After examining the Men yesterday, today the Eye of the Fids is turned on the Division 2 Women's competition 

Background:
While the MU men have consistently appeared at the top of the ladder in Big V competition, our women haven’t quite scaled the same heights – a couple of grand final appearances in 2005 and 2009 notwithstanding.

Back for a second year in charge, coach Kim Round and Tom Rossetti are hoping to change that.

The girls will return this year after a promising finals campaign in 2012, and with an extra year of experience and some more familiarity with the system, they are hoping to get back to back finals appearances.

That won’t be easy, as the Division Two womens competition has been strengthened this season, with four teams dropping down from the division above.

The MU girls have had a mixed set of results preseason, reaching the grand final of the Warrnambool tournament, but losing all three games at the Big V preseason tournament in Frankston (although admittedly, they had to play D1 at Frankston for scheduling reasons). 

New Faces
Center Emily Evans returns from a couple of years playing at Werribee

Forwards Katrina Massey and Karina Sproal will add depth on the frontline, while guard Sally Blaubaum will help out with her athleticism on the wings.

Departures
Leading scorer Maree De Wijn has moved to D1 side Whittlesea

Caitlyn Mackenzie is still with the group, but leaving early in the season to head overseas and will only provide injury replacement in the meantime

Caitlin Delahunty has retired to spend more time with her new puppy! 

Why this team can win it all...
Aside from an extra year in the new season and the experience (and heartache) that came from last year’s finals experience, there is an additional reason to be positive about this season – size.

Em Evans is a warrior in the paint, and provides a veteran counterpart to Sophie McAllister, who burst onto the scene last season, breaking the club record for blocks and finishing 1 away from a triple double in the Black Angels win against Western Port last July.

Backup Cat Coley is back to full fitness, and that gives the Black Angels three potentially dominant interior players.

Combine this interior presence with the athleticism on the perimeter of Charlotte McNamara, Sally Blaubaum and Rhia Mikkor (who led the league in blocks while playing as a wing last season), and the Black Angels are going to be able to shut down most opponents (especially when you consider the occaionally shaky outside shooting in D2W).

And we all know that defence wins championships... 

Biggest Threats.
Coburg won the championship last season, and remained in the division, so they start as the favourites, and they are once again going to be deep and well-coached.

The team formerly known as the Cranbourne Ice (coolest nickname in the Big V?) will also be tough once they get Mokky back from overseas.

Plus, 4 teams have come down from D1, adding depth to an already very even competition, and last season’s bottom side, Werribee have recruited well enough to win the Frankston preseason tournament, so every match is going to be tough.

The biggest challenge might be within – putting up enough points every night.

With the two top scorers from last season, Maree De Wijn and Caitlyn Mackenzie, no longer in uniform, the Black Angels are going to have to get their points from somewhere.

The return of Melanie Fidler (whose 14.5ppg in 2011 was the highest ever season scoring average for a player in MU women’s Big V history) should help, but unless the girls can shoot the ball a lot better from outside, repeating last year’s finals performance will be tough.

Prediction:
In a really deep division, having 3 capable post players provides the team with a lot of consistency, which should be enough to get the girls back into finals contention.

To get into the finals, and have any chance of winning the championship, they need a couple of perimeter players to start scoring at a high enough level to provide the team with balance.

Expect a few scrappy games early in the year, before the girls start to figure things out and make a run at the top 4 as we approach the finals.  

The Black Angels kick off their season at Coburg, this Saturday evening at 6pm. Their first home game is on Sunday 7th April against Western Port. For more information on match times, have a look at their season fixture

Want to read more about the Black Angels? Check out their player profiles or take a look at their career stats

Coming later this week:
- Claw's Ballarat Tournament report (you do not want to miss the goss from that one!)
- Predictions for the opening round of Big V competition