By Tara Murray
Melton Thoroughbreds have set the minimum benchmark of what they expect in this year’s Big V women’s division 2 competition.
The Thoroughbreds came out of the blocks on Saturday night in their season opener against the North East Bushrangers with a performance that pleased coach Lauren Olcorn.
The Thoroughbreds set up the 78-44 win defensively, making it hard for the Bushrangers to apply any scoreboard pressure.
In the first half, the Bushrangers scored just 11 points, and added just two in the second quarter.
Olcorn said they had focused on shutting the Bushrangers down in their attacking end.
“It doesn’t happen often,” she said of the two-point second quarter. “We were surprised by that score line.
“One of our goals was defense. To make sure that we were aggressive with our intention and that would lead to scoring for us.
“We stuck to those defensive goals, especially in the second quarter.”
With a big lead at half-time, the Thoroughbreds continued to push and worked hard on their new combinations.
While they had a bit of a lull in the second half, Olcorn said she was pleased with how they worked through it and came back out on top.
“We were able to find our feet again,” she said. “We have depth on the bench and were able to bring on other players.”
Stacey Procak top scored with 20 points in her first game for the Thoroughbreds while her sister Allanna Procak, chipped in with 18 points.
Olcorn said the two showed a lot of leadership in their club debut.
“They stepped up on the court and led by example,” she said.
“Jenna Conroy [16 points] had an interrupted pre-season and she was able to step on the court last night and show some leadership as well.”
All available players got on the court and the Thoroughbreds will add more depth to the squad in the coming weeks.
Rebecca Marshall, who started the game, played just three minutes due to illness, while Chantelle Paris-Webb and Caitlyn Spence missed the game through injury.
Olcorn said the game had set the bar of what they expect for this season.
“Looking to push forward, we won’t expect anything less,” she said.
“We will look to work through the lulls and make sure they don’t happen.”
The Thoroughbreds face Wallan Panthers this weekend.
Olcorn said it would be good to test themselves against a side that has been one of the benchmarks the past two years.
It was a good start all round for the Thoroughbreds as their men’s and youth league men’s division 2 sides both won.
The men’s side defeated the Bushrangers, 87-75. Import Chris Johnson top scored with 22 points, while Wol Wol Ngong scored 18 points coming off the bench.
The youth league side beat Chelsea Gulls, 82-75. Max Beaumont scored 30 points.
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