Jessica Francke scored 10 points for Keilor on Saturday night but it wasn’t enough for the Thunder to topple Mildura. 67184 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT By LIAM TWOMEY
By LIAM TWOMEY
THE Mildura Heat proved too hot to handle for the Keilor Thunder on Saturday, storming to a 23-point win in their Women’s Big V basketball Division One clash.
However, not everything went the Heat’s way as Keilor made the better start to the contest, scoring 15 points in the first quarter to open up a six point lead at the first break.
The Mildura defence put the brakes on Keilor, allowing only three points in a dominating second quarter.
At the other end of the court, the Heat hit 16 points to go into the main break with a seven-point lead.
From there they were never troubled, increasing the margin at the final two changes of the match on route to an impressive 63-40 win.
The Keilor workload around the ring was evenly spread with Karla Mavor (11) Jessica Francke (10) Kathrine Black (9) and Ashleigh Gunn (8) all providing scoring options.
But the difference between the two sides was Mildura’s Justina Udenze who scored 23 points and won 25 rebounds in a dominating effort.
She was well supported by Vanessa Power who scored 14 points.
The result sees Keilor slip to sixth on the Division One ladder with a 2-6 win/loss record this season.
The Thunder’s next assignment will be on Saturday night when they take on the fifth placed Sunbury.
In men’s results, Keilor was able to hold on for a stunning one-point win over Coburg on Sunday.
After dominating the first three quarters of the match, the Thunder could manage just eight points in the final term as Coburg made its charge.
The gap was too big to reel in though and Keilor held on for the 78-77 win.
