Hume City Broncos are one win away from a third successive Big V women’s state championship title.
The Broncos led from start to finish to win 58-48 in game one of the best-of-three grand finals series against Ringwood.
It was the Broncos’ defence which set up the win, restricting the Hawks to just four points in the first quarter with success from just two of 19 field goal attempts.
From there the Hawks made several mini comebacks, but couldn’t get any closer than three points.
Games two and three will be played in Ringwood on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon if required.
Broncos coach Katrina Hibbert said winning game one was crucial.
“We lost home court advantage [by losing to Ringwood in their first finals game], so to get the win and get confidence going into next week was massive,” she said.
“It puts the pressure back on them.”
Hibbert said starting well defensively was always going to be a key, as was restricting the impact of Amber Hegge.
“It was a phenomenal effort and something we have worked on all week,” she said.
“Ringwood played how we wanted them to. We know [Hegge] is a crucial part of their offensive set-up and we wanted to be aggressive at her defensively and limit her touches.”
Hibbert knew Ringwood would come back at them in the second half.
“One of the conversations we had before the game was weathering the storm, as they are in the grand final for a reason,” she said.
“We wanted to have at least a five or six-point buffer and have a little breathing space going into the last quarter.
“It was panic stations for a bit but we have some experienced players and we put some ball handlers on the court who could handle the pressure.”
Colleen Planeta top-scored for the Broncos with 17 points, while Nicole Zammit and Mua Laloifi chipped in with 12 each.
“Sometimes I forget Nicole is out there and never give her a sub,” Hibbert said.
“She’s crucial in decision-making and she knows what we need and who to get the ball to. She’s like the coach on court.
“Mua has played well all season and was given that opportunity [to start] and has done a fantastic job.”
The Broncos will be back to full strength at the weekend, with Samara Gallaher returning from playing for the New Zealand national team.
Hibbert said she expected game two to be tough. “Fingers crossed they shoot as poorly as they did tonight,” she said.
