The U23s Origin Energy Premier League Grand final was a fitting end to the 2020 season, with a match-up between Conference A and Conference B winners: the UTS Randwick Sparks and South Coast Blaze.
In the end it was the Sparks who took the end of season honours after a dominant first quarter put them in the driving seat for the game, which they eventually won 44-32.
Despite an early turnover gain from Sparks centre Capri Vidler, it was Blaze who took the first goal, regaining possession and forcing ball over the UTS baseline on their first centre pass. Sparks soon shot into gear and found their groove with GK Isabella Rankin pulling in a rebound and GA Lilli Mooney putting them on the board with a long bomb.
A mixture of pressure and nerves saw both teams lose control of possession early on, all making uncharacteristic mistakes, but it was the Sparks who stepped it up first. Captain Adrienne Bogard led the way with a hands over intercept, and from there the Sparks were underway to take the score to 9-1 after 10 minutes of play.
With an eventual settler from Blaze GS Schwenke, who had been shooting at 89% this season, the last five minutes went almost goal for goal as Blaze started to find their feet. Intercepts from Selene Chadrawry and Jessica Bowden in the dying minutes helped South Coast improve the deficit and brought the score to 14-5 going into the second quarter.
Nerves seemed to steady by Q2, with Blaze returning to the court much more settled and converting their first two centre passes. A forced error by GK Aimee Landrigan gave Blaze
the opportunity to go up 3-1 in the second, but Sparks GK Isabella Rankin returned the favour with a deflection from behind.
However, Rankin’s work was undone and it was then the Sparks who then couldn’t capitalise with Blaze WA Bronnee Loy coming away with a flying intercept that allowed her team to come back within seven.
A missed shot from Schwenke was the start of a huge momentum shift as Sparks went on to score six goals in a row. Despite tough and persistent defence from Blaze, the movement from the Sparks attack end in Silk and Vidler, and in the shooting circle with Tayla Black and Daisy Kennedy-Holtz particularly, was just too clinical. A few rolling subs and changes to Blaze - including Abbey Baker coming into C, Mia Evans coming on as GA and Chloe Burden going into GK - saw them start to settle and regain some impetus in the final five minutes, but the Sparks continued to stay dominant to lead 28-15 at halftime.
The start to quarter three was not what Blaze needed, with Captain Clare McCrohon being taken off court with a knee injury only a couple minutes in. However, it would only make Blaze more determined to fight. In what can be described as a low scoring quarter, it was clear both sides had stepped up their defensive game. Sharnee Behr for Blaze and Spark Rankin in particular came away with at least eight gains between them.
Despite multiple turnovers and keeping Sparks to only five goals after 11 minutes of Q3, Blaze simply couldn’t maintain possession at vital moments and their opponents continued to stay in control, finishing off the quarter up by 14.
A held ball against Sparks early in Q4 gave Blaze some needed momentum for the final quarter, and they proceeded to work hard to bring the deficit back to 12. The Sparks however, continued to be relentless in defence, and with pressure coming from Vidler, Knezevic and Rankin especially.
Blaze again came fighting back and displayed some beautiful periods of play to score three in a row, but in the end, the patience, skill and experience of the Sparks was unmatched on the night.
With three minutes to go, Blaze came to within 11, but time was not on their side and the Sparks had all the smarts to see the game out.
Q1 SPARKS 14 | BLAZE 5
Q2 SPARKS 28 | BLAZE 15
Q3 SPARKS 36 | BLAZE 22
Q4 SPARKS 44 | BLAZE 32
MVP Award - Charlotte Silk
