By Tara Murray – Star Weekly
Two years in the making – Gators Women into BIG V Grand Final
Two years of hard work has paid off with the Altona Gators womenโs side through to the Big V division 2 grand final series.
On Sunday, they ticked another box making it through to the grand final.
The Gators were able to hold off the RMIT Redbacks, winning 73-67.
Gators coach Cameron Wilkosz said it was a relief to have finally made the grand final. It was the fourth time the two sides have faced off, with this the second thriller.
โIt was a classic finals game and there were momentum swings throughout,โ he said.
โWe got out to a lead and they fought back and they got a lead on us.
โWe got a classic finals game. We deserve to be in the grand final.
โWe lost six games in the last two years. This is two years in the making.โ
Wilkosz said they were trying to keep calm on the side lines when the Redbacks were hitting back.
He said it was captain Jess Rarity, who really stepped up when needed. He said Rarity was inspirational.
โJess told everyone with that hot head mentality to pull your fingers out,โ he said.
โShe said have a crack and what happened next was leading by example the next possession on a plus-one lay up.
โWeโre blessed to have had her since her junior days. She could be playing at a higher level if she wanted to.
โIf we go up, sheโll still play at the same level.โ
Rarity finished with 18 points, while Sharna Appleby top scored with 28 points.
The Gators will now face the Mornington Breakers in a best-of-three grand final series. The Breakers won the last match between the two teams in earlier in the finals.
Wilkosz said they had a score to settle in the best-of-three grand final series.
โThey are the only team we havenโt beaten this year,โ he said.
โItโs an important game one at home this coming week. Theyโre such an impressive team on paper, we have to beat them on the court.โ
With the first game on their home court, Wilkosz said this was a chance to give back to the people at Altona who do a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
โLast year was our first year back in the competition since 2017 when we went 0-20 and didnโt come close to winning a game,โ he said.
โWeโve come a long way and other people are involved as much as the achievement on the court.
โThe youth girls have finished their season and Randy [Shanklin] is still at every training. Itโs a one club mentality.
โIt means just as much to everyone else as it does for us.โ
