Wyndham’s hot start

Amanda Paschal (Jacob Pattison)

Wyndham has got off to a strong start in the Big V, with both the women’s and men’s championship division teams recording wins in round one.

The women had a fruitful first outing, as they travelled down the coast to take on Bellarine.

Wyndham’s nine point victory (81-72) was built off of a strong first half, where they built a 20 point lead before the major break.

The Storm were able to claw their way back into the match with an impressive third term that saw them outscore Wyndham 21-7, but it wasn’t enough to get them over the line.

Wyndham captain Amanda Paschall picked up from where she left off last year and was her team’s leading scorer with 22 points on 47 per cent shooting. She also managed six rebounds, six assists and an impressive six steals.

Wyndham played with a rotation of nine players, each of whom contributed to the scoring.

Wyndham’s championship men team also put together a strong first outing against Shepparton away from home.

Wyndham defeated the Gators 85-71 off the back of a strong second half where they outscored the Gators by 19 points.

Last season they finished top of the ladder but were unable to progress to the grand final after losing to Hume.

But they got busy in the offseason, signing Hume star Troyce Manassa, a move that has paid off immediately.

Manassa had a game-high 26 points and also tallied 10 rebounds and five assists.

Just 11 of Wyndham’s total points came from bench scoring.

Darrien Herbet (19 points) and Adetomi Ayilari (11 points) were the other key contributing starters for Wyndham.

Both Wyndham’s championship men’s and women’s sides will play round two matchups on Saturday April 13.

The women will take on Warrnambool at Warrnambool Stadium while the men will play Melbourne University at Eagle Stadium.