By Tara Murray
The Sunbury Jets sealed top spot and the week off with a big win in the final round of the Big V women’s state championship season.
Looking for their fourth straight title and third straight state championship title, the Jets are starting to hit form at the right time.
On Saturday night, the Jets had no issues against McKinnon Cougars.
The Jets started well. The first quarter was their best.
They were able to build the lead to 26 points at the last change.
While the Cougars won the final quarter, the Jets had done enough to win, 94-73.
Jets coach Kennedy Kereama said it was nice to finish the regular season on a high.
“Form is important heading into finals.
“It was a good result to go into finals focused and full of confidence.
“A lot of challenges will be thrown at us.”
The nature of the win meant all Jets players who suited up got court time.
Lynn Leaupepe (21 points) and Jacinta Beckley (23 points) came off the bench and provided much needed scoring power.
Kereama said to be able to rotate his whole squad this late in the season would help them come finals.
“Depth is our strength and we’ve worked hard to use the entire roster and stay fresh.
“We were lucky in that sense to have the ability to do that as finals get closer.
“We want to keep games at a high tempo and hope they will be fresh.
“Lynn and Jacinta’s efforts were tremendous. We’ve got a lot of experienced players and on any given night they’re not worried who gets the points.”
After having players in and out of the side in recent weeks, the Jets are just about at full strength.
Chelsea Burns, who has a hamstring issue, has been managed in recent weeks, but should be fine for finals.
The Sunbury Jets get the first week of the finals off, reward for claiming the minor premiership.
Kereama said they would use that to their advantage.
“We’ve got processes in place and the week off isn’t a bad thing.
“We’ll still have a hard week of training and be ready to go.
“We’re a team that is scout heavy, so it will give us more time to prepare.”
