Hornets at home
Horsham Basketball Stadium will host two semi-finals on Saturday night as Horsham Hornets and Lady Hornets strive for three consecutive Country Basketball League conference grand final appearances.
The Hornets earned their semi-final berth with a 91-52 demolition of Terang Tornadoes at the weekend.
Horsham was in ominous form in front of its home crowd, holding Terang to a miserly 12 points in the first quarter while scoring 21 of its own.
The Tornadoes were outclassed but kept the score respectable until the last quarter, when Horsham opened the floodgates with 37 points.
It was a team effort by the Hornets, with usual leading scorers Tim Pickert and Jeremiah Mckenzie restricted by foul trouble.
In their stead role players such as Ben Lakin and Damien Skurrie, 14 points each, and Mitch Martin, a game-high 15, stepped up to help carry the scoring load.
Matty Lloyd was another standout and forced multiple Terrang turnovers with his harrying defence.
The Hornets finished the game with five players in double figures and every player scoring at least once.
Horsham coach Cam Bruce labelled the performance his side’s best defensive effort of the season.
“Our defence from the word go was what paved the way for the win,” he said.
“Matty Lloyd helped set the tone with his intensity – he wants to get his hands on the ball.
“When we create turnovers it leads to easy fast-break opportunities.
“The way we’ve come together as a team since January is really encouraging.”
Horsham will host Bacchus Marsh Lions in the semi-final at 8pm on Saturday.
The Lions defeated Portland Coasters in their quarter-final at the weekend to book their berth.
The Hornets defeated the Lions in a 101-57 drubbing in their only meeting of the season in round two, but Bruce said he expected a different contest on Saturday.
“They were missing a lot of players when we played them,” he said.
“Because we only played them once at the start of the season it’s hard to tell what they’re going to be like.
“I know a few of their players from having played Big V basketball, and they have a talented side.
“We want to continue to play excellent defence like we did on the weekend because that has been our calling card this season.”
Lady Hornets
Horsham Lady Hornets have their own semi-final encounter with Millicent Magic at 6pm before the men’s semi-final.
The teams have met twice this season, with Horsham claiming an 88-71 road win in round two before being defeated 73-67 at home in round nine.
The team has not lost since its second meeting with Millicent.
Coach Damien Kilpatrick said the Lady Hornets were keen to atone for the loss.
“We were missing some key players, so it is hard to take anything from last time we played them,” he said.
“It was disappointing, but we are a different team now.”
Kilpatrick said a strong team defensive effort would be required to stifle high-scoring Magic players Emily Winter and Olivia Fuller – the south-west conference’s second and third-highest scorers respectively.
Horsham has plenty of scoring power of its own, with Ema Iredell leading the conference in scoring and Faith Mckenzie fourth.
Kilpatrick said the team would be refreshed after a week off and ready for a challenge.
“We are treating this as a grand final, because there are no second chances,” he said.
Ararat Redbacks
Ararat’s season came to a close with a quarter-final loss on Saturday night at Bellarine Sports Centre, but the Redbacks did not go down without a fight.
Facing the Bellarine Storm, a team that beat them in their only meeting earlier in the season, the Redbacks defended superbly for the first half.
Ararat surrendered only 11 points in the first quarter and by half-time had built a 42-36 lead.
After guard Zac Dunmore connected on a three-pointer to begin the third quarter, Ararat struggled to score, surrendering nine consecutive points to let Bellarine back in the game.
The teams were neck and neck to begin the last quarter, with Dunmore and Jayden Wright keeping the Redbacks within a point before another Bellarine scoring run.
The Storm began to pull away, with Nathan Gronbeck providing some huge baskets, and Ararat was unable to answer effectively.
Despite the Redbacks’ efforts, they lost by a final score of 86-70.
Dunmore was excellent with 34 points, including six three-pointers, and forwards Wright, 16 points, and Josh Fiegert, 11, did their part, but the Redbacks could not muster enough firepower to keep pace with the Storm.
Bellarine will now play Mount Gambier in the conference’s other semi-final, with the winner to take on the victor of the Horsham-bacchus Marsh game in the grand final.