Hornets finish on a high
Horsham Hornets men and women’s teams are sitting pretty in top spot of their respective Country Basketball League north-west conference ladders leading into the Christmas break.
Both sides scored comfortable wins over Maryborough and Castlemaine at the weekend.
Men’s playing coach Cam Bruce said he enjoyed entering the break on a high note.
“Any time you get two wins in a weekend is good,” he said.
“I was happy with how the boys played, especially on Sunday and the way they backed it up, because it was hot the night before.
“It was good to see the way we responded to a few challenges from Castlemaine on Sunday, because they got a bit of a lead on us a couple of times and we were able to peg it back.”
Bruce put both wins down to a team effort, with an even spread of scorers.
“Heading into Christmas with nine wins and one loss – we’ll take that,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to a break and we’ll get back into it in early January.”
The Hornets will play fifth-placed Kyneton Tigers at home on January 13.
Lady Hornets
Women’s coach Gareth Hiscock said he was pleased with his charges’ performances in both encounters.
“Any time you score more than 200 points in a weekend is a good weekend,” he said.
Maryborough took a narrow lead into quarter time during Saturday’s match, with the Hornets turning the tables in the second term to head into half time eight points up.
The home side enjoyed a stellar second half to triumph by 45 points, 98-53.
Ema Iredell top-scored with 21 points, followed by Georgia Hiscock, 20, and Maddie Iredell, 18.
Castlemaine was no match for the Hornets on Sunday, with Caitlin Story, 19, and Liv Jones, 18, leading the Horsham outfit to a 71-point victory.
“Georgia Hiscock and Liv Jones played well in both games, but all in all we had a really good even spread,” Hiscock said. “Everyone played really well.”
Hiscock said the Lady Hornets had hit their best form for the season.
“The break isn’t at a bad time but we will need to try to maintain momentum,” he said.
“If we win our next game we will finish in top spot.”
The Hornets women have only one game left for the home-and-away Horsham Hornets d Maryborough Blazers 89-61 Horsham Hornets d Castlemaine Cannons 89-69 Colac Kookas d Ararat Redbacks 64-51
Horsham Hornets d Maryborough Blazers 98-53 Horsham Hornets d Castlemaine Cannons 103-32 Colac Kookas d Ararat Redbacks 79-66 season, in Horsham against Kyneton on January 13.
Ararat Redbacks
Ararat’s men and women’s teams recorded narrow losses to Colac at the weekend but will be buoyed by improved performances as they enter the season break.
The Redbacks men were competitive all game, with Zac Dunmore leading the way with 17 points. The Redbacks women would have been disappointed to not get the better of the Kookas a second time in the south-west conference season and will look to return to the winners list against Terang on January 13.
The Redbacks were best served by Delaney Mcloughlan and Cecelia Stewart.