Date: Tue, May 11, 2010

U/16 Girls Bellarine 58 defeating Ballarat 41

The Ballarat Lady Miners U/16 girls were unable to get on top of their equal second placed rivals, Bellarine. Friday night’s VJBL home match saw Ballarat suffer a 17 point loss to a very tall and aggressive opposition.

The Lady Miners started the game off full of energy, outscoring Bellarine and managing to force them into several turnovers early in the match.

Some accurate three point shooting helped Ballarat to build a small lead at the end of the first quarter.

Unfortunately, the second quarter saw Bellarine score far too freely as Ballarat’s shooting dropped off. Emma White continued on from her excellent first quarter performance and provided Ballarat’s only spark on offense.

In the second half Bellarine were able to build on a 9 point lead that they had created in the second quarter, again proving far too tall for Ballarat.

As the Miners tried hard to pin the score line back, Bellarine continued to attack the basket and forced Ballarat into making some poor decisions.

Coach Glenn White said “to some of the girl’s credit they tried hard but to no avail as some individuals within the team broke down on their jobs on defence. We’ll go back to basics with this team making it quite clear from here that selection will be based on their training performances and listening skills.”

Finals Score Bellarine 58 defeating Ballarat 41

Scorers: Ballarat (Top 3)

• White 16
• Hills 9
• Burton 6

U/14 Girls – Nunawading 50 def Ballarat 36

The Miners U/14 girls squad travelled to Nunawading on Friday night to take on the first placed Spectres. As they have all season, Ballarat got off to a great start, with Emily Brugman and Kathryn O’Dwyer creating turnovers and fast break opportunities throughout the first quarter. The second quarter saw Ballarat’s lead disappear as the Spectres started to get a feel for the game. However, Ballarat were still in contention at the major break only trailing by 2 points.

In the third quarter Nunawading came out firing with their offensive attack proving too strong for Ballarat’s defence. As their confidence began to grow so did their lead and Ballarat quickly found themselves behind by a double figure margin.

The Spectres were in full control for the remainder of the match and went away with a 14 point victory.

Scorers: Ballarat (Top 3)

• Emily Brugman 13 points
  
• Kayla Mallett 9 points
  
• Maddy Fratin 7 points

U/14 Boys – Bendigo 41 Ballarat 34

The Under 14 Boy’s squad took on Bendigo at the Minerdome. This clash saw Ballarat get off to a very competitive start. As they pushed the ball and ran the court hard they were able to create some good scoring opportunities.

In the second half Bendigo were able to turn the game around and their full court defensive pressure saw Ballarat’s offensive structure crumble.

Ballarat’s Matthew Geary continued his dominant performances from the previous weeks and tried to get the Miners back into the game.

Coach Travis Hewish said “our inability to put the ball through the basket and finish shots is what brought us unstuck. It’s a disappointing loss seeing how we were so competitive in the first half.”

U/16 Boys – Geelong 34 def Ballarat 32

In a very competitive match in against a highly ranked Geelong side, Ballarat were unable to come home with the victory due to an inconsistent game.

Geelong started the game full of energy and was able to use their height advantage to create easy buckets in the first few minutes. Ballarat then switched on and were able to claw the scores back to 21 a piece at the major break.

The second half was a defensive struggle with both teams finding it hard to score. Neither team was able to gain any major advantage with the largest margin being 4 points. With 40 seconds remaining Geelong held a slender 2 point lead and looked likely to take the win. Then Jesse Malone stepped up and scored a tough basket to tie the scores. With 3 seconds remaining Geelong attacked the basket and had a foul called by the officials. Taking the side ball, Geelong threw the ball inside into their big man who was able to score and record a hard fought victory for the home side

Coach Darren Thomas said “Once again it was the boy’s inability to finish easy shots that hurt the team and contributed to the final result. This will be a focus at training for the coming weeks.”

U/18 Girls – Ballarat 65 def Broadmeadows 24

The Ballarat under 18 girls travelled to Broadmeadows to take on a much weaker Broncos side. Ballarat took control right from the start as Jane Douglas found her shooting range. She was supported by Sophie Alexander 3 of 4 Three pointers and Ella Burton who was very strong inside.

By the first break Ballarat had opened up a 9 point lead. The second quarter saw this lead extended and by the end of the match Ballarat had built a 41 point lead.

Coach Eric Hayes said “our defence was very good and this allowed us to flow into our offense. We’ll now continue to work hard and prepare for future challenges.”

Scorers: Ballarat (Top 3)

• Jane Douglas 18 Pts
  
• Sophie Alexander 16 Pts
  
• Ella Burton 12 Pts
  

U/18 Boys – Ballarat 58 def Keilor 49

Just like last week against Melbourne, Ballarat got off to a solid start. Whilst Keilor broke down Ballarat’s defence early, their zone was no match for the Miners transition and perimeter game. Ash Constable, Jarrod Fryar and Jack Sullivan all connected from outside as Ballarat flew to a 40 point first half. Only some slack defence in the second quarter let Keilor keep in touch as Ballarat took a 12 point lead at the half.

In the second half the momentum swung Keilor’s way as they went on a 14 – 2 point run against the Miners. A shocked Miners team struggled to find a winning combination on the floor as their offense became stagnant and predictable.

The final minutes saw Ballarat regain control and create much better scoring opportunities. Ballarat taking the win by 11 points with some strong team defence.

“There is a common trend of great starts and poor third quarters. If we can maintain a game of fast movement and tight defence we will win more often than not” Coach DJ Sutton said after the match.

Scorers: Ballarat (top 2)

• Ash Constable – 17
  Tom Downey - 13
  

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