Posted on 21 March, 2022

The Kilsyth Cobra VYC Women and Men have tipped-off their 2022 regular season campaigns in style, defeating the Melbourne Tigers and Sandringham Sabres, respectively, at home on Saturday night.

The Cobra Women impressed on home court in their season opener, leading from wire-to-wire as they dominated the Tigers, 75-54. While the Cobras were stifling on the defensive end in the early going, Erin Burgoyne, Gemma Hancock and Mariah Derksen shouldered the load offensively for Kilsyth, combining for 25 first half points as the Cobras raced to a 26 point half time lead. Coach Claire Knight’s team was in cruise control the rest of the way, recording a statement win to open the new season.

Burgoyne led the Cobras with 11 points and a game-high five assists; Hancock finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, and Bella Clarke added 10 points, six rebounds and four steals in the win.

While the Cobra Women made light work of their opening round matchup, the Men needed some final minute heroics as they defeated the Sabres in a 75-69 thriller.

The Cobras exploded out of the gates, catching fire from deep as they drilled 10 first half three pointers en-route to a 46-32 half time lead. Kilsyth cooled off from distance in the third period, through, allowing pesky Sabres to claw their way back into the game and set up a furious finish. With the Kilsyth lead trimmed to 69-68, in the final moments, Dyson Sumsion played the role of hero, drilling a huge three pointer to put the Cobras ahead by four with less than a minute remaining. Coach Zach Moult’s team held on the rest of the way, securing an entertaining opening night win over their conference rivals.

Lachie Vander Vorm led the Cobras with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds, Brad Heywood and Ben Bara added 15 points apiece, and Sumsion’s final dagger saw him finish with 11 points and three steals in the win.

The Cobra Men and Women are back in action at home this Sunday, with the Men playing host to the Ringwood Hawks at 12pm, followed by the Women against the Sunbury Jets at 2pm.