Sunbury Jets have the upper hand after game one of the Big V women’s state championship grand final basketball series.
The Jets trailed by as much as 18 points in the first half and by 13 points at the main break against Bulleen Boomers.
But once the Jets started to find their shots in the second half, the game started to turn in their favour.
Coupled with a strong defensive effort, the Jets hit the lead in the final quarter, holding on for a 71-65 win.
Jets coach Kennedy Kereama said that despite trailing by double figures in the first half, his side wasn’t playing badly.
“To be honest, it was a case of we were getting the right looks, but sometimes shots don’t drop,” he said.
“We were missing shots we would consider easy shots. The process was right and once the shots started falling, we got going.”
The Jets showed their defensive strength in the final quarter by restricting the Boomers to just seven points. Boomers star Lauren Pearce scored just four points, all of which came at the free-throw line.
“We had some really good defensive efforts,” Kereama said.
“To keep Lauren to four points is a credit to our defence. Chelsea [Burns] and Courtney [Duever] had the match up for most of the game.
“If one or two players are down, someone will step up. Tara Blair and Sarah Boothe both stepped up for Bulleen.
Duever top scored with 25 points, while Orla O’Reilly scored 18 and Josie Stockill had 16.
The Jets head home for game two on Saturday night and, if needed, game three on Sunday.
Kereama said they weren’t getting ahead of themselves.
“Winning game one is a big deal,” he said.
“We’d love to wrap it up in two games.
“We’ll stick with the winning formula we’ve had all season. We’ll take confidence into the weekend.”
