It was a big weekend for Diamond Valley, as all four senior teams flew away with a win. Our Greensborough Plaza Youth Women’s triumphed over Ballarat, Thornbury Car Care Youth Men’s overcame McKinnon, and both NBL1 teams defeated the Eltham Wildcats in their rivalry round for the O’Connor Sukier Cup!

Greensborough Plaza Youth Women’s:

The Youth League Women overpowered Ballarat through the entirety of the game, to win 86 - 69. They used a dominant 29-16 second quarter to gain the upper hand and take a nine-point cushion into half time. After an even third term, Diamond Valley pulled away from Ballarat in a decisive fourth quarter as the scoreboard suddenly reflected a blowout. Eliza Bannan led the way for the home team with 19 points, seven rebounds, and six steals. Brianna Gregory-Johnson finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds. They currently sit 5^th on the ladder going into Round 13.

Thornbury Car Care Youth Men’s:

The Youth League Men overcame a slow start to cruise to a 12-point win, 88 – 76, at the Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre on Saturday night. Casey Dewacht had 19 points and five rebounds off the bench in just 19 minutes, while Matthew Baggio finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. After Round 12, they currently sit 4^th on the ladder.

NBL1 Womens:

The Diamond Valley Eagles have ended their string of losses after narrowly defeating the Eltham Wildcats (87-89) in a game that came down to the wire.

The Eagles were not shying away from the three-point line with their first three shots for the game taken from behind the arc. After nailing two, the Wildcats quickly got into gear with both teams exchanging buckets for the rest of the quarter.

Heading into the second term, Eltham held a four-point lead which was quickly added to, on the back of a 5-0 run to start the quarter. The Eagles hung on and were able to tie the game with six minutes remaining. However, a series of missed shots saw the Wildcats stretch the margin out to six points at the main break.

It remained a battle in the third term with Anneli Maley (27 points, 16 rebounds) and Meg Crupi (14 points) leading the charge to keep the Eagles in the game with one minute remaining Diamond Valley had clawed their way to a four-point lead looking like they would enter the fourth quarter in control. However, another 5-0 run including a 3-pointer from Chelsie Schweers (39 points) with 18 seconds left had the Wildcats back in front by one with the final quarter in sight.

The Eagles were by no means giving up without a fight. A handy 8-0 run midway through the last term saw them five points up. This was short lived as the Wildcats continued to surge managing to tie the scores with 20 seconds left. A layup from Maley got the Eagles two-points up and over the line when the final siren sounded.

NBL1 Mens:

The Diamond Valley Eagles have put an end to the Eltham wildcats three game winning streak after defeating them by four points on the road (78-82).

The Wildcats took charge in the first quarter opening up with a four-point lead at the first break (19-15).

Logan Hovey took it on himself to get the Eagles back in the game going on a 7-0 run helping them to a six-point lead midway through the term. Both team exchanged buckets however a 28-19 point quarter kept Diamond Valley in front by five points as the game entered the second half.

Josh Sykes proved critical for the Wildcats in the third contributing ten of the teams 20 points for the term, reducing the margin to three points as they headed into the fourth.

It was anyone’s game in the final quarter. With three minutes remaining Eltham trailed by a mere two points. Hovey once again stood up for the Eagles in the last minutes scoring their final six points to get them home.

Hovey recorded 23 points and six rebounds while Diamond Valley teammate Darcy Harding finished up with 20 points. Eltham’s Sykes top scored with 25 points alongside eight rebounds.

Congratulations to all teams on a great win!