By Colin MacGillivray

Horsham Lady Hornets showed they are a force to be reckoned with in the Country Basketball League’s south-west conference despite splitting a pair of games at the weekend.

The Lady Hornets started strongly with a 77-62 win on the road against Colac on Saturday.

The Kookas, through the strong early scoring of Michelle Winch, looked up for a fight in the first quarter, leading by a point at the opening break.

But a 13-0 burst from the Lady Hornets to start the second term put them firmly in control, and they established a match-winning 44-26 lead by half time.

With Faith McKenzie, 22 points, Georgia Hiscock, 21, and Molly Lakin, 11, helping the team create a comfortable lead, some of the Lady Hornets’ reserve players got a chance to work their way into the contest.

Grace Manserra, Imogen Worthy and Jemma Thomas combined for 10 points – most of them coming in the second half – to keep the scoreboard humming.

Buoyed by a strong performance, the Lady Hornets returned to Horsham Basketball Stadium for a game against top side Warrnambool.

Unlike their Saturday contest however, the Lady Hornets traded baskets with the Mermaids all of the first half.

The teams were locked at 33 apiece after two quarters, but it was the Mermaids who grabbed the ascendancy in the third.

Carly Pulling scored all eight of her points for Warrnambool in the quarter as the team’s lead stretched to seven points.

The Lady Hornets regained their composure to start the fourth, with back-to-back baskets from Thomas, followed by scores from Caitlin Story and Hiscock, putting them back in the lead.

But Warrnambool’s many scoring threats, including Juina Lual, Katie O’Keefe and Molly McCarthy were enough to put their team back on top and hold on for a 74-70 win at the final buzzer.

Despite the loss, the signs are encouraging for the Lady Hornets, who now sit second on the ladder behind the Mermaids with a nearly identical percentage.

The team has a week off before a two-game road trip to take on Millicent and Mount Gambier in round seven.

Horsham’s men’s team had no difficulties in its own match-up against Warrnambool on Sunday.

Playing at home with an extended bench, the Hornets worked all of their players into the contest en route to a 108-55 hiding of the Seahawks.

Coach Tim Pickert and wing Jeremiah McKenzie were the scoring leaders with 23 and 25 respectively, but also impressive were Jake Hobbs, who had his best game of the season with 14 points, and Sam Breuer, who finished with nine.

The game provided valuable experience for the likes of Cody Bryan and Joel Freijah.

Warrnambool struggled to score consistently outside of Liam Osbourne, who scored 23 points – 21 of them coming from his game-high seven made three-pointers.

It was another tough outing for the Stawell Wildcats against Colac on Saturday, with the team recording its lowest score for the season in a 92-38 loss.

Joel Freeland, 11 points, and Aidan Marr, 10, led the way for the Wildcats on the road.

Ararat Redbacks had a weekend of mixed results, with a confidence-boosting 95-60 win against Millicent Magic followed by a 102-54 loss to powerhouse Mount Gambier.

The Redbacks’ win against the Magic was driven by huge games from Josh Fiegert and DJ Woods, who shot the lights out with a combined 55 points.

Also chipping in were Will Lawrie, 14, Adan Wisby, nine, and Ricky Rhodes, five.

The team could not find the same scoring spark on Sunday against the Lakers, with Jezza Woods’ 16 points leading the squad.

The Redbacks will travel up the Western Highway to play the Hornets in a round-six showdown on Friday night from 7pm at Horsham Basketball Stadium.

The Wildcats have a one-week break.

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