Tara Murray
Altona Gators opening match of the Big V women’s division 2 finals couldn’t have gone much better on Saturday night.
Facing the RMIT Redbacks at Altona, the Gators had the chance to set up their finals campaign with a good start having had some inconsistent form in the back half of the season.
They did exactly that as they beat the Redbacks, 80-53.
Gators coach Cameron Wilkosz said they couldn’t have scripted the game to go any better.
“We had a better week at practice with more bodies and people being healthy,” he said.
“Being a play off game we could go harder on the scout and change up what we needed to. Practice during the week set us up.”
The Gators led by six points at quarter time, with the Redbacks sticking with them through the first part of the second quarter.
A small period of play turned the game in the Gators favour, with the Gators winning the quarter 29-12 to lead by 23 points at half time.
“Half way through the season quarter, Sharna [Appleby] and Jess [Rarity] hit four threes in five possessions,” Wilkosz said.
“Being able to hit some consecutive triples allowed us to focus on playing defence and keeping a lead.”
Wilkosz said they knew that the Redbacks were always going to come back at them. The Gators were able to do enough to not only maintain, but extend their lead in each of the last two quarters/
“They went on a couple of runs and we went on a couple of runs ourselves,” he said. “We learned a hell of a lot.”
Appleby top scored with 24 points, while Rarity had 21 points.
With a big lead, the Gators were able to share the minutes around, with all nine players playing at least 10 minutes and all but one player scoring.
Wilkosz said it was good to be able to give the likes of Appleby and Rarity a bit of a rest knowing what’s ahead of them.
“Everyone played their roles perfectly,” he said.
The Gators now face the Mornington Breakers this weekend for a spot in the best-of-three grand final series.
The loser will play in the preliminary final.
The Breakers, who were the minor premiers, had the week off.
Wilkosz said they needed to stay focused on and work on what works for them. He said another good week on the practice court would go a long way to helping them get the win.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” he said.
“We lost both times to them during the season. The first game we had six players including a couple of youth league players to just get on the court. We lost by three.
“The second time it was 20-something points, when we were still battling to have a full side.
“We want to try and get even.”
