Top of the ladder

Casey's defensive powerhouses Jess Szalek and Natalie Dowdy make it tough for Blackburn's Michaela Shaw. 118645 Picture: JARROD POTTER

By JARROD POTTER

CAVALIERS tower over all three divisions in the Big V with the senior men, women and youth men leading their competitions respectively.
The Cavaliers’ women pushed away from the dogged Vikings to claim a 21-point victory on Sunday afternoon.
Keeping full court pressure on the visiting Blackburn, the match went at a frenetic back-and-forth pace as steals and unblocked lay-ups dominated the first half.
Casey managed to shut down Blackburn’s scoring avenues in the last quarter to run away with the 75-54 win.
Casey led by exceptional games from its main guard trio. Sammy Johnson (18 points, 5 rebounds) and Lara Pauline (13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) led the scoresheet while Pauline and captain Amy McFarlane (6 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists) brought their team mates into the match with an assist frenzy.
The Cavaliers put on 22-12 assists on Blackburn and followed up the impressive team-oriented structures with 19-15 steals.
The Cavaliers youth men sit atop the table in their division after their fifth win in a row came from a 82-76 win over Chelsea Gulls. Aaron Bower (20 points) led the scoresheet while Sean Mckinnon (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Alistair Parker (11 points, 8 rebounds) excelled in the key.
Casey men, which had a bye this week, host Keilor first up after the Easter break on 26 April while the youth men face Corio Bay at home in the curtain raiser from 6pm.