Posted on 21 April, 2021
The VYC Cobra Men and Women have continued their blistering start to the 2021 season, recording big road wins over Dandenong and Altona, respectively.
The Cobra Men took down Dandenong on Saturday night in a battle of the Watson Conference’s top two teams, defeating the Rangers, 75-66 to move to 5-1 on the season. Struggling offensively over the first three quarters, the Cobras caught fire in the final stanza, starting the period with a 11-2 run to take a six point lead. The Rangers would respond with a 6-0 burst to tie the game, but back to back three pointers by Ben Bara and a thunderous dunk in transition by Hamish MacDonald put the Cobras ahead by six once again. The Cobras would have a response for every Dandenong basket the rest of the way, with another fast break jam by MacDonald punctuating a 30 point final quarter by Kilsyth as they recorded a key conference road win.
MacDonald battled foul trouble to lead the Cobras with an ultra-efficient 16 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes, Brad Heywood came up big in crunch time to finish with 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals, Bara added 14 points (11 in the final quarter) and six assists, Dyson Sumsion chipped-in with 12, and Tom Carruthers had a season-best 10 points and five rebounds off the bench in the win.
The Cobra Women continued their perfect start to 2021 with a blowout road win over Altona, defeating the Gators, 102-73 to move to 6-0 on the season. Claire Knight’s Women put this one out of reach early, bursting out of the gates with a 31-10 start and never looking back as they moved two games clear atop the Watson Conference standings. Following standout NBL1 debuts the night prior, Nikita Young and Georgia Booth led the Cobras dominant performance on Sunday, with Young recording game-highs of 22 points and six steals, while Booth added 15 points and four rebounds. Miranda Gartner continued her hot start to the season, finishing with 14 points, Erin Burgoyne added 12 points, and Bella Clark recorded 10 points and six rebounds in the win.
The Cobra Men return home on Sunday to host the Waverley Falcons at 1pm, with tickets free for adults and kids for this special Anzac Day showdown.
