Youth Women
Eltham Wildcats 51 def by Warrandyte Venom 86
Top performers: L. Brancatisano 14 points/5 steals, S. Waldron 11 points/8 rebounds, E. Horsely 10 points/12 rebounds
A 16-8 opening quarter by the visiting Warrandyte Venom on Saturday night set the tone of the game that saw the Wildcats lose all four quarters against a Championship contender. The Venom’s half court press defence forced the Wildcats into 38 turnovers including 29 steals which resulted in 38 points from turnovers. Eltham had solid performances from Brancatisano, Horsley and Waldron.
Youth Men
Eltham Wildcats 50 def by Nunawading Spectres 67
Top performers: Z. Cunningham 16 points/9 rebounds, B. Norris 9 points
Eltham have lost their second game of the season to the Nunawading Spectres on Saturday night at Eltham High School. The Spectres came to play against the short handed Wildcats and came out firing in the first half going into the main break with a 18 point lead (25-43). Once again the Wildcats third quarter was dominant as they locked in defensively keeping Nunawading to only 9 points for the quarter cutting the lead to only 10. The Wildcats struggled to score in the fourth as the Spectres held on to win by 17.
Eltham Wildcats 85 def Southern Sabres 82
Top performers: T. Clifford 23 points, Z. Cunningham 20 points/17 rebounds, T. O’Connor 17 points/9 rebounds
After a disappointing loss on Saturday night the Wildcats bounced back on Sunday winning a nail bitter at Southern. The first quarter was owned by Eltham (27-18) but the Sabres turned the game around in the second period (28-19) to tie the game 46-46 going into the half. The whole second half was close until the final two minutes when Bryson Norris knocked down four free throws to get a 5 point lead. Southern hit a 3 point shot with eighteen seconds to go to cut the lead to two points forcing the Sabres to play the foul game. Tom O’Connor made 1/2 from the line giving Southern a chance to tie the game but their three point attempt missed and the Wildcats came away with the chocolates.
