Cougars Go Perfect With Five Wins From Five

The McKinnon Cougars continued their strong Big V form across the weekend, completing a perfect five-from-five sweep across Saturday and Sunday action.

Road wins for both Championship sides on Saturday set the tone before the club’s youth teams and Championship Women completed the job on Sunday, highlighted by several standout individual performances and the recognition of Youth Men’s captain Oliver Ledger’s 50th Big V game.

SATURDAY

CHAMPIONSHIP MEN – McKinnon Cougars (89) defeated Camberwell Dragons (82)

The Championship Men opened the weekend with an important road victory, defeating the Camberwell Dragons by seven points on Saturday night.

McKinnon held a narrow four-point lead at quarter time before lifting late, closing the game with a 25-point final quarter to secure the result.

Troyce Manassa led the way with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists on 10-of-16 shooting, while Kierell Green added 20 points and 11 rebounds in a dominant inside performance.

Mitchell Barry provided an efficient 13 points and 8 rebounds, knocking down three triples at 75 per cent from beyond the arc, while Josh Uhr-Henry added 7 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench.

Luke Logan also made an impact with 8 points on perfect shooting, finishing 3-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range.

McKinnon shot better than 46 per cent from the floor and won the rebound count 47-35 in another strong offensive display.

CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN – McKinnon Cougars (81) defeated Bulleen Boomers (51)

The Championship Women continued their strong form with a dominant 30-point road victory over the Bulleen Boomers on Saturday night.

After leading by nine at quarter time, the Cougars steadily built their advantage throughout the contest, controlling both ends of the floor across the second half.

Maighan Hedge led the scoring with 24 points and 4 assists, knocking down four triples at 57 per cent from beyond the arc, while Katherine Vaile added a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Romy Price also impressed with 12 points and 5 rebounds on efficient shooting, while Sarae Beveridge contributed 10 points and 2 steals.

Amy Baum controlled the tempo superbly with 12 assists, 4 steals and 4 rebounds as McKinnon consistently created quality offensive looks.

The Cougars shared the ball well throughout the night, finishing with 21 assists while their defensive pressure generated 14 steals in another impressive team performance.

SUNDAY

YOUTH WOMEN – McKinnon Cougars (85) defeated Eltham Wildcats (56)

The Youth Women delivered one of the club’s most dominant performances of the weekend, defeating Eltham by 29 points on the road on Sunday afternoon.

After leading by seven at quarter time, the Cougars continued to build momentum throughout the game before a dominant 32-14 second half sealed the result.

Arden Bailey led the scoring with 19 points and 4 rebounds, while Holly Miller added 13 points, 6 steals and 6 rebounds in a strong two-way performance.

Evie Haywood provided a spark offensively with 13 points and three triples at 75 per cent shooting from beyond the arc, while Zoe Johnson contributed 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Keira Price also impacted the contest with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks as McKinnon controlled the glass throughout the afternoon.

McKinnon’s defensive pressure proved too much for Eltham, forcing repeated turnovers throughout the afternoon.

YOUTH MEN – McKinnon Cougars (87) defeated Westgate Imperials (80)

The Youth Men produced a huge second-half comeback to defeat the Westgate Imperials by seven points at GESAC on Sunday afternoon.

Trailing by 16 points at halftime, McKinnon completely shifted momentum with a dominant 32-point third quarter before closing out the game late.

Oliver Mann starred with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals on an efficient 11-of-15 shooting performance, while Charlie Watts added 16 points and 4 rebounds.

Thomas D’Amelio contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds, with Joshua Blaikie also finishing with 10 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

Tyler Langston added 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while Jun Lee contributed 6 points and 4 assists in valuable minutes.

McKinnon controlled the paint throughout the second half, finishing with 52 rebounds and 24 offensive boards in a strong team performance.

CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN – McKinnon Cougars (80) defeated Warrnambool Mermaids (46)

The Championship Women completed a perfect weekend with another dominant defensive performance, defeating Warrnambool by 34 points at GESAC on Sunday afternoon.

McKinnon set the tone early with a 21-12 opening quarter before pulling away further in the third term to secure control of the contest.

Katherine Vaile starred with a dominant double-double of 22 points and 16 rebounds, while Amy Baum controlled the game superbly with 10 assists, 9 rebounds and 3 steals.

Maighan Hedge added 13 points and 4 assists, knocking down four triples, while Romy Price contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Jennie Rintala added 5 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while Annabel Fitter provided strong energy with 7 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench.

McKinnon forced 17 Warrnambool turnovers and restricted the visitors to just 46 points in another impressive defensive effort.