Round 6 – Home fortress held as Waatu eye finals

Winter strikes from deep early - Georgia Winter hit 15 points in the opening quarter to setup a historic win for the Waatu Women - Photo provided by AU

Superb Sabine and Wonderful Winter bring start to new era

The Waatu Women were eyeing off their second win of the season and managed to grab it at the conclusion of the match with a thrilling 81-74 win over the RMIT Redbacks at the State Basketball Centre.

After a close basket for basket opening with Georgia Winter (Veterinary Technology) and Jolie Brown (7 points) – it was Winter that dominated the opening stanza with 15 points at 75 percent with three triples to have the Waatu just in front 24-21.

The second was again a trading of basket for basket with conscious effort being applied on Winter by the Redbacks at the defensive end of the floor. That left Alice Sabine (Medicine) to reel off nine points and five rebounds for the term with NBL1 South Ringwood Hawks Mikayla Peterson scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds for the half to keep the Redbacks within a few baskets 45-38 at the main break. The Waatu did a good job containing Emma Carr who had hurt some opposition in the past fixtures.

The tightness in the contest continued with another couple of faces emerging in the second half with the Waatu’s Jemima Whitton (Viticulture and Oenology) adding six points and couple of blocked shots but the Redbacks Kaityln Bickerton kept them in striking distance with 10 points for the quarter to leave it at 64-58 with one to play.

The Waatu set themselves up for victory early in the fourth with 11-0 courtesy of Whitton who reeled off eight final quarter points but Peterson did her best to chase the Redbacks into the game closing it down to the final minutes. The Waatu holding their nerve as Whitton made a couple of her late baskets to get their second win in a season in their short history 81-74 in the finish.

Through four quarters Sabine produced the numbers again with 24 points, 17 rebounds (six offensive), six assists, three steals and three blocks with Whitton’s second half giving her best numbers of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds (five offensive), four steals and two blocked shots. Winter set the ball rolling early to finish with 22 points with four triples, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Peterson for the Redbacks was powerful through the contest with 27 points, 13 rebounds, five steals with Bickerton finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Brown fouled out of the match early in the fourth to finalise 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. The Waatu capatilsing on the turnovers best in the match with 12 points from turnover and winning the rebounds 68-52 with a 31-17 offensive rebound count the key statistic in the wrapup.

The Women sit 10th now on the table with a 2-5 record but with a roadtrip against UNSW (8th) and Sydney Uni (2nd) coming up this week over the border in NSW – the Waatu can finish with a 4-5 record. If the teams around them in CU playing UWA (13th) & UNISC (12th), VU playing UTAS (1st), MUBC (11th) playing UTS (3rd) drop their games to teams this week – you just never know the Waatu may sneak into the final seventh or eighth place.

It’s all in their hands as they head across the hay plains…

RD 6 Women AU Waatu 81 (Sabine 24, Winter 22, Whitton 17, Brooks 7) defeated RMIT Redbacks 74 (Peterson 27, Bickerton, Brown 15, Carr 10)

Kourani helps Waatu hunt second consecutive finals appearance with win over Redbacks

The Waatu Men grabbed their fourth win of the season setting up a possible second consecutive finals appearance with a strong 101-91 win over the RMIT Redbacks at the State Basketball Centre.

After another tight opening five minutes trading blow for blow – the Waatu reeled off a 10-4 run thanks to sharp shooting high school star Emil Kourani (Occupational Therapy) with 11 points and three triples. That resulted in seven triples to have the Waatu in front 31-17 after one.

The Redbacks started the better in the second with an 0-11 run thanks to Matt Gardner but turnovers gifted Ayual Garang (Architecture) who turned it on in the second with nine points as the high shooting percentages continued. Harry Bruce all business as usual with 12 points consisting of three triples, three rebounds and two steals kept the Waatu in front at a decent arm’s length 52-40 at the main break. The highlight of the half a Kourani two handed putback off an offensive rebound one for the instagram reelers…

A 16-8 opening five minutes led by Kourani (eight points) and the starters contributing saw the margin hit a game high 21-point-lead 76-55. RMIT had to respond and did accordingly via Nick Woodall with 13 points and six rebounds in the term but the Waatu’s three point shooting stayed at close to 40 percent with a manageable 76-64 lead at the last change.

Kourani started the fourth feeling unconscious from outside the arc as he fired off another triple but the Redbacks also found their own microwave in Baden Swoboda who looked threatening in the final term as well. Gardiner and Woodall cut it back to an eight point margin but the Waatu closed it out through their starters to seal an important win to be over .500 for the season

Kourani had his best game of the season with 29 points including seven triples and 13 rebounds well backed up by Bruce with 26 points with five triples, six rebounds and four steals and Garang with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Plenty of role players had impact too with Isaac Hampel (Engineering) putting together 14 points, five assists and rebounds and Sam Davies (Nursing) with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Woodall was the one who kept the Redbacks in it with 25 points, 14 rebounds and three assists as did Gardner with 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Nikita Yiannakoudakis “the football player” as he’s known as in the circles also was consistent all afternoon with 16 points and eight rebounds. The key statline for the Waatu that caused them to edge ahead was their 21 offensive rebounds to gain an extra 17 points.

The Men sit 7th now on the table with a 4-3 record and with a roadtrip against UNSW (11th) and Sydney Uni (4th) coming up this week over the border in NSW the Waatu can finish with a 6-3 record. If the teams around them in UNISC (6th) playing CU (9th) & their other round match versus UWA (8th), UTAS (5th) playing VU (13th) drop their games in the correct sequence to teams this week – you just never know the Waatu may sneak into the top three and grab a possible inaugural home final…

RD 6 Men AU Waatu 101 (Kourani 29, Bruce 26, Garang 16, Davies, Hampel 14) defeated RMIT Redbacks 91 (Woodall 25, Gardner 22, Yiannakoudakis 16, Jovic 8, Brennan 7)

Catch the Waatu’s seventh and final minor round games this week against UNSW and Sydney Uni on Uni Sports TV from Tuesday 1:30pm and Wednesday 11:30am.

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