Posted on 18 June, 2012
Hugh McMenamin Court came to life Saturday night with loud fans and big baskets as the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras defended their home court proudly against the visiting Hobart Chargers. The Swinburne Lady Cobras extended their win streak to ten as they pulled out a 67-53 victory over the Lady Chargers while the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras followed up with a strong performance of their own as they beat the Chargers 95-85.
The Swinburne Lady Cobras had a tall order ahead of them entering Saturday night’s game. The Lady Charger were just one spot out of playoff contention on the ladder with every motivation to move up and the Swinburne Lady Cobras were coming back from a bye weekend and were without leading scorer Chantella Perera, who was out with a back injury. The Swinburne Lady Cobras stepped up to the challenge and put on a dominating effort in the 40 minutes of play.
Veteran Guard Gemma Kerr filled Perera’s starting spot and the Swinburne Lady Cobras didn’t miss a beat as they jumped out to a quick 15-8 start. Leading with their trademark defensive pressure, the Swinburne Lady Cobras forced the Lady Chargers into six turnovers in the first period alone. A more balanced attack from the Lady Chargers in the second period, led by Caila DesRoches who finished the night with 15 points, evened out the scoring and put the Swinburne Lady Cobras up by only five points entering the halftime.
The Lady Chargers carried their momentum into the start of the second half and pulled within two points at the 5:28 mark. Hayley Moffatt answered back immediately with a pair of free throws that started a run of her own, with consecutive jump shots to score the last six points of the quarter for the Swinburne Lady Cobras. The game was still undecided entering the final period and the Lady Chargers again managed to close the gap to just four points with 7:58 left to play. One last big push by the Swinburne Lady Cobras resulted in a 10-4 scoring run and finally secured the win. Hayley Moffatt stepped up to lead the team in scoring with 23 points followed by Kristen Barnes with 16 points. Sarah Parsons contributed in all categories, scoring 11 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out eight assists and collecting five steals.
The Swinburne Lady Cobras’ next game is at home on Sunday 24 June 2012. The Swinburne Lady Cobras host the Frankston Lady Blues with tip off at 12:30pm on Hugh McMenamin Court.
Saturday’s game was a big opportunity for the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras to get back on track against a Chargers team who took the game out from under them in their last meeting. Fuelled by the prospect of avenging the loss, the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras came out on fire. But for every basket made on one end, the Chargers answered back with a hit of their own. The first quarter had six lead changes as the two teams battled back and forth. Garfield Blair’s 3 point swish closed the first period with a one point advantage for the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras.
The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras opened up the second quarter with another deep three by Zach Malvik which spurred a shoot-off between the two sides. In the third quarter the Chargers connected three times from beyond the arc but could not match the performance of the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras’ guards, who went five of eight from the three point line with buckets going in from Zach Malvik, Matt O’Hea and Garfield Blair. Feeding off of the energy and excitement from the home fans, the high scoring quarter put the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras up 55-48 at halftime.
The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras built their lead in the third period with contributions in scoring from all five players on the floor. With guards continuing to get open from beyond the arc (10/19 for 54% shooting) and consistent post play from big men Auryn MacMillan and Tim Lang, the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras picked up a rhythm that the Chargers couldn’t quite match. The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras went 5-6 from the free throw line in the final minute of play to squelch any hopes the Chargers may have had of a late game comeback and ended with a ten point victory on their home floor and importantly a head to head advantage over the Chargers – which could be a factor come post-season invitations. The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras were led in scoring by big performances from Garfield Blair and Zach Malvik, with 29 and 25 points respectively.
The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras’ next game is at home on Sunday 24 June 2012. The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras host the Frankston Blues with tip off at 2:30pm on Hugh McMenamin Court.
