By Tara Murray
Sunbury Jets are one win away from a second straight Big V youth league women’s grand final.
The Jets claimed the division 2 title last season and have had no trouble adapting to division 1 this year.
On Saturday night, they claimed victory against the Geelong Supercats in game one of a best of three semi-final series.
Jets coach Andrew Seidel was thrilled with the performance, with the Jets leading from start to finish in the 70-56 win.
“It was really good,” he said.
“We dropped our final game of the season and it cost us top spot and put us in a little bit of a different position to what we thought we would be in.
“We think we match up better with Geelong and we played really well.
“We had control for most of the game.”
Every player got court time for the Jets, which has been a focus of Seidel for the past couple of years.
Nyomi Stowers top-scored with 17 points, while Chloe Angove had 15 points and 15 rebounds. Chloe Jackson chipped in with 14 points.
“We played like we have the last couple of seasons with a group we hope can take the next step to state champ youth,” Seidel said.
“[The] Only way you can do that is by giving everyone court time.
“There was a pretty even spread with three or four really good contributors.”
Seidel said he was proud of how the side had taken the promotion of grades in its stride.
He said the players didn’t know what to expect playing at that next level.
“Going into a higher grade we always expected it to be a lot tougher,” he said. “We had a game plan of making play-offs at the start of the season.
“With the way the season panned out, the second half of the season we have wanted to make the grand final series.”
The core group of last year’s championship side remains, while they’ve added a few local players. Seidel said they had helped with the development of the team.
“Brodie Theodore has played state championship youth league,” he said.
“Nyomi Stowers, who is a Sunbury junior, did her knee last season, has returned.
“Emily Conn has come up from juniors as well.”
The Jets will play game two on Saturday night, and game three, if needed, will be played on Sunday, both at Boardman Stadium.
They will play the winner of Keilor Thunder and McKinnon Cougars.
The Thunder took the 1-0 advantage with a 71-53 win on Saturday night.
