Hume City Broncos were outplayed by a well-prepared Sunbury Jets line up on Saturday night in Big V women’s state championship basketball.
While the game was a case of fourth playing fifth, the Jets played on another level all night and never looked in trouble.
The Jets grabbed the lead in the first quarter and stayed in front from there for a 73-54 win.
Broncos coach Michael Thomas said that while they were disappointed with how they played, credit had to be given to Sunbury.
The Broncos donned pink uniforms as part of the club’s breast cancer fundraising round.
He said the Jets were starting the sort of form that has seen them win two straight championships.
“I think it’s easy to say that we weren’t ready, but the reality is they scouted us well,” he said after the game.
“We’ve been strong at home all year … it’s disappointing for us, we’re better than that.
“Sunbury got us out of our rhythm. We showed glimpses, but we will have to be harder on the girls at training.”
Thomas said a lack of scoring across the board had hurt them, with just two players scoring in double figures.
Kelly Hardeman and Viv Saad scored 12 points each.
By contrast, Sunbury had four players hit double figures.
The Jets were able to find points from the bench thanks to former Australian Opal Elyce Penaluna and former WNBL player Kerryn Harrington.
Penaluna, who led all scorers on the night, was named in the Broncos’ teams of the decade for 2001-2010 during the week.
“Everyone of their girls had a good night,” Thomas said. “We normally have four or five players in double figures.
“They were really displinced and had good structures; they had six of the best 10 players and that’s being generous to my side.
“They’re such a consistent group. Orla [O’Reilly] is obviously their go-to player, but [Josie] Stockill has had a good year and I think she’s the one who got them going early.”
The Broncos also struggled from the three-point line, hitting just three shots from beyond the line for the night.
Sunbury, on the other hand, shot at 45 per cent from that distance, but was above 60 per cent in the first half.
Thomas said they knew before the game that three-point shooting would be vital in the outcome.
The loss means the Broncos have slipped to sixth.
The Broncos will be without Mua Laloifi for the rest of the season, after she hurt her knee playing football for Collingwood’s VFL side.
Thomas said they know their finals fate is in their own hands.
“The positive is there’s still a lot of games to go,” he said. “We’ll look to bounce back next week. We can’t panic about one game … I think it’s more a reflection of how Sunbury is going than where we are at.”
The Broncos’ men split their two matches at the weekend.
On Saturday night, they defeated Keilor Thunder 73-68. They lost McKinnon Cougars 84-59 on Sunday.
