Game 2 Report: USYD Drop Final Home Games

Friday’s second round of the Inter-Varsity Basketball series saw USYD struggle to replicate it’s strong form from earlier in the week, losing both the men’s and women’s fixtures to UTS.

The USYD women’s side fought gallantly during the first half, trailing UTS by just 8 points at halftime, thanks to some impressive efforts from guard Sarah Wacher.

UTS hit a new level in the second half, shooting an incredible percentage from the field to win comfortably by 48 points.

Maddy Norris (23 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists), Geena Valos (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Sherrie Calleia (17 points, 8 assists) were once again amongst UTS’ best.

For USYD, Wacher led from the front with 15 points, while Emily Cleghorn (6 points), Katie Castle (6 points) and Alysha Skerritt (5 points) were also key contributors.

The men’s series is split heading into Game 3 on Monday, following a convincing UTS win on Friday.

The first half was a tight affair with both sides enjoying swings in momentum before UTS finished the half up by 5 points.

The third quarter saw UTS increase their lead to 15 points, holding the USYD offense to just 10 points for the quarter. USYD fought back in the final quarter to outscore the Teal, but unfortunately it was too late, as UTS ran out 14-point victors.

Alex Higgins-Titsha was the standout player for UTS, scoring 21 points to go with his 11 rebounds and 7 assists.

For USYD, Olly Bowman and Robbie Moore put in strong performances for the USYD backcourt, while centre Ben Fakira scored 7 of USYD’s first 12 points before going down with a calf injury midway through the first quarter.

The third round of the series shifts to UTS’ homecourt, with the men’s and women’s games to played on Monday 28th September from 10am.