By Hayley Wildes
It was another strong weekend of Big V basketball for the Pakenham Warriors, with three teams chalking up wins.
It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but when the game was there to be won, the Division 2 men rose to the occasion and took care of business against Wallan at home on Sunday afternoon.
With the Panthers hitting their shots from deep, the Warriors struggled to keep up and just under halfway through the third quarter trailed by eight points, 53-45.
Josh Dow was doing his best to keep Pakenham in the contest and when he completed a massive and-1 with four minutes to play in the third quarter, the Warriors had suddenly evened up the contest, 53-53.
It was Dow and Daniel Steen that helped get Pakenham on top with clutch plays down the stretch and when Steen grabbed a steal and finished on the other end, the game was all but over, with Pakenham leading 78-70.
The Warriors ran out 82-73 winners, finishing the game on a 37-20 run in the final 15 minutes, with Josh Dow (23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists), Brad Bridgewater (15 points and 10 rebounds), Daniel Steen (13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists) and John Creighton (16 points and 11 rebounds) producing terrific performances.
The win sees Pakenham (6-0) remain undefeated and sit second on the ladder.
Meanwhile, the Division 2 women took on Sherbrooke on the road on Saturday night and came away with a hard-fought win.
With both struggling from deep, it was Pakenham’s dominance on the boards and ability to convert second chance opportunities that was the difference.
Young gun Ellie Coutts (18 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks) and Steph Pal (15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists) led the way as the Warriors claimed a 66-61 win to improve to 4-1 on the season and sit second on the ladder.
The Youth League 2 men made light work of Keysborough at home on Sunday, winning 97-80.
Pakenham’s willingness to share the ball was key to the win as they dished out 24 assists, compared to just 10 from the Cougars. Ned Weideman (24 points and 14 rebounds) and Lee Belton (19 points and 4 assists) led the Warriors home.
The Warriors (5-0) remain undefeated and sit on top of the ladder.
The Youth League 2 women were unable to get over the line against Sherbrooke on Saturday night, falling just short of victory, 70-65.
Jasmine Ralls (15 points and 5 rebounds) and Sarah Thomson (11 rebounds and 10 points) did all they could for Pakenham but it wasn’t enough. The Warriors (2-4) sit ninth.
There’s no Big V action this week, with teams returning to the court the following weekend.
