ALTONA Gators were left to wonder how their Victorian Basketball League Big V women’s division 1 season spiralled out of control so quickly during the past month.
The Gators returned home a shattered bunch after a premature exit from the finals with a 78-67 loss to a young and tenacious Latrobe City Energy at the Traralgon Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.
Gators assistant coach Elisha Hogan told the Weekly it was one of the most disappointing ends to a season in her years in the sport.
“To get knocked out so early with the quality we have in the team is really disappointing.” The Gators arrived this season with intentions of challenging for a title.
They lost shooting guard Stacey Barr to the US college system in the off season, but gained a WNBL calibre forward/centre in Brigitte Ardossi.
Ardossi took the competition by storm, averaging 18.6 points, 10.6rebounds, 2.3 assists, a steal and a block per game.
She formed a powerhouse combination inside the paint with Louise Johnston, who averaged 12.3 points and 7.2 assists.
At times, there was an over-reliance on the ‘bigs’ to get the job done.
“Teams were switched on [to it],” Hogan said. “They were our only two scorers in some games. They were getting double and even triple-teamed.”
The return of Sharon Grieve from maternity leave was a good sign.
The player-coach posted solid numbers and provided direction on the court with her experience.
The unearthing of netballer-turned-basketballer Nicole McMahon was another source of excitement, a handy bonus.
And the Gators stuck true to the expectations for the best part of 15weeks, sitting on top of the whole division for the most part. Then it all came crashing down.
A road loss to Latrobe City was followed by concerning home losses to Warrnambool and Warrandyte.
And before you knew it, the slump had stretched into a fourth game and sudden death from the finals.
Hogan says the Gators might have remained stagnant during their winning run when other teams were taking measures to improve.
The Gators went into the elimination final down on confidence, and it showed.
Despite the best efforts of Ardossi, Johnston, Emma Coyne and Grieve, the Gators’ best efforts were not close to matching the enthusiasm of the aptly named Energy.
“All credit has to go to Latrobe,” Hogan said. “We just couldn’t stop their offence.”
Attention now turns to the Gators’ sole surviving team, in the women’s youth league. The Gators have gone one-up in their best-of-three semi-final series against Craigieburn Eagles after Saturday’s commanding 54-43 win at the Craigieburn Leisure Centre.
Games two and three, if required, will be at the Altona Sports Centre this weekend.
BIG V
Women’s division 1: Latrobe City Energy 78 d Altona Gators 67
Women’s youth league 2: Semi-final: Game 1: Craigieburn Eagles 43 lt Altona Gators 54
Men’s youth league 2: Elimination final: Western Port Steelers 72 d Altona Gators 53
