Keilor Thunder has snapped its three-game losing streak with a first win in a month in the Big V basketball women’s state championship.
The Thunder returned to the winners list with a hard-fought 97-92 victory over bottom-of-the-ladder Bulleen Boomers at East Doncaster Secondary College on Sunday.
A 20-point outing from Briana Babic had the Thunder in control for most of the game, but the Boomers launched a late comeback that fell short.
All five Keilor starters reached double figure points.
Aneta Bandilovski complemented her 11 points with eight assists, while import Kailyn Williams was strong inside the paint with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Amy Smith was a menace defensively, finishing with 11 points, four assists and five steals, and captain Genna Anderson had 10 points and six rebounds.
Off the bench, Erin Bollmann was outstanding with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Alexandra McKellar scored 11 points in 11 minutes.
Keilor (3-5) has another winnable game, hosting second-last Eltham Wildcats (1-7) at the Keilor Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.
In the men’s state championship, Keilor Thunder was derailed by an insipid second quarter in an 81-63 loss to Waverley Falcons at the Waverley Basketball Centre on Sunday.
The Thunder came out of the blocks fast to lead by four at the end of the first period, but the Falcons out-scored them 22-6 in the second to break the game open and never looked back.
Jordan Coleman was the stand out for Keilor on a disappointing day, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Hanner Mosquera-Perea was the one Thunder player to be relied on for shooting efficiency with 15 points and eight rebounds, but he spoiled his outing with eight turnovers.
Keilor (2-7) will be looking to snap out of its seven-game losing streak when it hosts Blackburn Vikings (2-8) at the Keilor Basketball Stadium on Sunday.
