Young Boomers Start With A Win

The Deakin Melbourne Boomers started the WNBL pre-season with an 81-75 win against Bendigo Spirit at Ballarat Minerdome on Saturday night.

With Cayla George, Jenna O’Hea, Ezi Magbegor and Steph Talbot all on Opals duty and closely following the pre-season action from their European base, it was the team’s young stars leading the way.

The Boomers led from the outset and never looked back, continually rising to any challenge from Bendigo’s near full-strength outfit. Melbourne led by as much as 12pts, but had to hold firm late in the game as the Spirit lifted to provide the crowd with an exciting finish.

Maddie Garrick (19 points), Sarah Boothe (17 points, 20 rebounds) and Ash Grant (12 points) played well in a rounded team effort, Chelsea D’Angelo added 11pts and Kalani Purcell chipped in with 10pts.

In an exciting sign for future years, the Boomers debuted seven players, including imports Boothe and Lindsay Allen, who suited up for their first WNBL game alongside decorated junior Jaz Shelley. Others on debut included Leah Santomaggio, Josie Stockill, Liv Pollerd and Lara Edmanson.

It was Allen’s first game, which she used to run off some jet-lag having arrived in Australia late in the week. Allen will step on court for her first team training session on Monday.

Melbourne and Bendigo will face each other again this week in Gippsland where they’ll team up to showcase the WNBL on a four-day trip featuring games in Maffra, Traralgon and Warragul. Both teams are expected to remain unchanged.

In other news, membership sales at the Boomers continue to soar on the back of the team’s Grand Final appearance last season.

“We’ve just surpassed two thousand members, which is very exciting for girls and women in basketball. The support from the grassroots level of the game is quite extraordinary,” said Boomers General Manager, Justin Nelson.

“The best seats are being snapped up. It’s going to be a fantastic atmosphere at the State Basketball Centre again this season.”

The Boomers home opener will be played on Saturday October 13 (7:30pm). Tickets and memberships are available at www.trybooking.com/BOOMERS