Horvat tally makes it bittersweet night
DAVID Herbert was always going to make the most of Chantel Horvat’s final Lady Supercats game before she departed our shores for a fouryear US College scholarship with UCLA.
And the rising star of Australian hoops didn’t disappoint with another outstanding 20point, nine rebound game as the home side careered to an 83-64 win over regular nemesis Nunawading.
Although Horvat wasn’t alone in her imposing form, the AIS graduate teamed superbly with the ever-improving match MVP, Ebony Rolph, to rip the contest away from the visitors. “Obviously playing without Sara Blicavs, Alex Duck and Alex Bunton, Ebony is just improving immensely and Chantel is just an amazing athlete,” Herbert said moments after the win.
“We’re really going to miss Chan. With her I think you could pencil us in to take it right through to the grand final. Without her we’ve got to work a little bit harder.”
Herbert’s line-up looked the better team from the outset but struggled to shake the visitors in a basket for basket opening term.
However, the game took on a different dimension in the second term as a 22 to eightpoint period saw Geelong break the game open in a man- ner that belied the evenness of the opening.
The home side’s cause was aided by the ill-discipline of Spectres’ Anita Brown with the Ohio-educated guard incurring the wrath of the referees with four fouls, including a technical foul, inside 17 minutes of the opening tip.
Geelong retained its intensity to lead by 18 points at the last change, eventually winning by 19.
Isabella Brancatisano was another of the host team to impress, her high-tempo input yielding 15 points, while Megan Kritscher was by far the best of the Spectres with a game-high 26 points.
“I’m excited what we’re doing right now because when the kids get on they do a tremendous job,” Herbert said.
“We never took the foot off the throat all tonight and we just kept working hard. We’ve got to tidy up on letting them have too many defensive boards, but apart from that I think it was a good effort.”
Geelong rounds out its weekend with a game in Sandringham today starting at five pm.