Posted on 27 June, 2012
SEABL action continues in Round 14 of competition this Saturday as the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras travel south to face the Dandenong Rangers. The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras will have their hands full as both teams will be facing a Rangers team currently placed on top of the East Pool.
The Swinburne Lady Cobras will enter the match up in second place on the South Pool ladder and with every desire to keep their current win streak going. With a 15-2 record, the Swinburne Lady Cobras sit comfortably with cross-town rivals Knox as the top two teams in the South who thus far have a safe margin between the rest of the battling teams. The Swinburne Lady Cobras used a strong second half effort to defeat the Lady Blues 60-45 in Round 13 to record their 11th straight win.
The Swinburne Lady Cobras continue to defeat opponents with tough defence and a balanced offensive attack. The absence of scoring leader Chantella Perera has forced the Swinburne Lady Cobras to count on new faces to lead the offence and both Hayley Moffatt and Kristen Barnes have met the challenge. Moffatt has averaged 18.5 points in the last two games whilst Barnes has averaged 16 points to each take turns leading the team’s attack. On the other end, Sarah Parsons’ hustle on defence ignites the team’s rebounding efforts and leads to key steals to create scoring opportunities.
The Lady Rangers won’t be intimidated by the stat line on Saturday as they host the Swinburne Lady Cobras. Bitter after a loss three weeks ago on Hugh McMenamin Court where they played without star Stephanie Cumming, the Lady Rangers will be in full force this time and looking to carry over their momentum after a big 65-57 victory over second place Geelong in Round 13. Saturday’s game can be expected to have all of the anticipation from the first time these two teams met and more than likely a much closer finish.
Last time they met…The Swinburne Lady Cobras were in control from the opening tip against the Lady Rangers. A big run in the second quarter gave the Swinburne Lady Cobras a comfortable ten point lead which they managed to maintain the rest of the way. Chantella Perera led with 17 points while Sarah Parsons grabbed 9 rebounds.
The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras seem to be back to their winning ways after picking up their second straight win against the Frankston Blues. While the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras are in seventh place on the South Pool ladder, it could only take one game to make the transition to the top as every team is just separated by the smallest margin. The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras will look to build on their momentum and pull off an upset against the top ranked Rangers.
Imports Garfield Blair and Zach Malvik have taken control of the team and stepped up their efforts in the last two games to lead the team to victory. After a bit of a scoring drought, Blair and Malvik have returned to their consistent shooting ways and are averaging 26.5 points and 20.5 points respectively in the last two games. Aided by three point threat Matt O’Hea and strong post play by Tim Lang and Auryn MacMillan, the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras have the talent to knock off any team in the League if they can continue to play team basketball.
The Dandenong Rangers won’t be looking past the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras, but with a 15-3 record they will enter the game as the heavy favourites. The Rangers are in first place in the East Pool and, just as the women, defeated the second place Geelong Supercats in Round 13, 83-79. The Rangers are on a six game win streak and the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras will try to be the team that ends their run.
Last time they met…Round 11 was one the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras were eager to put behind them as they suffered a tremendous loss to the Dandenong Rangers 101-62. The Rangers’ offence trampled over the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras, who could not find a way to stop leading Rangers scorers Tony Lewis (25 points) and Daequon Montreal (21 points). The Rangers shot an impressive 59.2% from the field and forced the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras into 17 turnovers. Coach Grant Wallace will be keen to make the appropriate adjustments to give the Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras every possible advantage as they enter Saturday’s match up.
