VJBL Report - Round 8 2009

U14 Girls
The Miners under 14 Girls played host to Eltham 2 at the Minerdome, in Round 8 of the Victorian Junior Basketball League last Friday night.

A slow start by all the Ballarat girls allowed Eltham, through some solid offensive plays, to keep in touch throughout the first quarter.

The Miners continued their slow start in the second quarter unable to find a basket, which still helped kept Eltham in the game heading into the half time break.

Ballarat finally picked up its game in the third quarter with their defensive pressure helping to spark a revival.

An outstanding last quarter from Ballarat ended any chance of an upset from Eltham, as the Miners piled on 21 points to run away comfortable winners 63 – 31.

U16 Girls
The Miners under 16 Girls played at home against cross-town rivals Bendigo last Friday night.

Ballarat got away to a good start, thanks largely to a 7-point quarter from guard Abi Wehrung.

Bendigo fought back in the second quarter, in what turned into a very slow moving game and with neither team able to break away scores were tied 22 a piece at the half time break.

The second half belonged to Ballarat as they lifted the tempo and managed to get all players involved in the game.

Miner’s Ella Burton consistently providing Ballarat with some strong moves around the basket while guard Emma White added some spark from the bench.

A solid team performance got Ballarat across the line 48 – 33.

U14 Boys
The Miners under 14 boys went down 48 – 35 to Melbourne Tigers. No match details provided.

U16 Boys
The Miners under 16 Boys travelled to Melbourne last Friday to play Knox 2.

The Miners started extremely well going on a 12 to nothing start in the first 3 minutes of the opening quarter but the Ballarat boys then went into cruise control and lost focus allowing Knox back into the game – 18 to 14 at quarter time.

Ballarat continued to struggle defensively throughout the second and third quarters but with Josh Keys and Sean Massey dominating at the offensive end, Ballarat was doing just enough to hold a 12-point advantage early in the third quarter.
Just as Ballarat looked to have some control Knox cut back the lead to 1-point and by three-quarter time the scoreboard was locked at 48 all.

With the clock running down in the dying minute of the game, Knox forced a foul out of Ballarat and headed to the line for 3 shots. Unfortunately for Ballarat, Knox calmly made two of the three foul shots and stole the game 64 – 62.

U18 Boys
The under 18 Miners boys travelled to Melbourne to face Blackburn in their Round 8 matchup last Friday night.

A scrappy start from Ballarat at the defensive end allowed Blackburn some easy scores throughout the first quarter.

Ballarat tightened up it’s defence in the second quarter and managed to force a number of turnovers, which resulted in some easy transition lay ups at their end of the floor and a 6 point advantage at the half time break.

Extending their pressure and intensity further in the third quarter helped set up the remainder of the game, as Blackburn couldn’t keep up with Ballarat’s run.

Ash Constable was Ballarat’s best for the night leading the team in defence while also dominating at the offensive end with 22 points. Ballarat recording another impressive win 57 – 40.

Next weeks games: Friday 8th May

Miners Under 18 Boys vs Shepparton @ HOME 9:40pm
Miners Under 16 Boys vs Werribee @ HOME 8:20pm
Miners Under 14 Boys vs Kilsyth @ HOME 8:20pm
Miners Under 16 Girls vs Werribee @ Werribee 8:20pm
Miners Under 14 Girls vs Werribee @ Werribee 8:20pm

For further information contact Sarah Monck on 5338 1220 or sarah.monck@ballaratbasketball.com