By Justin Schwarze
A milestone weekend couldn’t be capped off for the Pakenham Warriors Championship Men with Cody Fredrickson playing in his 150th senior game that resulted in a 98-104 loss to Shepparton.
In a high-scoring, ‘offensive-centric’ game, the Warriors had all five starters in double figures, with Ned Carr, Matt Berkec and Steve Coffey all reaching 20 or more points.
With the game tied at halftime and three quarter time, the Gators executed brilliant offensive sets down the stretch that led to efficient scoring, highlighted by Joshua Kooiman’s 23 points.
Bryce Brown was awarded the match’s Anzac medal for his performance of 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
The following day, Pakenham fell again in a face-off against Coffey’s old side RMIT.
Coffey struggled from the floor, shooting 4/15 and the Warriors shot below 40 percent in a 91-81 loss.
Zach Coleman-Bock was magnificent for the Redbacks, posting 23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals in the victory.
Berkec notched his second straight double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Despite a furious comeback, Pakenham Warriors Championship Women fell just short in an entertaining match against Sherbrooke.
The Suns led by as many as 21 and had a 16-point buffer entering the final frame, but the Warriors quickly chipped away at the margin.
A Skye Rees turnaround jumper brought Pakenham within three with over five minutes left to play, but Sherbrooke responded and got its offence back on track to take the win 76-81.
Grace Graham had 23 points and five steals while Rees recorded 25 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
The loss marks the first defeat for the Champ Women this season.
The Youth Championship Women continue to learn and have growing pains in the top flight, going down to Nunawading on the road 99-71.
Stella O’Loughlin starred with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.
The Youth League One Men were the only Pakenham outfield that got a win across the Anzac round.
The Warriors travelled to Coburg and took down the Giants 77-97 thanks to a breakout performance from Mitchell Zeunert.
Zeunert has rightfully earned trust from head coach Braden Venning, getting the start and dominating with figures of 27 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
He knocked down 12/19 shots from the field, including going 3/4 from deep.
After losing three in a row, Pakenham has bounced back by stringing back-to-back wins together.
