Whittlesea Pacers return to Big V women’s division 1 finals kicked off in the perfect manner.
After not having a women’s side for a number of seasons, the Pacers have built across the season and secured second spot on the ladder.
On Saturday night, the Pacers got a first up finals win against Altona Gators, 70-63.
Pacers coach Shannon Bodley said going into a finals series as a group for the first time you never know.
“They played really well as a group,” he said. “I spoke to the girls about that [being a new group] when we put the team together at the start of the year.
“Finishing where we did and finishing second is a huge achievement. Some other teams have played together for two of three years and have a bit of chemistry.
“We wanted to play finals and we’ve now got a finals win is a pretty cool achievement for the group.”
Bodley said they felt that they hadn’t overachieved and that there was more to get out of the group.
Playing in front of their home crowd, the Pacers were made to work hard for the win against the Gators.
The sides had already played each other in the final round of the regular season.
The Pacers led by five points at quarter time. They would never give up the lead, but the margin never blew out.
Bodley said it was a real finals-like game.
“It was exactly what I expected,” he said. “It was up and down and fast paced.
“Randy [Shanklin] is a good coach and they were well drilled.
“We controlled it early and I didn’t think that we would ever lose it. They had a couple of little runs, but we managed to maintain the lead.”
Tegan Cunningham top scored with 22 points, while also pulling down nine rebounds.
Bodley said they were starting to see the best of Cunningham.
“It’s like having an import and you expect that to step up in the big games,” he said. “She’s been getting better and better, like us as a team.”
Bodley said their depth was again vital and they would continue to use that in the coming weeks.
Having already lost Meg Lucas to college, the Pacers will be without Indiana Bodley, who tore her ACL and broke her wrist in the same game.
The Pacers will now face the Craigieburn Eagles for a spot in the grand final this weekend, with a double chance still in hand.
The Eagles, who claimed the minor premiership, had a bye in the first week of finals.
The Pacers won last time the two teams played last month.
“Craigieburn have sat on top of the ladder all year and it’s going to be tough playing at Craigieburn,” Bodley said.
“They are the top team for a reason and they will be hard to beat. We’ll worry about it and what we can control.
“Hopefully it’ll be a fantastic game.”
