Keilor Thunder has chalked up its first win in the Big V basketball women’s state championship.
The newly promoted Thunder had a punishing 71-31 victory over McKinnon Cougars in a one-sided game at the Keilor Stadium on Sunday.
Thunder coach Tom Bandilovski would have been thrilled with his team’s first half, both offensively in putting up 42 points and defensively in restricting the Cougars to just 17.
The Thunder’s dominance continued after half-time with an even stingier defence, keeping the Cougars to just 14 in the final two periods.
Import Erin Bollmann had another strong outing for Keilor, notching her second double-double in as many games. She led the way with 22 points, 16 rebounds and seven steals.
Aneta Bandilovski was dangerous for the Thunder on the offensive end, finishing with 15 points and four rebounds, while Kailyn Williams battled hard for six points and seven rebounds and Amy Smith produced nine points and four assists.
The Thunder’s next assignment will be away to the Southern Peninsula Sharks at Hillview Stadium on April 7.
In the men’s state championship, Keilor Thunder had a 77-75 win over Eltham Wildcats at Eltham High School to signal their intention to be a serious player this season.
A three-pointer from Charleston Long put the Thunder up by one point with 26 seconds left in the fourth and Jordan Bellman extended that to two after hitting one-from-two at the free throw line with eight seconds to go.
Eltham had a chance to win the game with four seconds to go, but Chris Cameron’s three-point attempt missed and the Thunder came away with a memorable win.
Keilor returns to the court on April 7 against McKinnon Cougars at the Keilor Basketball Stadium.
