Sport
3 October, 2022
Triple round one success for Blazer sides
It was an extremely successful return to action in the Country Basketball League North West division for the Maryborough Blazers over the weekend, with the men’s and women’s teams recording three wins from three games. The Lady Blazers kicked...
It was an extremely successful return to action in the Country Basketball League North West division for the Maryborough Blazers over the weekend, with the men’s and women’s teams recording three wins from three games.
The Lady Blazers kicked off their premiership defence on Saturday night with a strong 56-point win which ensured they would end the weekend on top of the table, scoring an even 100 points in their victory over the Macedon Ranges Rockies.
It was a consistent performance across the board, with the Lady Blazers pouring in more than 22 points in every quarter én route to victory, establishing a 12-point lead at quarter time, before extending that to 24 points by the main break.
The second half saw the Lady Blazers go from strength to strength, scoring 24 points to nine in the third quarter to increase their lead to 39 points by the final change, before having their most productive quarter offensively to finish the game, scoring 30 points to 13.
The work of Maddison Egan and Claire Blower in the paint was pivotal to the Lady Blazers putting up a big score to open the season, with Egan scoring 27 points and Blower scoring 25. There were also good contributions from Millie Cracknell (14 points), Keisha Tonzing (14 points) and Claire Constable (10 points).
The men’s Blazers team started their weekend double-header with a hard-fought nine-point victory over the Rockies in a game full of momentum changes.
In a tight opening period, the Rockies were able to take the lead by two points after the first period, but a 28-point to 16 second quarter saw the Blazers flip the script and lead by 10 points at half time.
However, the Rockies weren’t finished — getting back into the game with a strong third quarter to close the gap to two points going into the final period.
But a 23-point to 16 final quarter ensured the Blazers would open their season with a 79-70 victory.
In an even team effort, new recruit Rhys Brown led the way with 18 points, while Matt Johnston’s three-point shooting was impressive, scoring three times from distance to contribute with 15 points. Brady Neill (15 points), Lachlan Drummond (12 points) and Bailey Jacobs (10 points) also put up double-digit points.
The men’s team backed up on Sunday afternoon against the Castlemaine Cannons, and were again able to record a very impressive victory which allowed them to navigate their two-week bye period with an unbeaten record.
In a similar fashion to their Saturday night game, the Blazers were able to finish off both halves very strongly after holding off Castlemaine’s best efforts.
The Cannons were able to take a one-point lead after the first quarter, but the Blazers were able to respond with their best quarter of the weekend, scoring 29 points to 16 to shift the momentum their way, taking a 12-point lead at half time.
A strong start to the third quarter by the Cannons saw them reduce the margin to six points, but the Blazers were able to respond strongly to increase their lead to 13 points by the final period, before a 24-point to 19 final quarter ensured Maryborough would take a 91-73 win.
Again, Brown and Johnston were extremely impressive, with their shooting the key difference for the Blazers — both players were able to hit five three-pointers each, and 19 for the game. The work of Drummond in the paint saw him score 18 points, while Darcy Bond was also an excellent contributor, scoring 12 points.
Both men’s and women’s teams will now take two byes, before returning on the weekend of October 22-23 for a double-header against the Mildura Heat and Echuca Pirates.