Sport
12 November, 2024
Blazers fall just short of perfect week
The Maryborough Blazers’ hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Country Basketball League finals took a savage blow on Sunday after a promising start to the weekend.
The results mean Maryborough’s men’s Blazers will essentially need a miracle and plenty of work to do if they are to qualify for the finals, while the Lady Blazers have now been knocked out.
It was the Lady Blazers who kicked things off on Saturday late afternoon against the Swan Hill Flyers, their second meeting in a week.
Maryborough made a flyer in scoring eight of the first 10 points of the game, and it was Faith McKenzie in particular who was generating many good looks.
Although Swan Hill eased their way into the game, they were struggling to stop McKenzie, who scored nine of the Lady Blazers’ first 13 points.
Swan Hill would eventually have a very good finish to the quarter, scoring 29 points to 26 to take a three-point lead at the first break.
Although the early part of the second quarter was fairly even, with the Lady Blazers going on a run to take the lead, it wasn’t until the last four minutes of the term where the shackles were released.
Maryborough went on a 16-0 run to finish the quarter, and as a result, their three-point deficit had been overturned into an 18-point lead thanks to a 33-12 quarter.
McKenzie was in the thick of everything, and had scored 24 points by the half time break.
The Lady Blazers continued where they left off at half time, extending their run to 21-0 before Swan Hill finally scored.
Maryborough responded with a 9-1 run — the margin was 28 points, and it was a matter of playing out time from there.
Swan Hill did respond to finish the quarter by reducing the margin to 20 points, while the final quarter was essentially a matter of buckets being traded, with Maryborough easing to a 19-point victory, 95-76.
McKenzie was sensational, scoring 37 points to lead the way, while in an even team effort, Aislinn McCarthy and Maggie Tranter both scored 17 points, and Maddy Egan 16.
It was then the men’s turn to take the floor, determined to keep their season alive against the Flyers.
If ever a statement needed to be made, it was early in the game with the Blazers getting a 19-2 start which genuinely set the tone.
Bailey Jacobs and Brady Neill were the firestarters for Maryborough, with Jacobs scoring 10 points in the opening frame, while Neill added eight as the Blazers essentially did as they pleased throughout the opening term.
As a result, they led 32-14 at the first break.
Maryborough’s bench did a good job in continuing their momentum as the margin was extended to 25 points early in the second.
However, to Swan Hill’s credit, they were able to chip away at the gap a little bit towards the back end of the second quarter, and maintained interest in their chances by trailing by 15 points at the end of the term, with Maryborough leading 51-36.
The third quarter was a battle, with Maryborough looking to put the game away, and Swan Hill looking to close the gap.
A strong second half of the quarter from Matt Johnston saw him pour in three threes to help maintain Maryborough’s gap, fending off Swan Hill’s overtures to maintain a 15-point cushion going into the last term, leading 76-61.
The final quarter was genuinely showtime for the Blazers.
At the forefront of it all were Darcy Bond, Jack Hexter and Lachlan Drummond, who combined strongly to score Maryborough’s first 22 points of the quarter across the first five minutes.
At that point, the Blazers extended their lead to 25 points, and they weren’t done with.
It was party time for Maryborough’s bench, who played with freedom to deliver their highest score of the year, pouring in 114 points to take a comfortable 37-point victory.
Jacobs again showed out with a 24-point haul, while Hexter scored 21. In a very even performance, Bond scored 15, Neill 13 and Drummond 10.
If Saturday was the curtain call, however, Sunday was the main event as Maryborough looked to keep their finals chances alive against the Mildura Heat.
The Lady Blazers got things underway, and signifying just how much of a pressure-cooker environment it was at home, it was a genuine struggle for both teams to score, unlike the previous night.
Again, Maryborough made a bright start, getting on the board early with intent, but as the quarter wore on, it was clear that every bucket would be earned.
Mildura were fairing a little bit better than the Lady Blazers, and would score 19 points to 13 for the first term to lead by six points.
Mildura would soon extend the lead to eight points, and it was danger signs for the Lady Blazers, who responded in kind.
Three-pointers from McKenzie and McCarthy helped bring the margin back, before another bucket from Zali Linton helped level the scores.
Mildura would bounce back, taking back the lead by half time, leading 34-31.
It seemed that whatever Maryborough were throwing at Mildura, the Heat had all the answers for, and they extended their lead in a low-scoring third term, scoring 12 points to nine to lead 46-40 at the final change.
The final quarter was a power struggle — to emphasise how much was on the line, there would be just one point scored over the last three minutes of the game.
But, as had been the case all afternoon, Mildura had all the answers, and so, they were able to do enough to take a seven-point win, 54-47.
McKenzie scored 18 points, and McCarthy 12.
The loss means that with one game to go, the Lady Blazers are four points away from the top four, and with three points for a win, there is no conceivable way for them to make up the gap.
It was the men’s turn afterwards to keep their season alive.
But, much like the Lady Blazers, it was a fast start from Mildura which saw them able to control the pace of play.
The Heat scored 27 points to 18 in the first term to assume control, and while Maryborough did everything they can in the second term to close the gap, they were successful in winning the quarter by a point, with the Heat still leading 45-37 at the half time break.
The Blazers had a terrific third term, one which saw them level the scores with just under two minutes to go, as the likes of Neill and Drummond started to get busy.
But Mildura again had answers, and were able to re-take the lead with some critical buckets to lead 60-57 at the final change.
Maryborough did everything in their power to try turn the game in their favour as they were able to in the third quarter, but it was Mildura who were powering away to start the last term, extending their lead to six points early in the piece.
While the Blazers had many questions, the Heat were answering them with ease, and eventually, it was the basis for them to hold on by five points, 76-71, delivering a dagger to Maryborough’s season.
Jacobs again scored 19 points to continue his good form, while Neill (13 points) and Hexter (11 points) were in good form.
The Blazers’ final game of the home-and-away campaign sees them travel to Melton to play the Thoroughbreds next Saturday.