BASKETBALL
ALTONA Gators have overcome great odds to be crowned champions in the Victorian Basketball League Big V women's division 1.
The Gators were forced to win a cut-throat game 3 away to an imposing Warrnambool Mermaids, who had not lost at their fortress Warrnambool Basketball Stadium all season.
They miraculously got the job done in a five-point thriller on a Sunday they will never forget.
Gators player-coach Sharon Grieve said it was a nail-biting series. "To finish off that third game was an amazing feeling," she said. "We definitely worked hard for it and when the top two teams are playing against each other that's what it comes down to."
The Gators were full of confidence on their 250-kilometre bus journey to Warrnambool. They sealed game one on their home court at the Altona Sports Centre and needed just one victory to clinch the title.
Waiting at the other end was an impregnable force. The Mermaids were undefeated through the regular season and their home court record was flawless. The locals were banking on it.
"They talked it up in their papers that they never lose a game on their home court," Grieve said.
Saturday night arrived and it was time to play ball. The Mermaids, spruiking their home court record, lived up to their pre-game expectations with a comfortable 71-58 win in game 2.
The series would be a long-haul one and the Gators prepared accordingly.
"I sat down and had a good hard think about it, while the girls looked after their bodies and did their recovery," Grieve said. "I knew we could do it without changing much up so we didn't change anything. We just had to go out there and play with some heart."
The hangover of the previous night's loss seemed to linger for the Gators.
They were back-tracking fast as the Mermaids opened up with an impressive opening term to lead by five.
Grieve admitted negative thoughts were running through her players.
"They shot the first 10 points and we couldn't score," she said.
The Gators fought for their lives in the second quarter. The class of shooting guard Stacey Barr came to the fore. Barr, a grand final MVP with the Werribee She-Devils last season, starred on her way to back-to-back individual honours.
She scored 18 points and reeled in six rebounds to back up from 35 points in game one.
Emma Coyne continued her hot form.
The inspirational captain shot well with 17 points and worked hard on defence to stem the flow.
Then there was Grieve, who filed a superb all-round game with six points, 14 rebounds, four steals and three assists.
The third term was a scrap as nerves started to come into play.
The teams were inseparable heading into the fourth quarter.
Something special was needed from either side to take the spoils.
It was the Gators who chanced their arm from the three-point arc and came up with stunning results.
The visitors hit four-from-six from the perimeter to gain control.
When the buzzer sounded with the scoreboard reading Gators 63, Mermaids 58, the comeback was
complete and the celebrations could begin.
"That's how amazing my girls are to be able to pull a margin back like that," Grieve said.
"They don't give up.
"They kept on going and that's where the experience shone out."
It was an emotional win with veteran Naomi Woon announcing it would be her last game.
What a way to go out, with consecutive premierships.
Grieve dedicated the win to the Gators fans who painted the Warrnambool town purple.
"The supporters who came down to Warrnambool were fantastic," she said.
"They got us over the line."
Email a friend