By Jonty Ralphsmith
Pakenham was competitive and proved they turned a corner in the preseason, but weren’t able to secure a win against Hume on Saturday, going down 86-79 in the Big V Championship Women’s competition.
Kicking off a massive double header with the men at Cardinia Life, the women came out firing, scoring 28 points in the opening quarter, leading by as much as 12 late in the term.
After going five from five from the free-throw line in the early stages, back-to-back three pointers to Mel Prior and Haille Nickerson set the scene for the new season.
“It was really good, the ball was moving really nicely in the first quarter,” coach Rob Dielemans said.
“We shot the ball extremely efficiently and we made the extra pass when we needed to.
“We were able to create for each other as well which was good.”
The Warriors went into halftime with a 12-point lead but Hume overcame that in a momentum-turning third quarter, hitting the lead in the last 90 seconds of the term for the first time since opening the scoring in the game’s first minute.
Hard to stop all day, Hume’s Taylor Edwards was particularly prominent in the third quarter turnaround.
The visitors shot 15 free-throws in the third, converting eight, compared to just two out of four for Pakenham, while Pakenham’s field goal percentage also dropped off as the match progressed.
After shooting at 50 per cent in the first half, the Warriors went at just 30 per cent after the main break, having 10 more field goal attempts in the second half but putting 21 fewer points on the board.
Particularly frustrating would have been their ability to only make one of their last six shots after an Ebony Sans three-pointer cut the margin to two with three-and-a-half minutes remaining.
On club debut, Briahna Whatman’s and Erica Meyer’s injections were seamless and a major positive to take out of the game.
Whatman passed the ball well, blending six assists with 16 points, while Meyer was the defensive player of the day.
The Pakenham import’s size was crucial in the hosts competing, her lockdown stunting several Hume attacks as she finished with three blocked shots.
She also grabbed with 10 rebounds as she continually kept her direct opponent off the glass.
Meanwhile, the Youth League One women defeated McKinnon 80-64 at full strength on Saturday, but put forward a younger team on Sunday and were outplayed as several players were unavailable, having been selected to play in the Women’s side instead.
The second quarter against McKinnon was where Ben Gaze’s side played its best, opening up a 22-point halftime lead thanks to a 33-12 second quarter where they contained excellently.
“We executed defensively really well,” Gaze said of that period.
“That led to transition with Stella (O’Loughlin) pushing the floor and getting layups after layups and we were executing on offense and getting easy buckets.
“It was probably the best game we played so far and all their stars we shut down.”
O’Loughlin continued her hot start to the season with 14 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, while Hayley Letts and Chloe Zielinski combined for 36 points, 14 rebounds and five steals, and Jemma Hancock showed positive signs on club debut.
Despite winning by 16 points, the margin of victory felt much more comfortable, with McKinnon closing late with ‘junk time’ points.
On Sunday, the roles were reversed, with Coburg winning 63-49 but having 46 extra shots as the Warriors turned the ball over 29 times, giving the coach an insight into areas that need to be addressed for the emerging players.
“We struggled with the erratic pressure of Coburg,” Gaze said.
“We knew that they apply full-court pressure and we lacked a little bit of composure.”
O’Loughlin and Chelsea Schreuder did what they could to turn the tide but didn’t have the experience around them that they’re accustomed to.
Pakenham’s Women have a double header this weekend, backing up a trip to Camberwell on Saturday night with a home clash against Bulleen at Cardinia Life on Sunday.
The Youth have Hume as the first leg of a Sunday double header at Cardinia Life at 1pm, before the Women’s team.
