Sport
21 November, 2022
Win or go home for Blazers after weekend setback
The Maryborough Blazers are now in a ‘win or go home’ situation for both their men’s and women’s teams ahead of the final round of the Country Basketball League (CBL) after both teams lost both legs of their double-headers against Bendigo...
The Maryborough Blazers are now in a ‘win or go home’ situation for both their men’s and women’s teams ahead of the final round of the Country Basketball League (CBL) after both teams lost both legs of their double-headers against Bendigo and Mildura over the weekend.
It means that both men’s and women’s Blazers will have to win their games against Swan Hill on Saturday night to confirm their place in the finals, with a win locking the Lady Blazers into fourth place on the ladder, while the men’s team could still finish anywhere from third through to fifth depending on which results go their way.
A shorthanded Maryborough Lady Blazers went to Bendigo on Saturday night determined to win, handing debuts to both Zali Linton and Ella Patten as a result of having multiple players missing from the lineup.
However, it was the Braves who got off to the better start, scoring 25 points to 15 in the opening quarter to take a 10-point lead.
It was a tighter affair in the second quarter, with the Braves just outscoring the Lady Blazers 16-15 to take a 41-30 lead into the main break.
However, the floodgates started to open in the third quarter, with the Braves taking complete control of the game thanks to a 35-22 third quarter, which saw them take an unassailable 24-point lead into the final change, leading 76-52.
Maryborough were able to win the final quarter, pleasingly, showing some great fight to score 16 points, while restricting Bendigo to 14.
Playing coach Claire Blower led the way for the Blazers, scoring 21 points, while Elisa Pica (13 points) and Maddison Egan (10 points) were also able to get into double-figures. Pleasingly, both Linton and Patten were also able to score their first points in the CBL, with Linton finishing with four points and Patten finishing with two.
The men’s team left their last-gasp run a touch too late on Saturday night, going down to the Braves by just three points.
The first quarter was a close affair, with the Braves edging out the Blazers 22-20 to take a two-point lead into the first change.
But it was the second quarter which ultimately gave Bendigo a bit of breathing room to control the game for a large majority of the contest. They would score 26 points to the Blazers’ 16 to lead 48-36 at the main break.
A tightly contested third quarter saw scoring hard to come by for both teams, with just 16 points registered between both teams. However, the Braves were able to maintain their 12-point cushion at the final change, leading 56-44.
The Blazers gave it everything in their quest to take victory, scoring 27 points in the final quarter while holding the Braves to just 18 points, but their comeback ultimately fell just three points short, with the Braves holding on for a 74-71 victory.
Bailey Jacobs starred for the Blazers, scoring 25 points, while Lachlan Drummond (15 points), Rhys Brown and Brady Neill (10 points apiece) also got into double figures.
On Sunday, both Blazers’ teams returned home for the first time since the opening round of the season.
The Lady Blazers opened proceedings, and were able to bring back multiple players for the game. Millie Cracknell and Keely Hare returned to the lineup, while Paige Walkley was also named in the squad.
However, it was Mildura who got off to the slightly better start, able to score 11 points to nine in the opening quarter to take a two-point lead into the first break.
The Blazers were able to hit back in the second quarter, working hard for their points, but proving to be a force in the paint as both Blower and Maddy Egan were able to score at will, while Hare was also able to provide some important moments offensively. However, the Heat were able to score important buckets at the right time to keep in touch, with the Lady Blazers taking a 28-27 lead into the main break.
The third quarter was again a tight affair, but there was an added urgency to the game as teams were able to up the scoring rate, with the Lady Blazers adding 17 points, while the Heat, with additional help from a three-point buzzer-beater to end the period, were able to take the lead going into the final change, leading 48-45.
The Heat leveraged that shot to take control of the game in the final quarter, scoring 20 points to 12 to take a 68-57 victory and confirm their spot in the finals.
Blower and Egan were the dominant forces on the scoreboard, with Blower scoring 23 points and Egan scoring 20.
The men’s game was the direct opposite of the women’s game that preceeded it, with the Heat taking control early and leaving the Blazers to play catch-up throughout the rest of the game, before ultimately losing by 20 points.
The Blazers’ quest to secure their spot in the finals was made much harder by an early exit from Brown, who succumbed to a knee injury mere minutes into the match.
The Heat stunned the Blazers with a big run to open proceedings, increasing the lead to as much as 23 in the first seven minutes of the game before the Blazers were able to respond. A three-point buzzer-beater from Angus Cumming reduced the margin to 20 at the first break, having scored just 13 points to the Heat’s 33.
The Blazers were able to get back on track to an extent in the second quarter, and were sparked by some unlikely choices. Patrick Jenes was able to provide some excitement with a couple of fast-break buckets, while Kya Lanfranchi was crashing the offensive boards. However, the Blazers were only able to make inroads by just three points for the quarter, scoring 21 points to the Heat’s 18 to see them trailing 34-51 at the main break.
The Blazers were able to make some good inroads during the third quarter, and were able to reduce the margin to 10 points at one stage, but again, the Heat were able to hit big shots at important junctures in the game to preserve a double-digit lead, with the Blazers outscoring the Heat by just four points, 26-22, to trail 60-73 at the final break.
It appeared that the Blazers had run out of petrol tickets in the final period in their efforts to mount a spectacular comeback, and couldn’t repeat their heroics from the night before, with the Heat outscoring the Blazers 25-18 in the last quarter to run out 98-78 winners.
Despite the 20-point loss, which now sees the Blazers teetering in fourth place, there were still some positive signs. Drummond led all scorers with 18 points, while Neill added 14 and Lanfranchi, who played arguably his best game of the season, added 12 points.
The Blazers will now need to respond on Saturday night against the Swan Hill Flyers to round out the CBL season, who sit eighth in both men’s and women’s competitions.
A win for the Lady Blazers would more than likely see them play against Bendigo in the semi-final, while a win for the men’s team means they would play either Melton or Castlemaine depending on other results around the league.
