Youth Women
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Round 2
Eltham Wildcats 38 def by Bulleen Boomers 43
Top Performers: K. Mountford 13 points, S. Fell 7 points/7 rebounds, K. Toohey 6 points
The Wildcats Youth 1 Women played their first home game of the young 2021 Big V season on Saturday night against the Bulleen Boomers. Shooting only 1/25 from the field (4%) in the opening quarter and only managing to score 3 points set the tone for the game which saw Eltham do everything right but put the ball through the net. Even with all their scoring troubles the Wildcats still battled hard to stay in the game (only down 3 points in the final minutes) and if it wasn’t for the Boomers executing tough shots down the stretch the Wildcats could of still won the game.
The Wildcats continued their great effort on the glass grabbing a total 62 rebounds (including 32 offensive boards) while their defence forced 29 turnovers from the Boomers.
Coach D’Wayne Hogan took plenty of positives from the game and is optimistic great things will happen for the team.
“We executed well, defended great keeping them to 43 total points and generated 92 shots, we just didn’t make them.
“We will work hard moving forward with a lot more competitive shooting drills to get comfortable making buckets under pressure and fatigue.”
Hogan praised the huge home crowd and encouraged everyone to keep supporting the team.
“They [the crowd] were amazing, a huge turnout that lifted the girls even on a night were we weren’t at our best. We love our home crowd, they help us play an exciting brand of ball and we can’t wait to play in front of them again.”
The Youth Women play at Frankston this Saturday night (5:30pm) and will play their next home game on Sunday 11th April against McKinnon (12pm).
Youth Men
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Round 2
Eltham Wildcats 73 def Melbourne Tigers 65
Top Performers: A. Bandilovski 21 points, J. Stockwell 11 points/ 7 rebounds, O. Magbegor 11 points/ 9 rebounds
The Eltham Wildcats Victorian Youth Championship Men remain undefeated after defeating the Melbourne Tigers on Saturday night at Eltham High School. The Wildcats came out firing in the first quarter with a quick 10-2 start to the game while an aggressive zone defence rattled the visitors forcing them into lower percentage shot attempts prompting the Tigers famous Coach Andrew Gaze into calling a time out. The break proved dividends for the Tigers as they found their feet and way back into the game finishing the quarter only down 5 despite the great play from our Wildcats.
The Wildcats dominated the boards (57-30) and controlled the final three quarters of the game despite the visitors hanging around within striking distance. Great offensive execution down the stretch would see the Wildcats secure their third win of the season.
Coach Stratford applauded the whole teams performance.
“We had contributions from guys off the bench who had big impacts on the game.
“Down the stretch we played to our strengths getting paint touches and converting them.”
Stratford continued to express his excitement for the weeks ahead.
“We are starting to learn our spacing, our structures and expect to continue to get better in the coming weeks offensively.”
The Youth Men play at Ringwood this Saturday night at 8pm and will be back at Eltham High School on Sunday 11th April against McKinnon at 2pm.
