Tara Murray
It was a night to remember for Wyndham in the Big V competition on Saturday night, with the side claiming the women’s state championship title.
Having claimed game one against the Bulleen Boomers the previous weekend in the best-of-three grand final series, Wyndham had two attempts to wrap up the series on the weekend.
Wyndham needed just one, beating the Boomers on Saturday night, 86-70.
Wyndham interim coach Billy Akalo said there was a sense of relief when the final whistle went.
“To just do it in front of our home crowd and families and the kids that play in rep teams were watching,” he said.
“It’s a historical snapshot. It will live in the minds of people for a while.”
Akalo said they knew they needed to just stick with the processes in game two and play the way they had been focusing on the last 10 months.
He said the loss in the first final series against the McKinnon Cougars was a blessing in disguise for the group, with those lessons used against the Boomers.
Akalo said they were shocked by the start to the game on Saturday night.
“It was surprising to our expectations and we played pretty well,” he said. “I thought Bulleen would come our physical and come out blazing.
“For us it set the tone for us.”
Akalo said there were a few nerves in the third quarter. He said the girls were able to respond and get back on track.
“They were trying to finish it off in one go instead of sticking with what we’ve been good at,” he said.
“We were trying to rush. We needed to balance it out and we found that balance in the last quarter.”
Amanda Paschal was awarded the grand final most valuable player award. She finished the game with 27 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists and six steals.
Akalo said Paschal was their spiritual leader on and off the court and did whatever they needed her to do.
Akalo, who had to step up to the head coaching role in the finals, said the win was massive for the club and what it was trying to do.
“We wanted to play with a lot of local kids,” he said. “We had elite juniors who wanted to join our program. We want to be a team represented by local players.
“Our style of play is exciting and ruthless and uncompromising and we’ve shown that throughout the season.”
As the game finished, the side got the news that the men’s side had also claimed the men’s state championship title.
“There was cherry on the top,” he said. “The post game festivities were really good with both teams together.
“We believe it’s the first time in history that both the men’s and women’s teams from the same club have won the championship division.”
For Wyndham women’s side, it means two championships in a row, with the side having won the last championship in 2019.
