Posted on 20 April, 2018
The Cobras are back on home court this Saturday night as they play host to the Melbourne Tigers in SEABL action.
The Lady Cobras enter the weekend as the league’s hottest team, holding a 3-0 record following their 78-54 Round 2 victory over Frankston. Despite having just eight players available for their first three games, Sam Woosnam’s team has played some remarkable basketball, boasting an average winning margin of 28 points per game.
Their lineup will receive a significant boost on Saturday night, with two-time league MVP Steph Blicavs set to make her season debut after helping lead the Australian Opals to a Commonwealth Games gold medal, while former All-SEABL forward Jasmine Gill will suit up for her first game of 2018 after arriving in Australia earlier this week.
The Tiger Women enter with a 1-1 record following a resounding 87-58 win over Albury-Wodonga in Round 2. Bec Cole (23.5ppg/3.5apg) and Monique Conti (14.0ppg/3.0apg) have carried the bulk of the Tigers scoring load to start the season, while former Cobra Louella Tomlinson (14.5ppg/6.0bpg) has been a force on the defensive end to start the season.
With Blicavs and Gill set to make their season debuts, and second year guard Chelsea D’Angelo (21.0ppg/4.0apg) off to a blistering start in 2018, their perimeter battle with Cole and Conti will be key, and if the Lady Cobras can win the battle on the outside they are a strong chance to move to 4-0 on the season.
The Cobra Men continued their strong start to 2018 with a big 90-71 win over Frankston in their home opener in Round 2 to push their record to 2-1. The Cobras depth has played a vital role in their early success, with Justin Schueller’s team possessing a balanced scoring load which has seen six players record double-digit scoring games thus far.
They’ll take on a Melbourne team that enters with an 0-2 record, following losses to Albury-Wodonga and Nunawading. While Melbourne has had few issues scoring the ball – The Tigers are averaging 86.5 points per game – their woes on the defensive end have hampered the team significantly to start 2018, as they enter the weekend conceding 103 points per contest. The Tigers are led by rising star Tom Wilson (26.5ppg/4.5apg) with the point guard looking like one of the league’s elite guards in the early going of 2018.
The matchup between Wilson and the Cobras Sam Daly will be key on Saturday night, and if the athletic Daly can contain Wilson, the Cobras depth and front court size should prove too much for the Tigers to handle.
