School Sport Victoria - State Finals

SENIOR GIRLS

On Thursday 18 September, the Senior Girls Basketball Team participated in the SSV State Finals day at Parkville Sports Centre. After winning the regional and divisional levels to qualify for the finals, the girls were eager to begin their campaign.

The first game against Ballarat High School saw the girls fighting hard to score off turnovers and rebounds. They established a lead early and were able to maintain this going into the second half to secure a great first-up win.

The second game against Northcote High School was a tougher match, with an increase in physicality. Despite the close attention of the opposition, the girls were able to keep composed, score off turnovers, and gain many defensive rebounds, all of which led to their success. Team cohesion grew as a result of the win.

The third and final pool match against Western Heights Secondary College saw the girls start slowly and found themselves down at the first break by 6 points. After grouping at the break, the team's focus was to work hard defensively. This strategy paid off instantly as they were able to capitalise on steals, rebounds, and fouls, taking the lead early in the second half. With valued possessions, the girls were able to maintain their lead and progress through to the Grand Final with a 5-point win.

Going into the final against Box Hill Secondary College, who have won the tournament for the last three years, the team knew it would be a tough fight. The first half was close, and, despite a lot of shots not dropping, the girls went into the half-time break trailing by just 7 points. The second half was full of intensity as the girls did their best to try and peg back the margin. However, Box Hill proved too strong, firing up in the second half, hitting several 3-point shots whilst the CMCB girls once again couldn’t seem to land a basket. Although Box Hill won by 20 points, the CMCB team never gave up and hassled their opposition for the entire match, ensuring it was a tough fight for them.

We are extremely proud of the girls for their efforts, finishing as State Runners-up in a highly competitive competition. Thanks to Ms Dowling for coaching, Mr Hogan for his support throughout the day, Mrs Pearce for her photography skills, support, lollies, and driving the bus, and Kelly McDermott for scoring across the entire day.

Aubrey Holden, Jorja Brown, Ciarah McDermott, Lila Kelly, Mrs Madeline Dowling (Coach), Mia Harvey, Charlize Pinder, Lacey Nihill, Jaida Raco

SENIOR BOYS

Having clawed their way through the regional rounds, the Senior Boys Basketball Team were keen for the State Finals in Melbourne at the end of Term 3. The squad had some rotations due to the local football finals and player availabilities. Knowing that the boys would have to top the pool to be able to make the final, the team was eager to get into the action.

In the first game, the boys played against Ballarat High School in a regional rival clash. From the tip off, it was a tight game with each team scoring after the other, keeping the lead at halftime to only 2 points. Then in the second half, there was a bit more action with Cooper Cunnington, Josh Mundy and Jake Schubert hitting back-to-back-to-back threes to gain CMCB a larger lead. In the final couple of minutes, Ballarat pressed hard for a late comeback, but the boys held on to win the game 67-59

Game 2 against Sacred Heart College, Kyneton started at a high intensity with the first five minutes being extremely low-scoring and with nothing separating the two sides. The boys fought hard on the defensive end, stopping Sacred Heart’s runs of hot shooting, which enabled them to finish the half with a small lead.

Keen to build on their lead in the second half, the boys started well. Sacred Heart, however, increased the pressure and roared home with a strong scoring run, hitting any shot they put up and snagging the win in the dying minutes of a tight contest, despite the great defensive effort from the CMCB boys.

Game 3 was against Galen College, Wangaratta, and from the start, it was a challenge for the boys as they were all exhausted from the previous two games. The first half started slowly with Galen taking an early lead. After a bit of feedback and recovery time at the halftime break, CMCB came out firing with Jake Gribble hitting a tough 3-pointer, hyping everyone up. Sam Gibson rotated off the bench for his debut, and the boys then went on a rally, scoring through Tom Davie, Nick Harvey and Jake Schubert. They then continued to keep their composure, knuckling down in defence to take the lead and the win.

While the team missed qualifying for the final, they maintained consistent effort and application throughout the day and can be proud of making it this far in the competition. A huge thank you to Mrs Pearce for grabbing the wheel and steering us to the competitions throughout the year.

Thomas Davie, Jake Schubert, Gil Neilson, Nick Harvey, Mr Colin Hogan (Coach), Sam Gibson, Cooper Cunnington, Joshua Mundy, Jake Gribble