Cobras Electrify at home, dominate Wildcats

The Cobra Women tipped-off the evening with their best performance of the season, riding a scintillating first half performance by Nikita Young and impressive ball movement as they defeated the Wildcats, 84-73.

Young was unconscious early on, catching fire from deep en-route to 18 first half points, with superstar wing Abby O’Connor adding nine points of her own as the Cobras took an 11 point half time lead. Young’s hot shooting continued in the third, with the young star scoring ten points in the period, capped a heavily contested side-step triple to beat the shot clock - her sixth three-pointer of the game - as the Cobras built a 15 point lead heading into the final stanza.

With the Wildcats zeroing in on Young, Ana Virjoghe took control down low, with the Romanian centre scoring eight of her season-high 22 points in the fourth period, linking up with O’Connor - her former college teammate - for a number of clutch scores late. Kilsyth ballooned their lead out to as much as 23 late, as they cruised to their third win of the season, and first victory at home.

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Young ended with a season-best 28 points on 6-10 shooting from deep, adding seven assists and six rebounds in a stellar all-around performance. Virjoghe recorded 22 points on an efficient 10-for-14 shooting, adding five rebounds and two blocks; O'Connor finished with 12 points, eight boards and five assists, while Shannon Dufficy chipped-in with 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals against her former team. 

The Cobras ball movement was on full display, as they assisted on seasons-best 26 of their 33 field goal makes, while their 10 three point makes were also a season-high.

Following an impressive win by the Women, the Cobra Men took it to another level to begin their showdown with the reigning conference champion Wildcats, with a scorching start fuelling a 104-75 win over the reigning conference champion Wildcats.
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The Cobras exploded out of the gates, with Adi Tomada, Dillon Stith and Corey Jeffs relentlessly attacking the paint as Kilsyth raced to a 34-15 quarter time lead. It was Khadim Sy’s turn to take control next, with the versatile big man connecting a pair of triples and crafty interior finishes en-route to 10 second quarter points, with the Cobras maintaining an 18-point cushion heading into the main break. 

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Sy continued to cook in the third, dominating on the low block with three straight tough post scores, before Tomada, Jeffs and Stith broke open the Wildcats zone defence with a flurry of scores. Sy capped a spectacular night with a step-back triple - while being fouled - in front of the Eltham bench, to push the Cobra lead out to 27 with four minutes remaining in the third period, and the Cobras cruised the rest of the way as they recorded a season-high 104 points.

Sy led the Cobras starters with 25 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks in just 23 minutes; Jeffs finished with a season high 23 points to go along with four assists; Tomada added 15 points, four boards, six assists and two steals; and Stith’s strong first half saw him end with 15 points and seven rebounds. Hamish MacDonald was impressive off the bench once again, adding eight points and seven rebounds; Mitch Dielemans’ seven assists were a season-best; while swingman Ben Ursich starred in a defensive role, holding Gabe Hadley - the league’s second leading scorer heading into the game - to just five points on 2-for-10 shooting.

The pair of wins were key for the Cobras, with the 3-6 Women sitting in the mix of teams vying for positions 6th through 15th, with two wins separating the ten teams. The Men improved to 5-4 with their win, sitting in seventh place, but just a win outside of the top three.

The Cobras will look to build on their Round 6 success when they head to Diamond Valley on Saturday night to take on the Eagles (6pm/8pm). A road matchup against the Keilor Thunder follows, before returning home on Sunday May 25 to battle the Frankston Blues - the first of four straight home games. 

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