Whittlesea Pacers endured a bumpy start to the Big V basketball men’s championship season with a 76-55 loss to Werribee Devils on their home court at Mill Park on Saturday night.
The Pacers started promisingly to take a six-point lead into the first break, but then it turned pear-shaped and they were outscored 63-36 from then on.
Jermaine Williams, with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Michael Petridis, with 16 points and seven rebounds, were the Pacers’ only consistent offensive threats.
The Pacers were a little rough around the edges, shooting 42 per cent from the free throw line and turning the ball over 17 times, so there is plenty to work on ahead of the double header round this weekend that sees them host Ringwood Hawks on Saturday night and make the short trip to Hume City Broncos on Sunday.
In women’s division 1, Whittlesea Pacers were never headed at home by Western Port Steelers on Saturday night, scoring the first 10 points of the game and extending it to 26 by full-time.
Kimetria Hayden was the star for the Pacers with a huge double-double 24 points and 17 rebounds.
She turned it on from beyond the arc with six three-pointers. She also worked hard defensively with three steals and got teammates involved with five assists.
Sharyn Hughes finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kellie Down had 11 points and six assists.
The Pacers will host Keilor Thunder in the second round on Saturday night.
In men’s division 2, Craigieburn Eagles had an even contribution across the board in a 71-55 win against Pakenham Warriors.
Mark Welch was the most efficient Eagles player with 11 points on five-of-seven shooting and eight rebounds.
Jermain Maybank had 12 points and nine rebounds, including a massive six offensive boards to give the Eagles second chance opportunities.
The Eagles will be hoping to make it two-from-two when they travel to Maccabi Warriors on Sunday.
