Blasters clawed apart in North East CBL grand final

By Hamish Donaldson

Dec 11, 2023

Stronger together: The Seymour Blasters’ women before the grand final. Photos: Wayne Herring

The Seymour women fell short in the big dance.

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Players, coaching staff and supporters of Seymour and Albury descended on Shepparton Sports Stadium on Saturday night.

After an emphatic win over Shepparton in the semi-final, the Blasters were hot favourites to carry that momentum into the North East Women’s CBL grand final.

The game was an arm wrestle from the tip-off, but the Cougars found a way to thrive.

Driving: Ava Townsend at top speed on a breakaway. Photos: Wayne Herring

Albury dominated the second half and roared to a 32-point premiership win.

The Cougars paid back the 30-point defeat handed to them by Seymour in the last round of the regular season.

It turns out a loss can sometimes be more valuable than a win.

A nervous energy filled the stadium as the game got under way.

Both sides knew the importance of getting on the front foot early.

Neither side could pull out an extensive lead in the period and Albury had a two-point advantage at the end of the first quarter.

After the first break, the Cougars looked to have sharpened their claws.

Aleira McCowan and Tahli Smith scored freely while the Seymour defence scrambled to stem the flow.

Sharp shooter: Alex Martorella was the equal top-scorer for the Blasters.

At half-time, the Blasters were still in it, trailing by nine points.

But the long break and directions from coach Deb Coulson had little effect on the momentum.

The third quarter was almost a repeat of the second.

In control: Kasey Lennox stays solid in defence.

Albury kept the Blasters in check and almost doubled their scoring efforts.

The penultimate quarter score was 11 points in Albury’s favour.

The premiership was essentially out of reach for the Blasters as they stepped on to the court for the last quarter of the 2023 season.

That did not stop them from throwing the kitchen sink at the game.

But the Cougars expertly controlled the situation and extended their lead.

The Albury shooters proved to be the difference, as McCowan finished the game with an impressive 25 points and two three-pointers and Smith was not far behind with 21 points.

Reflection: Seymour coach Deb Coulson gives her post-match thoughts.

Alex Martorella and Kasey Lennox were Seymour’s most effective shooters, with 14 points apiece.

Ava Townsend also stood out for the Blasters as she twisted and turned through the Albury defence all night, but when it came to points on the board, the ball just did not want to drop.

As the buzzer sounded for one last time in 2023, Albury had handed the minor premiers a comprehensive defeat, 55-87.