By Russell Bennett
The Pakenham Warriors started an exciting new era in Big V Division 1 women’s basketball in style on Sunday, recording a 10-point win on the road in their season opener.
Traveling down to Somerville to take on Western Port, the new-look Warriors began strongly in the first quarter and survived a third term stumble to emerge victorious, 71-61.
The Warriors eclipsed the 20-point mark in three of the four quarters, enabling them to overcome scoring just five points in a scrappy third.
Leading the way for coach Simo Pajdic’s group were Keeley Patterson, with 22 points on 8-12 from the field (including 6-9 from deep); and Sarah-Rae Slater with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Overall, the Warriors shot an impressive 47.4 per cent from downtown.
In the men’s Division 2 game at Wallan, however, Pakenham had its colours lowered by the Panthers 86-68 despite an encouraging start from the visitors.
Ultimately, the Warriors had no answer for Wallan’s Sharif Black, who poured in a whopping 40 points on better than 54 per cent shooting. Keenan Gorski and Dominic Bruno were great in support with 19 and 13 points respectively.
For a new-look Pakenham, Alistair Parker led the way with a super-efficient 22 points on just 10 made field goals (to go along with his eight rebounds), while Nathan Dodgson added 18 points and 10 boards.
In the curtain-raiser on Saturday night – the Youth League 2 men’s clash – Pakenham got the better of Wallan in a nailbiter, 81-79.
Leading the way for the Warriors in impressive fashion were Lauchlan Mark (24 points on 9-14 from the field) and Josh Norton (15 points), while Dylan Jenkinson (9 points and 8 boards) finished with a near double-double.
The Warriors emerged strongly from the main break – outscoring the Panthers 52 to 37 in the second half.
Finally, in their Youth League 2 women’s contest, the Warriors annihilated Western Port to the tune of 30 points, 81-51, off the back of a strong overall scoring contribution (14 points from Alahna Arnason, 13 apiece from Bethany Quadara and Christine Stiglich, and 10 from Katie Karajic Powell).
