James Murphy
MILLICENT’S Magic women wrapped up the final round of the South West Country Basketball League season in style.
The ladder leaders made the long trip to Torquay to face the Surfcoast Coasters on Saturday night and returned home in the early hours of Sunday morning with a thumping 61-point victory.
The scene was set early in the piece and the Magic opened the match with a 23-12 point quarter.
Despite the early buffer, Millicent coach Damien Venn felt it was not until the second term the
“We were getting really good looks, but shots just weren’t going,” he said.
“I knew the shots were going to come eventually and they did.
“The second quarter started to get better and in the third quarter the game really opened up I thought.”
Entering the third term the Magic held a 25-point lead, which was extended to 43 by the final change off the back of a 33-point haul from the visitors.
A 31-point quarter followed as Millicent refused to back off the gas and come the final buzzer the scoreboard read 109-48.
Emily Winter led from the front again and her 31 points was the best return for the game.
Georgia Winter (25 points) and Jasmin Howe (24) were also prolific scorers, while Poppy Venn (16) and Tayla Rowe (11) also made double figures.
In fact, Eadie Easterby was the only Magic player not to break into double figures, but she played a key defensive role at the other end of the court.
Millicent coach Damien Venn was pleased with the output from his whole team,
“We got to work on a few things and got a bit of a hit out before next week,” he said.
“We tried not to go through the motions, but it was kind of hard in a game like that.
“We just wanted to keep the tempo up and push the ball as much as we could.”
Looking to this weekend’s semi-final bout with Portland, there will be a keen focus on the defensive structures after a few “sloppy” plays on Saturday.
The final will be played at the Icehouse in Mount Gambier due to the scheduling of the Portland junior basketball tournament and will precede the Lakers women’s and men’s games in a triple-header treat for local basketball fans.
