The hard work from November last year right through the duration of the 2016 Big V season helped the Falcons Big V State Championship teams qualify for finals, however that is where the journey ended this year.

It’s always a good year when both your Men and Women make it to finals and there were plenty of highlights and great performances along the way.

Let’s take a look at the season recap for the Falcons State Championship Men and State Championship Women.

Big V Championship Women

Record: 14 wins / 8 losses (elimination final)

In a nutshell: The Falcons got off to a strong start, winning four of their first six games to establish themselves in the top six nice and early. A mid-season dip in form could have potentially spelt danger for the Falcons but they recovered and finished well, locking themselves in for a finals spot with a couple of weeks to spare.

The trip down to Rosebud is a tough one at the best of times, but heading down Peninsula Link for an elimination final is that much more difficult. The task was too great for the Falcons on this occasion despite a brave effort, bringing to an end the 2016 season.

Best win of the season: The Falcons had some reason for confidence heading down to Rosebud to face the Sharks in the elimination final after their solid win down there earlier in the season. The Sharks only lost three games at home the whole season, and the 54 points they were held to was their second lowest points total for the season.

It was a staunch effort from the Falcons who were led by double figure games from Tegan Cunningham and Kate Oliver.

Good stuff: Speaking of Cunningham and Oliver, the duo came in fresh of their WNBL commitments to have great seasons for the Falcons. Between the two of them they averaged nearly 40 points and upwards of 30 rebounds per game. That is sensational output and their efforts were the driving force behind the Falcons appearance in finals this season.

Upside: It’s always great to see Falcons juniors getting a run in the Big V teams and this season saw two current Falcons Under 18s take the next step in their basketball journey. Grace Beasley and Mia Parsons backed up a year in which they helped lead the 18s to VC and the Classic with regular rotation minutes in the women’s team.

Big V Championship Men

Record: 18 wins /4 losses (semi-final)

In a nutshell: Falcons fans have become accustomed to their men’s team being one of the pace-setters in SCM, and this season was no exception. Only dropping four games throughout the regular season and regularly getting the job done against the other highly ranked teams, the Falcons looked every bit a championship threat for much of the year.

Come finals time however things began to squeeze a bit for the Falcons, with a mix of injuries, illness and NBL commitments making it difficult for all the Falcons big guns to be available and at their best at the big moments. That being said the semi-final against Ringwood was always going to be very tough, the Hawks are a deep side that plays well together and ended up winning the whole thing.

Best win of the season: The Falcons beat Ringwood twice and Knox twice during the season (including on the buzzer one time), but in terms of dominating a finals-quality team, the 29 point defeat of McKinnon in their home court is hard to go past. Three Falcons scored in the 20s leading to a strong, strong win.

Good stuff: The Falcons were a strong line-up right across the floor. Big Matt Hodgson threw down about five dunks each games, as rim-rocking a season as the Falcons have seen with a while. Matt had plenty of room to work with thanks to the efforts of Ivan, Dexter, Sedale, Arkell among others.

Upside: For the first time in a long time, the Falcons saw one of their own chosen to make the step up to NBL basketball. Dexter Kernich-Drew had been linked to the Perth Wildcats for some time, however during this Big V season the former Falcons junior, who spent four years at college, put pen to paper and became an official NBL player.