Basketball, like many sports can be cruel. On Saturday night at the State Basketball Centre, basketball dealt the Ringwood Lady Hawks the cruelest of blows in an incredible last second loss to the Knox Raiders.

In this Elimination Final, the do or die attitude was clear in all the player’s minds and actions. The intensity was off the charts and the game was always close with both teams exchanging the lead but neither ever taking control.

The real action began late in the final quarter. The Raiders clung to a 2 point lead but Hawks Import Sydney Coffey stepped up, drove to the Basket, drew a foul and managed to make the shot. She then calmly nailed the extra point and it was the Hawks by a single point with 15 seconds left.

The Raiders struggled to find an open scoring shot and the Hawks knocked the ball loose. Emma Beddome caused a jump ball situation but the ball went back to Knox with just 4 seconds remaining. As the ball was inbounded, Knox Centre Deja Middleton took a shot from 15 feet but Hawks Centre Tori Jarosz blocked it. The ball bounced directly into the hands of Raiders import Ta’Rea Cunnigan who turned and nailed the unlikely shot and victory for her team.

“You need some luck and we certainly didn’t get any tonight.” A disappointed Hawks Coach Tim Mottin said.

“We did not play our best but still had a chance to win so I was proud of our girls tonight.”

There was confusion directly after the game as the feeling was that the Raiders shot was just after the final siren and should not have counted. The Hawks looked anxiously at the referees to cancel the score but it never came.

Tori Jarosz was the Hawks standout with 19 points and 18 rebounds while Coffey nailed 12 and Shelley Mottin 11. The loss means the Lady Hawks are now out of the Finals race and looking to re build for next year. Mottin though was fairly comfortable with the season his Lady Hawks had.

“We are not going to waste too much time worrying about that final shot but focus on the positives.”

“We had some young kids step up like Piper Goldie and Abbey Lloyd, so we have a foundation to build on.”

On Sunday the Ringwood Lady Hawks Youth League team lost game one in their Grand Final series against Sandringham. The final margin was 14 points with Goldie and Keli Romas the best for Ringwood. Watch a replay of the livestream here.

RINGWOOD HAWKS 59 (Jarosz 19, Coffey 12, Mottin 11, Goldie 7, Bone 6) lost to KNOX RAIDERS 60 at the State Basketball Centre.