Sport
16 November, 2023
Now or never for Blazers in finals hunt
It’s a weekend with plenty of permutations for both Maryborough Blazers men’s and women’s teams in regards to their finals chances. or the Lady Blazers, a lot has to go right to make the playoffs. They need to defeat both the second-placed...
It’s a weekend with plenty of permutations for both Maryborough Blazers men’s and women’s teams in regards to their finals chances.
or the Lady Blazers, a lot has to go right to make the playoffs. They need to defeat both the second-placed Mildura Heat, as well as the seventh-placed Swan Hill Flyers.
If they can do that, they could face a nervous two-week wait.
They’ll then require the Melton Thoroughbreds or the Bendigo Braves losing all of their remaining games, while also requiring the Bacchus Marsh Lions to lose their final two games, just to be a chance, although head-to-head could have a final say in the outcome.
Now that the exhausting equation is out of the way, it’s worth noting the positives from the weekend just gone.
The Lady Blazers were, quite simply, sensational in their double-header across the weekend as they demolished both the Braves and the Macedon Ranges Rockies.
On Saturday night, the Braves had no answer to a well-rounded Lady Blazers outfit, with playing-coach Faith McKenzie scoring 25 points, while Maddy Egan added 20 and Georgia Hiscock 20.
The Lady Blazers were dominant inside the arc, scoring on 30 occasions, as well as putting pressure on the Braves by drawing fouls, having made 22 free throws compared to just four — a by-product of a 20-10 foul count.
On Sunday, the Lady Blazers were just as dominant, particularly in the middle two quarters which saw them pile on 37 points to just nine from the Rockies èn route to a 31-point win.
Egan was once again dominant inside the arc, scoring 27 points, including multiple mid-rangers, while McKenzie added 10.
McKenzie has moved up to second in the competition for points scored with 154, which has included the most points from two-point range in the competition with 100.
Egan is third on that list, having scored 88 of her 109 points from close range.
While the Lady Blazers probably need too much to go right to play finals, it is also a chance to enjoy an extremely positive finish to the season.
The men’s team also face a battle to make the final four.
They’ll be requiring Melton and the Macedon Ranges Rockies to win just one of their remaining games — with the final round seeing the two teams meet, while likewise requiring Bacchus Marsh to win just one of their last two games, while also winning their final two games themselves.
Wins in their last three games have given the Blazers a chance, although it may be a little bit too late for their run to come to fruition.
Regardless, they have established themselves as a team finals contenders would not want to play against in the back end of the season.
Wins against the Castlemaine Cannons and Macedon Ranges in recent weeks have seen them shake up the outlook in the finals race.
Most of that has come through the work of Zac Dunmore, who scored 71 points over the weekend to vault up to second on the scoring charts from just five games.
Dunmore scored 36 points in their victory against the Echuca Pirates, which included a ferocious dunk, while backing up that performance with 35 points against the Macedon Ranges.
He had a handy sidekick in Bailey Jacobs, with the youngster continuing to show his rapid improvement with an impressive 25-point performance on Sunday, while adding 13 points in their win against Echuca on Saturday night.
Jacobs, as a result, sits ninth for most points in the competition.
Darcy Bond’s three-point shooting was also handy throughout the weekend, pouring in 22 points on Saturday night, including six triples, before having another two three-pointers on Sunday.
They’ll now need plenty to go right, particularly as they play top team Mildura on Saturday night, if they wish to continue their season.