Courtney Virgo enjoys breakout game to lead Meteorettes in comeback win over Ipswich

A 15-point second half from the 20-year-old Meteorette was enough to lead the comeback against Ipswich in the NBL1 North.

A dominant second-half from Mackay’s Courtney Virgo secured a come-from-behind win against Ipswich in the NBL1 North.

The 20-year-old wing scored 15 points in the second half, including eight in the last quarter to lead a 14-point swing for the Meteorettes to finish 87-77 victors.

Meteorettes coach Scott McKenzie said he had seen “the best of Courtney Virgo”.

“She shot 4-6 from three-point land, and if she didn’t step out of bounds on one she would’ve been 5-7,” McKenzie said.

“Shooters shoot, and she always shoots at a good clip when she has time and space.”

Courtney Virgo for Mackay Meteorettes against Ipswich Force in the NBL1 North. Picture: Matthew Forrest

Virgo was averaging just 5.2 points in 11 minutes before the Ipswich clash, but enjoyed 25 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes of gametime.

McKenzie said he wanted Virgo to be more aggressive on the boards in recent weeks, and that was apparent against Ipswich.

“She probably hasn’t gotten many minutes recently because she doesn’t rebound the ball that well,” McKenzie said.

“She did her job in that regard tonight.”

The win has secured third position for the Meteorettes for the time being, but McKenzie said he was more impressed in the quality performances from his young players.

“Courtney is only 20 years old, at one stage we had Courtney out there with Paris who is 17, Siteri (Rasova) who is 20, and Chelsea Brook who is only 23,” he said.

“We’re young, we’re going to make mistakes and we probably made too many at the start, but that was a huge win.”

Sara Storeshaw for Mackay Meteorettes against Ipswich Force in the NBL1 North. Picture: Matthew Forrest