Posted on 30 May, 2011

On a high after a great win against Dandenong last weekend the Swinburne Kilsyth Lady Cobras were keen to ensure that their winning streak did not end in Tasmania. They did not disappoint defeating the Hobart Lady Chargers by 17 points on Friday and the Launceston Tornadoes by 13 on Saturday.

The first half on Friday night was an even contest with the Lady Chargers able to match it with Kilsyth going into half time all square, 34 all. However the Swinburne Lady Cobras completely outclassed their opponent in the third quarter shooting at 73% FG to take a nine point lead into the last.

Kilsyth finished the game of strong scoring 17 to 9 to run out 17 point winners. The Swinburne Lady Cobras were at their aggressive best throughout the win with six steals and five blocks compared to Hobart’s two and one respectively. Kilsyth’s accuracy and ability to share the scoring was the difference in the end, with five players making double figures compared to the Lady Chargers two.

Abby Bishop once again proved to be too tough for Hobart with 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists; Bishop was well supported by Gemma Kerr (14pts), Hayley Moffatt (14pts), Chantella Perera (12pts, 5 as). Eva Afeaki put in a fantastic defensive game with seven defensive rebounds out of her nine; and ended the game with 12 points.

Saturday night against the Launceston Tornadoes was always going to be a tough tight contest, with the Tornadoes sitting just behind Kilsyth on the ladder with five wins. However a brilliant first quarter by the Swinburne Lady Cobras meant that Launceston had to play catch up for the rest of the match Kilsyth went into the first break leading by 11.

The second quarter saw Launceston improve their shooting and match it with Kilsyth (22.2% FG to 47.1% FG), two three pointers from Mia Newley allowed the Tornadoes to win the quarter by three and go into half time trailing by eight.

Both Kilsyth and Launceston struggled to drop baskets from the field during the third shooting at only 25%, Launceston won the quarter by one to go into the last trailing by seven. However Kilsyth again showed their class winning the last quarter by six to take the game by 13.

Abby Bishop (22pts, 16rbds) followed up from Friday night with another great performance, Bishop’s partner in crime; Eva Afeaki (13pts, 10rbds) hurt the opposition with her five steals.

The win places Kilsyth into outright second place just behind Knox, though they will need to ensure that their accuracy improves after making just 24 baskets of the 64 put up against Launceston.

The Swinburne Lady Cobras now have the opportunity to cement their place in the top two with games against Geelong on Saturday night, and Bendigo on Sunday.

The Swinburne Kilsyth Cobras play their next game on Saturday June 4 down at Geelong against the Supercats; tip-off is at 5:30pm. They then return home for a match against Brisbane tip-off is at 12:30pm on Hugh McMenamin Court.