WHITTLESEA made Altona pay for poor shooting in their top-of-the-table clash in the Victorian Basketball League Big V division1 on Saturday night.
Going into the match, both teams had lost only one game for the season, but Whittlesea got the points after outscoring the Gators in each quarter, winning 68-52.
The Gators had their chances, putting up 16more field shot attempts than their opponents: 73 to 57.
But they couldn’t capitalise on their shots at the basket, making just 26per cent of field goal attempts across the game, compared to the Pacers’ 44per cent.
The Gators started the better of the teams, exerting pressure on the Pacers and forcing them to concede nine turnovers for the term.
Despite this, the Gators were behind at the first break after hitting only three of 15 field goal attempts. It was more of the same for the rest of the game, with the Gators forcing turnovers but unable to bring scoreboard pressure.
Brigitte Ardossi top-scored with 19 points before she fouled out of the game. Nicole McMahon scored 10 points to go with nine rebounds.
The Gators put the loss behind them and easily won their second match of the weekend, defeating Southern Peninsula 67-48.
This time it was the Gators who made the most of their early shooting accuracy, taking an 11-point lead to quarter-time, despite having two fewer shots. The Gators were never headed and were strong on the boards, taking 59 rebounds.
Louise Johnston top-scored with 17 points and had 11 rebounds.
The men’s division1 team also spilt the weekend double, going down to Whittlesea on Saturday night before bouncing back against Southern Peninsula. The women’s team faces Keilor on Sunday afternoon.
