WALLAN travelled to Surfcoast on the weekend in a pair of crucial matches for the Panthers.
The women’s team were up against a high-flying Chargers team who had only lost one game in the early portion of the season.
The opening stanza suggested it would be a close contest, with the Chargers scoring 18 points to 14 to lead by four.
Slowly but steadily, however, the Panthers started making their move and closed the gap to just a single point at the main break after scoring 20 points to 17, trailing 34-35.
Wallan made their move with a superb close to the third quarter, scoring eight unanswered points in the final 90 seconds of the term to deliver a sucker-punch to the Chargers hopes of winning, with the Panthers leading 48-41 at the final change.
The Panthers continued on with their momentum into the final term, scoring the first 12 points to silence the Surfcoast crowd, and ensuring they would control the rest of the game, eventually scoring a 69-55 win.
Ranika Guyton was sensational, scoring 28 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals as she did it all, while Emmie Gardiner added 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Maddison O’Nial had 12 rebounds and a team-high six steals.
While there was success for the women’s team, the men’s Panthers were blown away by Surfcoast across the final three quarters on Saturday night.
A tight opening term saw the Panthers well in the mix throughout the opening term, with the Chargers leading 24-19.
However, from there, it was all Surfcoast as they continued to build their lead throughout the rest of the half, scoring 22 points to 13 in the second term as they took a commanding 46-32 lead into the main break.
Wallan did everything they could to bring the margin back, but every time they asked questions of Surfcoast, the Chargers had an answer, and they scored 25 points to 18 to lead 71-50 at the final change.
The Chargers managed to clear away even more from Wallan, who are still seeking their first win of the season, scoring 32 points to 16 to record a runaway 103-66 win.
Missing import Jon Bailey, William Stewart picked up the slack, scoring 28 points as he did what he could.
But with only six assists for the entire game, Wallan were unable to create enough shots to trouble the Chargers.
Wallan’s Youth League men’s team were able to come back and defeat Western Port after a slow start, trailing by 12 points at the opening change before roaring back into the game to win 86-81.
Kaleb Graham and Hunter Graham scored 27 points apiece, while Luke Cairns scored 17 points.
Wallan’s Youth League women were no match for Sherbrooke, losing 39-88.
The first and last quarters saw the Suns pile on the points, despite Wallan putting in a decent effort in the middle two quarters.
Chloe Mott scored 11 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the way for the Panthers.
