The 'Maali in Melbourne' trip saw UWA Maali take on quality Melbourne-based universities in a double header fixture against Australian Catholic University and La Trobe University.
As the end of the regular rounds approach, UWA Maali continue to battle its first half performance on court with a slow start from both teams in the game against the Australian Catholic University. On paper, a game that was destined for UWA Maali to dominate, each side struggle to find form at the Melbourne Sports Centre Parkville. The women were unable to shake the momentum of the team in purple. In comparison, ACU were lethal on all areas of the court with accurate shooters and a lockdown defensive structure that left UWA Maali stumped. A bad day at the office for the women’s team who struggled to find consistency in attack and defence. UWA Maali closed the game scoring 45 points against ACU's 71 points.
In contrast, the men's team were able to shrug off the sluggish brand of basketball after an intense half-time debrief from Head Coach Jackson Mews. A completely new team entered the court, with UWA Maali turning around the deficit in a strong third quarter to mount the pressure back on ACU. A key player that fuelled the shift in momentum was Joe Harwood with impressive drives to paint and dunking on the opposition in critical moments of the game. Nick Worley was also able to produce clutch plays and lays up to build the lead for UWA Maali late in the game. In the fourth quarter, the whole team rallied together to produce quality basketball that allowed UWA Maali to bridge the gap and overtake ACU in the final minutes of the game. UWA Maali secured the win, toppling ACU 90-84 in a close encounter.
A short turnaround saw the UWA Maali team take on La Trobe University on Wednesday 24 April. A tough challenge for UWA Maali to overpower a top four team playing in front of their home crowd. UWA Maali broke it's run with slow starts to produce a clinical first half that saw the team play with urgency and intent. As a result, UWA Maali were able to clinch over its rivals through its ball movement and offensive prowess. Ben Thorpe and Joe Harwood were strong targets in the first half with impressive plays in attack whilst Declan Barrett and Blake Costello applied lockdown defence to shutdown the flow of La Trobe University. The remainder of the game was a physical tussle with each team scrapping to take the lead. Unfortunately, the men were unable to hold onto the lead as La Trobe fought back to take win 78-73.
UWA Maali women followed suite to produce a scintillating performance against the top side. After drawing neck-to-neck with La Trobe University in the first quarter, a drop in intensity saw UWA Maali trail at half-time to the opposition (23-32). A phenomenal turnaround in the third quarter led by Abbey Hall and captain Jenna Teasdale resulted in UWA Maali scoring 23 points to take the lead heading into the last quarter. Abbey Hall was a strong presence in attack with her physicality under key being pivotal with her posting up and scoring lay ups. In addition, the impressive rebound statistics allowed UWA Maali to capitalise on La Trobe's missed shots and convert it at the other end was pivotal in capturing the lead. Other key players included Keisha Chng with her relentless drives and lay ups that broke the oppositions defence. Jessica Taylor was also dangerous with her sharp shooting in the game scoring two 3-pointers in the game. In similar fashion, the women's team lacked experience in holding onto the lead in the dying minutes of the game. La Trobe raised the intensity and level of play to nullify the ball movement of UWA Maali and take the win 59-55.
Catch UWA Maali flying high in the derby pride round against Curtin University at home on Tuesday 30 April 2024. For more information on the UBL competition, visit UniSport and watch replays on UniSport TV.