Sport
25 October, 2024
Blazers keen to take victory on Sunday
The Maryborough Blazers will be hoping to strike while the iron is hot this weekend and try take care of a Kyneton team on the second leg of a back-to-back.
For the Lady Blazers, this will be the second meeting with the Tigers in a week, but this time, it will be them that will be well-rested, with their opponents backing up, instead of it being the opposite way around last week.
However, their first game was a template for a turnaround in fortunes.
That game against the Bendigo Braves saw the Lady Blazers recover from a 10-point opening quarter deficit, and 11-point half time margin, to come all the way back in the early stages of the third quarter, before running away with the game in the final five minutes to record a six-point victory.
It was a very even performance across the board, with Keisha Tonzing erupting in the third quarter en route to an 18-point performance, one of five Lady Blazers to score in double digits, alongside Maggie Tranter (18 points), Aislinn McCarthy (14 points), Maddy Egan (13 points) and Faith McKenzie (12 points).
Last Sunday, the Lady Blazers were competitive in the opening term, but Kyneton showed their class from then onwards to secure a 26-point win.
Tonzing again top-scored with 12 points, while McKenzie and Demi Thompson scored 10 points each.
A win for the Lady Blazers will see them keep up with the top four in the competition ahead of an important stretch of home games.
The men’s Blazers are also still in the frame to compete, and will look to move forward after a difficult weekend against the top two teams in the competition.
The last four games have come against each of the top three teams in the league, and the Blazers will be hoping to come into a long run of home games with some good momentum, starting with the winless Tigers.
Last week, the Blazers were unable to match it with Bendigo on the Saturday night, losing by 35 points.
The Blazers were not able to get into the game, and trailed by 28 points at half time before a better second half.
Brady Neill scored 15 points, while Lachlan Drummond (12 points) and Bailey Jacobs (10 points) also worked hard against the tide.
The second game of last weekend against the Castlemaine Cannons was a lot better, and more representative of what the Blazers are.
For a large portion of the game, it appeared the Blazers were the better team, but Castlemaine were able to hit their shots during crunch time, while the Blazers weren’t quite able to connect.
Still, there were highlights in the four-point loss.
Jacobs was sensational in the opening half, scoring 19 of his 25 points there, while Darcy Bond hit some creative shots on his way to 13 points.
Youngster Jack Hexter was also impressive in scoring 11 points, as did Drummond.