Sunbury kept its chances of claiming the Big V Championship women’s minor premiership alive at the weekend, proving far too strong for Waverley on Sunday.
Coming off the bye, the Jets looked fresher and faster than their second-placed opponents as they controlled the play on the way to a 75-58 win.
Star Jets guard Monique Stevens said the benefits of the bye were crucial when looking back on the result.
“We had two really good training sessions this week, and after having the bye and freshening up some bodies, that was really important,” Stevens said.
“We had some players with some niggly injuries that we could get right and it was a big defensive game for us and we really controlled the momentum from the opening.”
With Waverley boasting a number of taller opponents, the Jets used their smaller line-up to great effect by getting the ball inside and then getting it back outside the perimeter to create a swag of three-point shots.
Sunbury threw up 33 attempts from beyond the ring compared to their opponents’ 14, and while only 11 of those 33 shots scored, it was a crucial attacking weapon that gave Sunbury an edge over the Falcons.
Orla O’Reilly played 40 strong minutes for the Jets and came away with a game-high 23 points, while Karen Duever and Stevens each added 18 points to the cause. Alex Darby was also good off the bench with nine points in seven minutes of court time.
Stevens said after a number of close games it was good to see her side put their foot down as the game went on to make sure of the result and give the Jets a percentage boost.
“This game was really important in deciding whether we can finish on top or not, so to get the win will make us very favourable to get that.”
Sunbury will close its season against Eltham and Warrandyte this weekend, with Stevens confident her side can make an impact in the finals.
“Hopefully we can get one of those top spots and prepare for the finals with a bye week which would be nice.”
