Hume City solidified its spot in the Big V state championship womens top six at the weekend, picking up two crucial wins.
With just a few weeks to go before finals, the Broncos faced fellow finals hopefuls Southern Peninsula and Eltham in their final double header weekend of the season and achieved a perfect result.
Coach Glen Milner said he was proud of the team’s performances.
“It was two monster results going our way, which was great,” Milner said.
“We played our starters for a bit longer than we would have liked in the first game, but it was important to get that win first. And the way everyone backed it up on Sunday was fantastic, they really left it all out there.”
Saturday’s clash with the Sharks saw the side having to adjust to their opponent’s smaller line-up, but adapting well to come away with a 76-68 win.
The Broncos starters all logged big minutes, with Mua Laloifi (39 minutes) and Colleen Planeta (37 minutes) both spending little time on the pine, but their contributions were telling as they added 39 points between them.
The Eltham game on Sunday presented another huge challenge, with the Wildcats welcoming back Australian representative Alice Kunek.
The Broncos started the better of the two sides, but Eltham came back hard to trim the margin to just three points at half-time. Milner said he had confidence his side could get the job done.
“We made some small adjustments, and resolved to get inside a bit more than we did in the second,” he said.
“Once we started to assert ourselves the game turned our way and key players for us stood tall when we needed them.”
While Kunek scored 37 points in a dominant game, Broncos Erika Livermore (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Planeta (22 points, 12 rebounds) both managed double-doubles in the 92-76 result.
“How the girls backed it up on Sunday is a testament to both their physical and mental fortitude,” Milner said.
“In the first game it was just everyone stepping up and doing a little bit, and then against Eltham we had four players reach double figures which was the difference when Kunek had a good game for them.”
The wins have Hume City now firmly in the top six, two games clear of seventh-placed Southern Peninsula with three weeks to go.
“The way the girls are playing they’re pretty confident in their systems and their understanding,” Milner said.
“I’ve got no reason to believe we can’t finish with a strong winning run.”
