Bellarine Storm beat McKinnon in 60-point turnaround from round 4
The Bellarine Storm men’s team have recorded their biggest win of the season as the women cemented top spot in Big V basketball.
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Bellarine Storm’s mid-season revival continues after a 60-point turnaround from their last meeting with McKinnon back in mid-April.
Flogged by 42 points in round 4, the now 2-9 Storm has lifted themselves off the bottom of the championship ladder, knocking off the sixth-placed Cougars (109-91) away from home on the back of a monster first half (71-42).
Captain Lewis Varley had a big night out with 26 points (including seven three-pointers), seven assists and five boards, supported by Max Kos (21 points, six boards and five assists) and Josh Chery (21 points).
While McKinnon was missing import Nathan Davis and point guard Mitch Barry, fellow overseas recruit Sharif Black (24 points) was on the floor after missing with a hamstring injury in round 4.
Coach Luke Beauglehall said it was the team’s best performance of the year, praising their defence in particular.
“(McKinnon) were missing a couple of guys, but you can only play against who is out there,” Beauglehall said.
“The boys came out to play on Saturday night from the start, it was really good team basketball.
“We’ve been preaching on that for the last week or so, when we play together and play our team game, good things happen.
“It’s building that confidence and letting the guys know we are capable at this level .... we’re supposed to be here.”
He said the Storm worked hard for each other, with a superior assist count (26-15) which led to multiple buckets.
Bellarine was also strong in the boards department, an area they were belted in back in round 4 (52-27).
“We got a really good spread of rebounding numbers,” he said.
Chery (11 points) and Kos (12) set the tone with big first and second quarters respectively as Bellarine recorded its second win in championship season basketball.
“(Chery) was very aggressive for us early ... he’s very strong attacking the basket ... and drawing a couple of early fouls,” he said.
Kos was also able to find ample space at times while new recruit Bryce Cashman battled manfully with “seven foot beast of a man” Jordan Vandenberg.
“He’s been great for us on and off the court,” Beauglehall said of Cashman.
Meanwhile, Bellarine’s women cemented top spot on the Division 1 ladder, beating Craigieburn 71-49.
Georgia Varley (17 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists), Chantelle Hall (17 points, eight rebounds) and Olivia Virt (11 points and rebounds) lead the scoring for the Storm.
With only three points in it at half time in a low scoring affair, Bellarine finished the game strongly with a decisive 23-9 final term to win comfortably.
Bellarine Storm confident it can turn its season around
The Bellarine Storm men’s team might be 1-8 in its debut season in the Big V top tier, but their upbeat coach is confident their second half will be better than the first.
It’s been a turbulent eight rounds so far in the men’s Championship season for the Storm, with new recruit Jalen King leaving the franchise after a round three, 27-point hiding from Hume.
Bellarine, promoted after winning the premiership in Division 1 last season, has managed to keep its core group together.
And its formline would be looking a lot healthier if not for some poor second quarters which cost them in the opening three rounds against Blackburn (14-25), Camberwell (12-25) and Hume (11-34).
A fixture against Sunbury was also ruined by a 19-37 opening term in round 5, while there have been wipe-outs against McKinnon by 42 points and Wyndham (36).
However, senior coach Luke Beauglehall said his team needed time to adjust to the step up in skill level, pressure and find the ability to absorb multiple buckets while executing at the other end.
“Five of those games we had a sniff of winning,” Beauglehall said.
“We’re certainly competitive, we just need to get over the line.
“It’s just a couple of minutes lapse, here and there.
“Everyone’s that little bit better, little bit quicker, the skill level’s a little bit higher.”
He said the best teams in the top flight of Big V had players who could put you away in quick time.
“You take that little bit of a breather, it comes back to bite you pretty bloody quickly,” he said.
“And that’s the step up from Division 1 to state championship, there’s 9-10 guys deep on a roster you need to worry about.
“They go on a good run and then we don’t counter it as well as we could.
“We try to play catch up really quickly, instead of trying to absorb it.”
However, the Storm has been boosted by the addition of Seattle-born recruit, 26-year-old centre Bryce Cashman, via TTL Bamberg in Germany where he posted a 22-point, 20-rebound game.
He got his “Welcome to the league” with three quick fouls during the Storm’s first win of the season against Western Port last round (100-95), Beauglehall added.
“It’s a different atmosphere with him here,” he said.
“The energy on the bench on Saturday night was fantastic.
“And hopefully that win on Saturday night just propels us forward, which is what we’re expecting to happen.
“We always knew we had the talent and the competitiveness to be in it, it’s just a matter of putting it together and putting the first ‘W’ on the board.”
Meanwhile, Beauglehall said the Storm had no option but to cut King from the team, who was putting up competition-leading numbers for average boards and blocks.
“You’ve got to do the right thing by the club,” he said.
“It was a tough decision to make because he was a nice kid, but you’ve got to make those decision sometimes in life.”
He was happy with the contributions from fellow recruit Josh Chery, who came down from Darwin, averaging 15 points a game and had been great for overall team harmony.
“He has a little bit of a different game style that we didn’t have, attacking the rim a bit more and that athleticism,” he said.
“On and off the court, he’s a really nice guy.”
The secrets behind the Storm’s 7-1 start to the season
Two big recruits and some emerging young talent have underpinned Bellarine Storm’s complete turnaround in 2023 so far, their bullish coach says.
The 7-1 Big V Division 1 outfit finished second last in season 2022, and bottom place the previous campaign
However, senior coach Tim Sanderson said with the addition of B’hrea Griffin and Georgia Varley – fourth for average points and total threes made, third for assists – and some emerging talent in Lucy Howard and Alivia Osborn, the team was humming at the moment.
He said Bellarine was simply a lot more confident squad this season, taking heart from several “really tough wins” and building belief they could triumph from any scenario.
Howard stepped up in the absence of centre Chantelle Hall to record 20 points and 11 rebounds against Altona, and is shooting at 53 per cent inside the arc for the season.
“They’re really starting to step up now,” Sanderson said of his younger charges.
“It took a couple of years to get them going … now that experience is starting to come through.
“(Sienna Quinlan) had a moment on the weekend where we needed someone to come in and help clean up some rebounding issues we were having on that Sunday game.”
Admitting the last few seasons had been “challenging”, players were raising each other’s standards while Varley had been a “really good add”.
“We felt at the end of last year we needed a bit more in our guard depth, create some play, a little bit of extra shooting,” he said.
“She’s certainly helped a lot with that.”
Varley’s skill came to the fore in a 2-0 weekend with wins over Western Port (62-57) and Altona, 75-66.
While Griffin put up 20 points and 11 boards and Varley scored 15 points and five assists against Western Port, both would score five points apiece in the all-important final term.
Varley also shot 22 points – with 10 in the final three minutes of game time – as the Storm thrashed Altona after the main break (47-30).
Meanwhile, Sanderson said Olivia Virt was having a vastly improved year – second in the conference for assists – with the inclusion of Varley and Griffin freeing up other players.
Sanderson said the Storm’s top of the table tussle with Western Port was perhaps its strongest win of the year so far.
“That game was really, really tough, I don’t think it got beyond five or six points all night,” Sanderson said.
“It felt like the whole game neither team really had complete control.
“It was one of those bucket for bucket dog fights basically.”
However, the Storm will face Melbourne University this Saturday, an improving outfit complemented by Amelia Smith.
Sanderson said there were still 3-4 key areas the club had to improve in with a loss against Craigieburn partially due to execution and a “blinder of a game” from import Courtney Strait, who shot 35 points and pulled down nine rebounds.
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