Court queens

THEY’VE been the undisputed champions of the North East Women’s basketball competition this entire season, and now they’ve got the rings to prove it – Myrtleford are CBL champions. The Saints completed their dominant season on the biggest of stages on Saturday, taking on the ever-dangerous Albury Cougars at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre in Albury. What followed was a showcase of pure talent and uncompromising offensive pressure, as the Saints ran out winners by 37 points, 81-44, to complete a rare undefeated premiership season. From the first quarter, alarm bells were ringing in the Cougars’ camp, as Myrtleford allowed only six points through their defensive set up while piling on 23 of their own in the first term. The points kept coming in the second quarter, with Taylah Reidy starting to have a major impact on proceedings. A 42-19 half-time scoreline ballooned out as the match wore on, with the Saints sinking shot after shot with the Cougars defence having no answer. With one quarter left in the season to play, the Saints held a 30-point lead, but they weren’t content to simply let the game play out. Incredible pressure on offense and defence kept the joy coming for Saints fans, with Myrtleford winning the final term by seven points to salute with a 37-point margin. Coach Kory Batt said the first quarter domination was a joy to behold. “There were a lot of nerves there, and I was a little bit worried about how we would cope with that, but credit to the girls, they came out and absolutely played probably the best game they’ve played all year in the most important game all year,” he said. “We spoke about trying to get a good start, the last few weeks have been pretty good starts for us, so we tried to capitalise on that. “Their determination, their pressure up the court, and offensively, everything was moving. “Everyone seemed to be on the same page, shots were dropping, it just seemed like it was our day from the get-go.” Batt said the complete domination from the side was a reflection of a brilliant season they’d put together. “Albury are a good side, at quarter time we spoke about how they’d try some different things and try and get back in the game, but the girls took on every challenge Albury threw at us and kept pressing from there,” he said. “They were massive defensively, caused some big turnovers and pushed in transition and scored at the other end. “The fatigue levels I thought were going to die off because they were playing such high-intensity basketball our first quarter, first half, but credit to them, they pushed through all game and didn’t stop.” Taylah Reidy was named MVP in the grand final, finishing with 25 points, with Evie Hughes (13 points), Jorja Reidy (12) and Paige Zamperoni (11) all scoring in double digits, but it was a complete team performance. Hughes and Zamperoni were named in the North East women’s All Star Five in recognition of a tremendous season, while Hughes was also named Defensive Player of the Year. “It’s huge in that aspect for Myrtleford basketball, it’s put us on the map,” Batt said. “We’ve always been there about, but this one really puts us up there, and I think teams are going to take us a little bit more seriously. “We’ve got some fantastic talent coming through, and if we can stay together and keep pushing, who knows what we can achieve. “A special mention to all the spectators who came over - I reckon we had more than Albury there, which is great and shows how much of a tight-knit community we are.”

Court queens

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