struggling start for Wallan, but the side is known to traditionally amp the competition in the last few quarters, which the Panthers did produce on the night.
Melbourne had assembled its competitive edge in the first quarter, scoring the first few baskets to form an 11-point lead.
Wallan’s Captain and high-impact player Olivia Dalmau was the first to score for the Panthers, successfully making both of her shots in the freethrows.
Following Dalmau’s shots, the side began to score a bit more, but several missed shots kept Melbourne in a prominent position with an eight-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Panthers adjusted to a comfortable playing level in the second quarter, but the side became even more comfortable in the next quarter, taking the game out of Melbourne’s hands.
Dalmau made the score even with a two-point pull up jump shot during the third quarter, and not too long after, Wallan’s best defender Melissa Buckley hit a three-point jump shot to seize control of the scoreboard, which was Wallan’s chance to wrap it up and claim it all.
Wallan was in a favourable, but crucial position at four quarter time, with the scoreboard showing 57-49.
In the final few moments of the competition, Wallan needed to glue its hands to the ball to not let Melbourne make its way back in and show a repeat of their fiery competition.
At this time, the crowd was in a state of exhilarated chaos in the competition’s final minutes.
Melbourne mounted an impressive comeback through several two-pointers and freethrows.
With the clock winding down and little time to make a huge difference, Wallan’s Kylah Collins was doing everything she could to give the Panthers enough legs to stand on.
Collins threw the last basket for the side, but in a strikingly familiar turn of events, Melbourne triumphed with 70-72, leaving the Panthers as runners up once again.
Coach Jarrod Bridge acknowledged the side needed a bit more playing time.
“It’s always going to be disappointing to lose something like that [but it was] pretty awesome to be there, and Melbourne University was ready. They came out firing on all cylinders, and we took a while to get going,” he said.
“By the time we decided we were going to take the game away from them, it was a little too late I guess.
“The highlight would be that the girls really gave everything they had.”
Results aside, Bridge said he was proud of the team working together and will be back again next season to hopefully witness a change in the results.
“I’ve been really proud of the girls all year, they’ve done a really good job being one team, and working together has been really fantastic to watch,” he said.
“Just being a part of it has been pretty lucky for me … I’m back again next season, so hopefully I’ll be able to back up the success that we did have. Hopefully we can go around again, and put ourselves in a position where we hopefully get the other result.”
