06 June 2022
A home double header on Saturday night had Gippsland United host the visiting Coburg Giants and Whittlesea Pacers.
It was a really important game for the Women’s team on the weekend with both teams vying for a spot in the finals and the home team came firing from the first whistle. With double figure scoring from three of the starting 5 and Makenzie Miller/Chloe Hogg tearing down 29 rebounds between them the tone was set.
However it was the spark off the bench from youngster Emily Scholtes who stole the show. Finishing with an equal game high 17 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals, the young guard was really productive in her 26 minutes on the floor.
Coach Wayne Royal wasn’t getting to excited with the win, disappointed that a 26 point lead was pulled back to 16 at the final whistle. He was frustrated with the 25 turnovers committed by the team, which will be focus area at training this week.
Coach Scott McKenzie was expecting a tough game from the Pacers and that was exactly what he got. Whittlesea having only 4 wins for the season was not reflective of how well they have been playing. All close losses with the largest losing margin only 10 points. With star guard Billy Hughes out for 6 weeks the pressure was on the home team.
The game was a real arm wrestle, with the talent of United prevailing in the end for a 7 point victory. Big man Stephen O’Brien was outstanding for the home team finishing the game with 20 points and some key rebounds down the stretch.
In the absence of Billy Hughes, Ben Barlow took the reigns on the offensive end and led all scorers on the night with 23 points on an efficiency of 70% from the field.
There are no games on the long weekend, so all teams get a well deserved break.
Our next home game is: Saturday 25th June
Women @ 6pm vs. RMIT
Men @ 8pm vs. Craigeburn
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