ALTONA Gators coach Randy Shanklin is not too despondent that his side will carry the weight of a one-game deficit into the best-of-three Victorian Basketball League Big V women’s youth league 2 grand final series with Hawthorn Magic as it continues this weekend.
The Gators were the pre-series favourites, having qualified for the grand final on the back of a 13-game winning streak, but they lost the opening game 56-49 on the road at the Boroondara Sports Complex on Saturday night.
“We kind of expected it,” Shanklin told The Weekly.
“We never thought it was going to be easy; they’d only lost one game at home all year.”
The Gators started as a favourite should. They burst to a confident 18-9 lead after one period and were going to take some stopping.
This Magic outfit is by no means second rate and they countered swiftly with near-faultless second and third quarters to lead by five.
The Gators made a late run, but lacked composure in the dying minutes.
“I thought we played well as a group,” Shanklin said. “They played hard and it’s all I can ask for at this point. ‘There wasn’t much in it and it’s a matter of making the plays at the right time.
“Hawthorn were a bit more composed in the last two or three minutes.”
Jenna Conroy had a monster 14 minutes for the Gators, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds.
Co-captain Ashleigh Richardson was powerful under the basket, reeling in 15 rebounds to go with seven points.
Amy Lawrence, one of the smaller players in the team, stood up to the physical rigors of finals basketball.
The Gators went in with the knowledge of how tough the Magic would be on their home court.
They will now carry a vital stat of their own into games two and three, if required, at the Altona Sports Centre this weekend.
“The good thing is we haven’t lost two games in a row all year,” Shanklin said. “And nothing changes with the loss; we’ve always had to win two games to win the series.”
-Lance Jenkinson
