By Tara Murray
Some late Nicole Zammit magic for an undermanned Hume City Broncos outfit helped the side secure a crucial win against the Werribee Devils in Big V women’s state championship.
In a battle between two sides that will be in the finals mix, the match was decided in the last five minutes.
Not much separated the two teams all night, with the Devils leading by two points heading into the final quarter.
It looked like it would go down to the wire, before Zammit hit fire.
An eight point run took the Broncos from one point down to seven points up and the rest was history with the Broncos winning 72-64.
Broncos vice-president Glen Milner said Zammit put in a most valuable player performance.
He said Zammit was able to counter the zone that Werribee played for most of the last quarter.
“She just did what she does best,” he said.
“She has the self belief and is playing her fifth year at Hume.
“She has a wise basketball head on her shoulders and plays as a leader.
“She got eight of the last points to steer us home.”
Zammit finished the game with 29 points, five rebounds and nine assists.
BreAnna Brock chipped in with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Broncos, the win was a massive one.
PHOTO GALLERY: Hume City Broncos vs Werribee Devils
Kristy Rinaldi, Azia Bishop and Bianca Babic all missed the game due to the flu, with Rinaldi spending time in hospital.
Teyla Evans, who played on Saturday night, didn’t train throughout the week, as she was also sick with the flu.
Coach Dee Butler also missed the game due to commitments with the Australian under-19 team. She will also miss the next two games.
Milner, who was assistant coach on the night, said the others stepped up when they needed to.
“Paige [Tawaf] came off the bench [and started] and played good minutes.
“Sophie Brynes did a great job on Sarah Elsworthy keeping her to 10 points.
“Jess [Azzopardi] was huge on the bench and did a fantastic job on Maxine Allan in the last quarter.
“Everyone played a role.”
Milner said while they were undermanned, the Devils were also missing import Alisia Jenkins with a knee injury.
The Broncos have two more rounds before finals. They face the Whittlesea Pacers and Southern Peninsula Sharks.
While the Broncos are assured a finals berth, what position they finish is unclear.
They sit one game behind the Sunbury Jets and equal on wins with the Werribee Devils and Keilor Thunder.
The Broncos, though, have lost the head-to-head battle with all three sides, which could hurt come finals time.
Milner said they just have to keep winning.
“We have to keep racking up the wins and hopefully they drop matches so we can get that crucial advantage come finals time.”
The Broncos men’s side suffered an upset loss against the Devils on Saturday night.
The Devils won the high scoring affair, 122-117.
Jordan Coleman was the star for the Broncos, with 40 points.
MORE BIG V NEWS
www.starweekly.com.au/sports/whittlesea-pacers-fail-to-fire-in-big-v/
www.starweekly.com.au/sports/keilor-thunder-rolls-whittlsea-pacers/
