By Lance Jenkinson
Keilor Thunder will have to go back to the drawing board to find a way back into its best-of-three Big V women’s state championship grand final series with Werribee Devils.
The Thunder hit the road for game one last Saturday night and were out-played for most of the match in a 77-64 defeat at Eagle Stadium.
The Tom Bandilovski-coached Thunder was slow out the blocks, trailing by eight at quarter-time. They breathed life into the match with a big second quarter to restore parity by half-time but their second half was one to forget.
They could not get their offense in motion and paid the price as the Devils out-scored them 36-23 in a lopsided half.
Erin Bollmann was the pick of the Keilor players on a tough night.
The star import claimed game-highs with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
PHOTO GALLERY: Werribee Devils vs Keilor Thunder
Aneta Bandilovski scored 13 points for the Thunder, while A’Lexus Harrison added 10.
Ellen Kett had a solid game with five points, five assists and five rebounds.
The bad news for Keilor is that it is down a game in the series.
The good news is that it returns home for games two and three of the series.
The Thunder has a positive 6-3 home record this season.
However, they are facing one of the stronger road teams in the league in Werribee, which has an impressive 8-1 record in away games.
Game two will be on Saturday night at the Keilor Basketball Stadium at 7.30pm, while game three, if required, will be at the same venue on Sunday from 2pm.
