Louise Johnston finished Saturday night’s elimination final against Latrobe City with 14 points. 84402_10 Picture: DAMIAN VISENTINI
By LIAM TWOMEY
ALTONA’S Big V basketball season is over after the Division One Women’s team lost its elimination final to Latrobe City on Saturday night.
The Gators showed no signs of nerves early and with scoring machine Brigitte Ardossi leading the way, shot out to a three point lead at the first break.
However, the second quarter proved to be a different story with the Energy turning the match on its head in a dominating performance.
Latrobe City shut the Gators down defensively, allowing Altona to only score nine points for the quarter while the Energy made the most of their scoring opportunities to turn the three point deficit into a nine point lead at the main break.
There was no coming back from there for Altona which, after cutting the lead to just five points at the final break, could not complete the comeback and Latrobe secured the 11 point win 78-67.
Ardossi was again a star for the Gators, shooting 21 points and winning a staggering 17 rebounds in a powerhouse effort all over the court.
She was well supported by Louise Johnston who scored 14 points while Emma Coyne and Sharon Grieve each finished the match with 10.
In men’s finals results, Werribee suffered a shock loss in its elimination final against McKinnon, going down by seven points on their home court at the Werribee Sport and Fitness Centre.
The Devils looked to be in control of the match early, taking a three point lead into the first quarter but a 34-21 second term in favour of McKinnon changed the course of the match.
Despite Werribee continuing to fight it was unable to reel in the deficit, eventually losing 94-87.
Mark Rizza led the scoring for the Devils to finish the match with 17 points while Joshua Oswald and Kristian Rocci scored 14 and 13 respectively.
There was no stopping McKinnon’s Marcus Timmons though who scored 37 points and 12 rebounds to be the most dominant player on the court.
He was well supported by Axel Dench who contributed 23 points and seven rebounds.
