THE Warrnambool Mermaids have advanced to the Big V division one women’s grand final after taking out the semi-final series in two contrasting matches.
After a dominant 35-point win over Warrandyte on Saturday night, the Mermaids gave the crowd at the Arc a heart-stopper yesterday afternoon, edging out the Venom 52-46.
The Mermaids lost the opening game of the series in Melbourne the previous weekend.
Triumphant coach Peter Davis predicted the deciding match would be a tussle, telling his players to forget Saturday night.
“I told them it didn’t count, (yesterday) was always going to be the money game,” he said.
“I thought we showed some great character.
“To back up from such a big game on Saturday night is one of the hardest things you can do in basketball.”
Davis is excited about clashing with Altona in the best-of-three grand final series.
At the Arc yesterday, a successful shot from just inside the three-point line from Venom’s Jazmine Borella cut the margin to one point with two minutes to go.
A missed shot from the Mermaids allowed the visitors to regain possession but their chance to snatch the lead was extinguished by Katie O’Keefe, who came up with a steal.
She carried the ball down the floor and was fouled while attempting a lay-up, subsequently nailing both free throws.
The three-point difference was as close as the Venom got for the rest of the match, with captain Holly Greene intercepting a pass outside the opposition’s three-point line before also being fouled.
She went to the line, hitting one of her foul shots to stretch the lead to four points.
Warrandyte turned the ball over with 22 seconds left, with Louise McLean smartly winding the clock down before she was fouled with 8.3 seconds to go, making both free throws to seal the victory.
The Mermaids quickly asserted themselves in Saturday night’s match, opening up an 11-3 advantage in the first few minutes.
Kate Sewell was the go-to player for the host, with the Venom finding it hard to match-up on the tall, who continually found paths to the basket after posting up.
Teammate O’Keefe was influential at both ends of the court, getting several deflections when Warrnambool dropped back into a zone in the last part of the period.
The star’s successful drive with a couple of seconds left on the clock gave her side a 21-9 lead at the first break.
The Mermaids’ constant pressure saw them stretch out the difference to 20 points at half-time.
The third quarter was Warrnambool’s best, piling on 24 points to Warrandyte’s seven to set up the win.
Venom coach Justin Nelson said he was “incredibly proud” of his side.
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