By Tara Murray
Bacchus Marsh Lions first Country Basketball League women’s north-west finals campaign came to an end on Saturday.
The Lions grand final hopes came to an end at the hands of a strong Bendigo Braves side aiming to continue its legacy in the semi finals.
The Braves led by six points at quarter time and the margin grew to 15 points at the main break.
While the Lions pushed hard, the Braves had all the answers in the 91-64 result.
Lions coach Monique Caparello said the Braves experience shone through at the right time.
“I didn’t feel like we lost by that much,” she said. “The scoreline didn’t reflect how close it was.
“It was 15 break for a lot of the game before we got it back to nine points in the third quarter.
“They broke it back out to 15 points at the end of the quarter and it broke our back a little bit.”
Jelena Savic top scored with 26 points for the Lions.
Caparello said they were only just starting to see the best of the 18-year-old. The two will work together again next year, with Savic joining the Sunbury Jets Big V championship side which Caparello also coaches.
While disappointed for their final series to end the way it did it had been a season of massive positives for Caparello.
“I told my group after the game that they are a fundamentally sound team with a great junior program,” she said.
“Bacchus Marsh is still a new club and hasn’t had that same level of grass roots development as they come through the ranks.”
Caparello said among the highlights for her was getting to see some of the development players take to the court throughout the season, including in the grand final.
She said they were only going to be better for and that was the direction that the club wanted to go as they continue their program.
For now, most will focus on other basketball competitions.
“Everyone will go there different ways into Big V and NBL1 [National Basketball League 1],” she said.
“I think I’ve done enough that they’ve enjoyed the seasons and want to come back again next season.”
Caparello, who had previously played in the CBL competition, said she enjoyed her first challenge in coaching a side in it.
“There was so much put into eight weeks,” she said. “I enjoyed the group of girls that were there “They wanted to get better and we were able to make finals and play some good basketball.”
The Braves will face the Kyneton Tigers in the grand final on Saturday afternoon, after the Tigers come from behind against the Mildura Heat to win the other semi final.
It’s a repeat of last season’s grand final which the Braves won.
