By David Nagel
Pakenham’s title-contending Division Two Men’s team has returned home from one of the longest road-trips in the state with a 78-71 victory over Mildura.
Saturday night’s clash at the Mildura Hothouse saw the Warriors produce a stunning brand of basketball in the second quarter, scoring 28 to 17, before being pegged back in the third by a home team supported by a parochial home crowd.
The Warriors have now won four-consecutive games and, with a 13-4 record, sit second on the table behind competition newcomers Gippsland United.
The Warriors can thank Canadian-import Joe Davis for the weekend’s victory, with the star centre scoring a show-stopping 38 points and backing that up with 12 rebounds, including nine at the defensive end of the court.
Alistair Parker was not far behind Davis in his level of importance, with a 17-point, 10-rebound, double-double, helping to stave off the Heat’s late charge.
Ned Weideman and Trent Lee were also stalwarts of the victory, while four assists from Nathan Dodgson were valuable coming off the bench.
The Warriors will look to keep the pressure applied to Gippsland when Rob Roberts and his team head to Mornington on Saturday night for an important clash against the fourth-placed team in the competition.
The recent struggles of Pakenham’s Big V Championship Women’s team continued on Saturday night with the Warriors going down 84-66 to McKinnon.
The Warriors have now lost six-straight games since last saluting the judge against Southern Peninsula on 21 May.
The Warriors were very competitive in the first half, trailing by one point at quarter time and by just two points as the teams headed into the second half.
But that two-point deficit suddenly exploded after half time with McKinnon imposing itself on the contest.
The Warriors slipped eight points behind at the final break before a disappointing final term.
Highlights for the Warriors were 16 points off the bench from Ebony Sans, and a double-double (14 points, 14 rebounds) from Anastasia Williams that kept Pakenham in the hunt until things turned against them in the third.
Import Haille Nickerson was next best for the Warriors, scoring 11 points for the evening.
The Warriors women will put a 5-10 record on the line when the team heads to Bulleen on Saturday night to take on the second-placed Boomers.
Pakenham’s Youth League One Women’s team fared much better in a weekend double-header, coming away with two tight and exciting victories.
Tylah Scorah and Christine Stiglich both scored 15 points in the Warriors come-from-behind 72-69 victory over Geelong United on Saturday, before repeating the dose against Wyndham on Sunday.
The Warriors trailed Wyndham 45-33 at the final break but rattled in 29 points to 13 in the last quarter to race away with victory.
Rhiannon Gallagher played a key role in the 62-58 triumph, scoring 16 points, while Ebony Sans and Chloe Zielinski crashed the boards with a dozen rebounds each.
The Youth League girls host Sherbrooke on Saturday night before a Sunday high-noon road trip to Geelong.
And a magnificent 39 points from Michael Johns has led the Youth League Two Men’s team to a dominant 108-67 win over Mornington.
Johns was untouchable, hitting eight from 16 outside the arc to lead his side to its fourth win on the trot.
The top-of-the-table Warriors host Chelsea on Saturday night at 8pm.
