Triple Delight for Magic

Added 19 May 2008

On Saturday night, the Magic women hosted Warrnambool in their Division One Womens BigV clash at BSC. Going into the game, the Magic had dropped 8 straight and needed a win to keep their slim finals hopes alive. Hannah Lowe got the scoring under way for the night and the Magic skipped out to a 9-4 lead. But Warrnambool finished the quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 14-11 quarter time lead. It was in the 2nd and 3rd quarters where the Magic made their run and took the game out of the reach of Warrnambool. Hawthorn piled on the points outscoring Warrnambool 40-18 in the middle two quarters. The final quarter was a formality as the Magic cruised to a 67-47 victory to end their 8 game losing streak.

Following her impressive performance last weekend, Tash Ross-Harris was rewarded with more court time and she re-paid coach Andrew Nightingale's faith in her by leading the Magic with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Anna DeAraugo and Emily Matheson chipped in with 11 and 10 respectively.

Following the womens match, the Magic men were up Whittlesea, who featured a familiar face in David Walsh. The first quarter was an even affair with Whittlesea taking a 1 point lead into quarter time. The Pacers made their move at the start of the 2nd as they opened up an 8 point lead. Knowing that it was a must win game if the Magic were going to keep within touching distance of the playoff contenders, the Magic went on a 13-0 run leading to a 47-43 halftime lead. From there, the Magic seemed to control the game, leading by as much as 16 early in the 4th, before Whittlesea staged a late comeback. Whittlesea closed to within 3 points as they capitalised on a technical foul to Jay Allen. The decisive play of the game would come from Seb Belfrage as he grabbed a massive offensive rebound following a free throw miss and put it in off the glass to give the Magic a 7 point lead and make it a 3 possession game. The exclamation was put on the Magic victory by Jeremy Caust as he soared for a breakaway dunk. The Magic eventually taking out the game 95-89.

In an all round team performance, Hawthorn were well served by 4 players in double figures. Matt Slaven led the way with 19 points, Belfrage and Caust both had double doubles and Allen had 7 assists to go with his 17 points.

On Sunday, the Magic women leap-frogged 3 places on the ladder as they Werribee on the road 66-61. They were once again led by the big 3 of Matheson (13 points and 3 steals), DeAraugo (11 points and 10 rebounds) and Ross-Harris (10 rebounds).

Following a week break as our Magic teams are on the road, BigV basketball will return to BSC in Round 10 when the Magic women take on Diamond Valley on Saturday 31 May at 7pm. Be sure to get down there to check out the action.

Em's Blog: Getting That Elusive W
Jazzy's Blog: Livin' It Up at the Hotel Mildura
Sharks Halt Magic's Revival
2008 Hawthorn Magic BigV Fixtures
2008 BigV Season Photos in the Gallery