With the 2022 UBL season done and dusted for a few weeks now, we thought it would be a great time to re-live the climatic end to the season, and with the help of UniSport Australia recap how the grand final games play out for both our Men’s and Women’s teams.

Women: USYD vS LA TROBE

On Tuesday, May 24, ladder leaders La Trobe University (LTU) women welcomed our very pwn The University of Sydney (USYD) back to La Trobe Sports Park Stadium for the Women’s Grand Final on Tuesday 24 May. LTU entered the game as favourites with their 11-0 undefeated streak. It was clear however that USYD were aiming to reverse the result of their loss in Pride Round to LTU and started the game with steely determination.

LTU sought to control the tempo of the game from the outset. With both teams displaying similar offensive tactics, attacking the basket and looking to find points in the paint, LTU had the smallest of margins leading by 1 point at the halftime break. The defence was a key element of both teams’ strategies across the next two quarters which remained a close and intense battle. USYD’s Lauren Walker #23 (Bachelor of Arts) had the USYD team playing with speed showing how dynamic she can be throughout the game, but the experience of Kiera Mountford LTU #5 (Bachelor of Criminology) kept the momentum of the game in LTU’s favour with a clutch three-point bucket to break the deadlock at the end of the 3rd quarter.

USYD kept the pressure on at every stage thanks to the likes of Georgia Genner #7 (Bachelor of Medical Science) scoring 12 points. LTU’s Eilish Feehan #15 (Bachelor of Occupational Therapy) also a standout scoring 16 points, 10 total rebounds and 2 assists. With only a 4-point lead as the game entered the last minute, LTU showed composure holding off a resilient USYD to take the grand final win 61-54 (LTU) to cap of an undefeated season.

Whilst, not the result the women were after, Sydney Uni Basketball is incredibly proud of the effort of the girls, with a second-place finish in the 11-university comp not too shabby! We can’t wait to see what they’ll produce next year.

men: USYD VS UTS

Following the women’s tough loss to La Trobe Uni in the Women's Grand Final, the UBL headed north to the Sydney University Sports and Aquatic Centre for The Men’s Grand Final in what was set to be a thrilling local derby between The University of Sydney (USYD) and University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The stage was set, and a packed home crowd was ready to make some noise.

Coming off the back of the Sydney Kings NBL Championship win, USYD Bachelor of Economics and Advanced Studies student #10 Ignatius Mitchell’s versatility, strength, and the dynamic offensive game was no doubt going to be critical to USYD’s game. With UTS only losing once this season in the first round and against USYD, expectations were high for the men’s grand final match up to be a close game

USYD started hot and didn’t look back, taking a 13-point lead as the first quarter closed out with the Josh Pain lighting it up from deep hitting 4 threes in the first quarter alone (!). USYD continued their dominance with red hot shooting from beyond the arc, with Matt Wacher (four 3-pointers), Iggy Mitchell and Mikey Yoong all getting in on the action. Paired with some superb defence, the men pushed out their lead to 24 taking a massive 51-27 lead at half-time to the delight of a packed-out SUSAC.

However, a strong start from UTS in the second half, saw USYD’s lead dwindle, with the size of UTS a 1-3-1 match up helping them step up and back into the ball game. UTS kept advancing through the fourth quarter to claw back from a peak 28-point deficit to a three-point difference at 74-77. But it wasn’t enough to counter the likes of Josh Pain #6 (Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Science) who was nothing short of magnificent for USYD scoring a total of 40 points (10/20 from three) and as expected Ignatius Mitchell featured strongly on both sides of the court with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks.

Ultimately, the USYD team continued to make the right plays at the right time closing out the match 86-77 on the back of some lockdown team defence, to finish the 2022 UBL season undefeated at 12-0 and take the title of 2022 UBL Men’s Champions

CREDIT: UniSport Australia https://www.unisport.com.au/university-basketball-league