Last week, the UWA Maali travelled to Melbourne to play in the Pride Round of the University Basketball League.
The Pride round saw the UWA Maali join forces with UniSport to create awareness and demonstrate the importance of LGBTQIA+ inclusion for our diverse student population, particularly in sport, through wearing rainbow socks.
The first match of the week saw the Maali men take on The University of Melbourne. After briefly taking a lead in the first quarter, the Maali were overtaken by Melbourne, extending to over a 10-point lead during the second quarter. The Maali had a comeback in the third quarter, bringing the scoreboard back to a tie, before Melbourne once again claimed the lead to finish with 95 points to the Maali's 82. Nicholas Floyd was the Maali's top scorer of this match, and also claimed the most rebounds of all players.
It was then time for the women's game, where the Maali narrowly lost to the home team, 55-53. This was a closely contested match throughout, with the Maali holding an 8-point lead at half time. Melbourne's comeback in the third quarter resulted in the teams being separated by only a matter of points thorughout the final quarter. The Maali's top scorer of this game was Ellie Newman with 21 points, and Jenna Teasdale took 7 rebounds for the team.
The Maali then faced off against Victoria University in their final match of the UBL season for 2022. The women's teams were equally matched throught the first quarter. Victoria University briefly established a 10-point lead in the second quarter, however the Maali worked hard to reduce this to one point by the end of the first half. The score continued to be closely contested throughout the second half, with the Maali maintaining a marginal lead to earn a 66-63 win. Jenna Teasdale scored 13 points for the Maali, only one point behind the leaders from Victoria University, and Ellie Newman took 7 rebounds.
Finally, it was the men's turn to play against Victoria University. Victoria University quickly chalked up shots on the scoreboard, extending their lead to 15 points by the start of the second quarter. The match briefly swung in the Maali's favour throughout the third quarter, but despite fierce competition, Victoria University retook the lead during the final quarter, with the Maali losing 88-96. Nicholas Floyd put 24 points on the board for the Maali, and also took 15 rebounds during the game. Nick Blight and Luke Alexander also scored 17 and 14 points respectively.
These results saw both the Maali men and women finish in 7th place on the UBL ladder. Although both teams narrowly missed out on the finals, they are looking forward to making more inroads to push towards a finals campaign in future seasons.
The Pride round saw the UWA Maali join forces with UniSport to create awareness and demonstrate the importance of LGBTQIA+ inclusion for our diverse student population, particularly in sport, through wearing rainbow socks.
The first match of the week saw the Maali men take on The University of Melbourne. After briefly taking a lead in the first quarter, the Maali were overtaken by Melbourne, extending to over a 10-point lead during the second quarter. The Maali had a comeback in the third quarter, bringing the scoreboard back to a tie, before Melbourne once again claimed the lead to finish with 95 points to the Maali's 82. Nicholas Floyd was the Maali's top scorer of this match, and also claimed the most rebounds of all players.
It was then time for the women's game, where the Maali narrowly lost to the home team, 55-53. This was a closely contested match throughout, with the Maali holding an 8-point lead at half time. Melbourne's comeback in the third quarter resulted in the teams being separated by only a matter of points thorughout the final quarter. The Maali's top scorer of this game was Ellie Newman with 21 points, and Jenna Teasdale took 7 rebounds for the team.
The Maali then faced off against Victoria University in their final match of the UBL season for 2022. The women's teams were equally matched throught the first quarter. Victoria University briefly established a 10-point lead in the second quarter, however the Maali worked hard to reduce this to one point by the end of the first half. The score continued to be closely contested throughout the second half, with the Maali maintaining a marginal lead to earn a 66-63 win. Jenna Teasdale scored 13 points for the Maali, only one point behind the leaders from Victoria University, and Ellie Newman took 7 rebounds.
Finally, it was the men's turn to play against Victoria University. Victoria University quickly chalked up shots on the scoreboard, extending their lead to 15 points by the start of the second quarter. The match briefly swung in the Maali's favour throughout the third quarter, but despite fierce competition, Victoria University retook the lead during the final quarter, with the Maali losing 88-96. Nicholas Floyd put 24 points on the board for the Maali, and also took 15 rebounds during the game. Nick Blight and Luke Alexander also scored 17 and 14 points respectively.
These results saw both the Maali men and women finish in 7th place on the UBL ladder. Although both teams narrowly missed out on the finals, they are looking forward to making more inroads to push towards a finals campaign in future seasons.