In an intense and fast paced game in celebration of NAIDOC week, Fitzroy Stars 1 continued to make their way up the Cleaning Melbourne Premier Division 2 ladder with a four-goal victory over Greensborough at La Trobe Sports Stadium 2.
Both sides were evenly matched throughout the entire contest. However, it was the Fitzroy Stars who pulled away late in the last, with scores settling on 35 to 31 in favour of the Stars on what was a special night for the club.
By the end of the night the Stars finished in sixth spot after entering the round sitting at the foot of the Cleaning Melbourne Premier Division 2 table.
Greensborough on the other hand now sit at the bottom of the table and remain winless in their past five games.
Akanisi Tsiros was an exceptional performer for the Stars on the night, winning the NAIDOC Medal for the Stars
Brittany Nitschke scored 21 goals for Greensborough this game, 10 of which were scored in the third quarter.
Greensborough’s leading goal scorer in Crystal Phillips also scored nine goals, boosting her season tally to 90.
Tahlia McLeish and Holly Denholm played exceptionally well for Greensborough, battling it out on the court and working hard to disrupt the Stars’ rhythm.
Stars leading goal shooter Natasha Atkinson-Brown scored 23 goals for the Stars, eight of which were in the last quarter of the game.
Kelly Brittany, Kiahni Atkinson-Brown, and Jessica Mitchell played really well for the Stars, managing to move the ball up for their team continuously throughout the game and keeping the momentum going.
Greensborough came out firing in the first quarter, scoring in the first few seconds, but the Stars responded quickly keeping the momentum up and moving the ball confidently through the court smoothly.
In the second quarter the Stars were going strong scoring back-to-back goals, before Greensborough responded back quickly with three consecutive goals.
Both sides then went goal for goal towards the end of quarter, however the Stars were able to get on top and took a two-goal lead heading into the main break.
There was continuous pressure and the defence from both sides was exceptionally strong throughout the game especially in the last two quarters.
Both sides were still able to score back-to-back goals and were feeling the heat out on the court.
Despite the scores equalising each quarter, that didn’t stop either team from pushing harder and continuously putting up a fight.
The last quarter of the game was fiercely competitive from both teams, especially the last few minutes.
Heading into the final quarter scores were 24-23 in Greensborough’s favour, but they ended at 31-35 in favour of the Stars.
The Stars scored three goals within the last minute of the game which helped them settle the win for their team.
