Tara Murray
Keilor Thunder is starting to produce the basketball it thought it could in the National Basketball League 1 South competition.
Having been shorthanded to start the season, the Thunder with their full complement of imports won back-to-back matches heading into last weekend’s game.
For coach Trevor Burnette there was definitely some relief to have a full team to pick from.
“A couple more wins on the board, it feels a lot better than losing, I tell you now,” he said.
“We knew that we would be a pretty good side once all the imports got here.
“Juna [Umezawa] and Ai Yamada the two Japanese imports and Anna Clephane are all here now. We are a lot more equipped to play at a high level now.
“We’re playing fast, physical and aggressive basketball, it’s a nice brand of basketball for people to watch.”
Burnette said all the imports were fitting in and playing their roles Umezawa had 23 points and 13 rebounds on the weekend, shooting 55 per cent from the field.
Burnette said it had been awesome to see the development of Umezawa
“She is one of the best bigs in the league,” he said.
“Four or five years ago she played with the Keilor championship women’s team. She has gotten a lot better since then.”
While the imports have made a massive impact, Burnette is quick to give credit to the other girls that have been on the court all season.
Captain Lana Hollingsworth is leading the way.
“She is playing a super high level and is probably one of the top players in the competition,” he said
“It’s been no surprise to me. I’ve coached her since I was 14 as her trainer and I know what she can do.
“Someone just had to give her the freedom to play, like a lot of people.”
Brunette said the other younger girls had taken the opportunities in front of them. He said some of them had surprised him.
“We had the youngest roster in the whole league by a while in the first six to seven games, ”he said.
“For the young kids its invaluable experience, some were playing 30 minutes a game.
“Macey Boyle has been the biggest surprise. She’s a local Keilor girl now in the starting line up.
“She is an 18-year-old kid who is a Keilor junior through and through.
“Jaz Salon is playing big minutes and Meg Lucas is still playing a handful of minutes, even with the imports coming in.”
Burnette said the imports were also helping the young girls learn off the court what they need to do, to get to that next level.
The Thunder, which had a 3-5 record heading into the weekend, ahead of facing the Hobart Chargers on Saturday night and the Ringwood Hawks on Sunday, both after deadline.
The Thunder fell short in both games.
For Burnette, he’s looking at it one game at a time.
“If we win that’s great,” he said. “If we lose we figure out what we didn’t do great and get back into it.”
