By Jonty Ralphsmith
Pakenham has upstaged the table-topping Wyndham in a must-win game to qualify for the Big V Championship women’s finals.
The Warriors have dropped some winnable games in 2024 which put their backs up against the wall coming into the last game of the regular season, but they emerged with a 98-81 victory.
Stunningly, Pakenham won every quarter against a side that’s lost thrice in two years.
It was the best basketball they’ve played all year.
There were scoring threats everywhere, the scout was executed to a tee and the ball handling was clean, allowing them to control possession and build potent offence.
At the defensive end, they were better on the boards and critically were able to balance locking down Wyndham gun Amanda Paschal.
Paschal leads the league for points and assists, Pakenham able to put pressure on her shooting without leaving her teammates free.
She finished with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists – well down on her average of 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
“We wanted to give her mid range (contested shots) and stay at home on all shooters so she could not facilitate as easily,” coach Rob Dielemans said.
“Usually she’ll penetrate, someone will come and help and she’ll find someone wide open on the perimeter but because we were able to contest, she wasn’t able to get the assists or rebounds.
“It limited her ability to have an impact on the game.”
Highlighting the sturdiness of Pakenham’s defence, Wyndham was kept to a season-low 27 three point attempts – they average 39.5 in 2024.
Breanna MacKenzie led the defensive lockdown, while Erica Meyer also played a sterling game, highlighted by nine rebounds and three blocks.
The first half was a shootout, with Pakenham putting 51 points on the board, Stella O’Loughlin’s back-to-back triples late in the first half giving the Warriors an eight-point lead at the main break.
Briahna Whatman scored a pair of triples either side of three-quarter-time, helping to stave off Wyndham’s ability to briefly neutralise Pakenham.
Leading by 11 points at the last break, Pakenham quickly scored the first eight points of the last quarter to effectively put the game to bed.
Haille Nickerson scored 10 of her 30 points in a polished finish to the game as Wyndham was forced to spread the load to stop Pakenham’s multi-pronged attack.
Mackenzie, Whatman, Mel Prior, Stella O’Loughlin, Ebony Sans and Meyer all finished with at least eight points.
“Our shot selection was a lot better – what we were prepared to give up was contested and we got out in transition and pushed the ball back down their throat,” Dielemans said.
“We were able to get high percentage looks because of it.
“We were able to look after the ball and had the guards passing it and that was primarily the change we made to transition down the floor.
“The effort, intensity and attention to detail of what we were trying to execute was amazing.”
Sunbury defeating Sherbrooke as Pakenham’s game was unfolding made it a do-or-die clash, something addressed at halftime.
“It’s probably one of the best wins I’ve ever been part of,” Dielemans said.
“We knew at halftime it was win or go home and a certain amount of fortitude came out.”
Vocal ahead of the season about his finals expectation for the roster, Dielemans remained diplomatic with the regular season completed.
“We’ve ticked box number one – we aimed to make finals, it was our expectation.
“There were naysayers which was our motivation.
“They’re one game series so if you show up and play well on the night and deal with the nerves better, you probably come up with the result.”
The Warriors will take on Sunbury on the road on Saturday evening – a challenge the coach is confident won’t daunt Pakenham, which have travelled well throughout the season.
Meanwhile, the men’s season finished with back-to-back losses on the weekend.
After going down 99-96 to Bellarine on Saturday, a poor first quarter put Wyndham on the front foot on Sunday, with the table-toppers winning 98-79.
Joe Davis was excellent in his last weekend for the Warriors, scoring 33 points against Bellarine and 28 against Wyndham, while Elias Kafrouni scored a triple in the last match of his career in front of home fans.
