Geelong United (WNBL)

The Bulleen-Templestowe Basketball Club Inc (commonly known as the Bulleen Boomers) is a large basketball club based in Bulleen, a north-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The main stadium and offices are located on Sheahans Road in Bulleen and has been the club's traditional home for decades. Templestowe Leisure Centre (commonly referred to as TLC) is also used as the main home court for Big V teams as well as junior teams. The Boomers participate in many junior and senior leagues as well as the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The club also runs many competitions such as Senior Domestic leagues and local Primary School leagues.

The Boomers participate in the VJBL (representative) and EDJBA (domestic) leagues for juniors. They also compete in the Big V competition. The Boomers have also won two Australian Basketball Association men's championships in 1984 and 1990.

Junior teams

Bulleen has enjoyed record numbers in the Domestic teams where it is the second biggest club in the EDJBA league. Bulleen also compete in the VJBL and were by far the most successful club in the early days of the league. Recently the club has seen a resurgence in both the Boys' and Girls' at the younger age groups with the club being premiers in the Girls' Under 12's Victorian Championship (the highest league in the state, commonly referred to as 'VC') in 2005 and 2006 and losing by 6 points in Under 14's in 2007 while the Boys won the Under 12's Victorian Championship.

WNBL Team

Bulleen Melbourne Boomers
Established	1984
Team Colours	Blue and Yellow
Home Venue	Veneto Club, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Major Sponsor	Global Metals
Championships	1 (2010/11)
Coach	Tom Maher
Captain	TBA
Website	www.BulleenBoomers.com.au

Despite the Bulleen Melbourne Boomers being one of the longest surviving teams in the WNBL, the Boomers have won just one championship. The team has mostly finished in the bottom half of the ladder but recently has had more success, including runners-up in 2008/09, 2009/10 and championship in 2010/11.

The Boomers team roster for the 2008/09 season was Sharin Milner, Desiree Glaubitz, Shelley Hammonds, Kylie Reid, Zoe Carr, Lucy Dawson, Tenille Cann, Elyse Penaluna, Katrina Hibbert, Anna Crosswhite, Sarah Parsons, Lisa Pardon and Alyse Johns.

2004/05 Season

The Boomers most successful season was in the 2004/05 season when made the Preliminary Finals after finishing second after the Home and Away season. After a loss in the Major Semi Final (1st vs 2nd) against cross-town rivals the Dandenong Rangers they played against the Sydney Uni Flames but lost after leading the Flames by 21 points at half time in one of the biggest comebacks in WNBL history. Katrina Hibbert (aka 'Froggy') won the league MVP.

2005/06 Season

In the 2005/06 started off with a bang for Bulleen, winning their first two games in Overtime at home against Sydney Uni and Adelaide. They were inconsistent but the Boomers managed to find their way into the post season again. They stumbled into the Finals after losing their last two matches and finishing level with Sydney Uni, but the Boomers had beaten the Flames twice out of the three times they played therefore finished above them with a better head to head record and finished 4th. Bulleen had to play the Canberra Capitals in Canberra in the Minor Semi Final (3rd vs 4th), the defending premiers and eventual premiers of the 2005/06 season. The Boomers stayed with the Capitals all match but had no answer for WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson who top scored with 29 points for the match. The Boomers were gallant in defeat and fell short by just 4 points.

2006/07 Season

The 2006/07 season brought more consistent results for the Boomers, they only lost one match to teams that finished below them but they only won two games against teams that finished above them. This time the head to head system worked against the Boomers, who finished level on the ladder with Dandenong but had a 1-2 record against the Rangers and thus finished 5th. The Boomers had two players that made the WNBL All-Star team, Hollie Grima and Sharin Milner. Grima went on to also claim the league MVP award for a second year running.

2008/09 Season

The Boomers had a very successful season, finishing second place on the ladder and narrowly losing a close battle in the Grand Final to the Canberra Capitals. The team won 17 of 22 matches for the season, including shrugging off the loss of star forward Shelley Hammonds to an ACL injury at round 17. Coach Cheryl Chambers was named WNBL Coach of the Year, Sharin Milner won her third Golden Hands Award, and Lisa Pardon was acknowledged as having the Best 3-point Shooting Percentage in the league.

2009/10 season

The Boomers had their best season ever, losing just twice all season long. But one of the defeats came when it mattered most when they fell short in a close, hard-fought seesawing Grand Final, losing at home in front of a sellout crowd 75–70 to the Canberra Capitals after a potential game-tying three-point attempt rattled in and out in the dying seconds, Lauren Jackson put the game away from the free throw line.

2010/11 season

The Boomers opened the season against reigning champions, Canberra, at the Veneto Club. The Boomers playing hard in the first quarter, but not for the entire match, falling in the first game of the season, 79-72. The game was overshadowed by injuries to point guard Sharin Milner and Jenna O'Hea. Round 2 saw the Boomers travel to Perth to take on the Tully Bevilaqua-led West Coast Waves at the WA Basketball Centre, and, for the first time in 2 seasons, the Boomers lost back-to-back games, going down 86-75. In Round 4, Bulleen finally registered a win by smashing the Bendigo Spirit by 30 points, 85-55 at the Veneto Club. For Round 5, the Boomers travelled to Sydney to meet with the Flames. The Boomers wiped the Flames off the court 95-75. Round 6 saw the Boomers earn back some respect, crushing the Waves at the Veneto Club 104-81. Young star, Elizabeth Cambage played her best game of the season so far, putting up 30 points and dragging down 11 rebounds in only 27 minutes of court time. The Logan Thunder would travel to Melbourne to play the Boomers in Round 7, with Bulleen just getting the win 74-67 in OT. Emma Randall missed a would-be game-winner for the Thunder at the end of regulation, forcing the game into overtime. Round 8 saw another close game at the Veneto Club, with the Sydney Uni Flames coming back from 15-point deficit to take the lead with 3 minutes to go in the game, but Bulleen held on for the 69-62 win. Round 9 saw the first game against traditional cross-town rivals, Dandenong Rangers, triumphing 87-75. The Boomers would then travel to Bendigo to play the Spirit once more, beating them 83-70. In Round 10, Bulleen travelled to Queensland for the "Sunshine Swing" against Logan and the Townsville Fire. Bulleen easily took the game against the Thunder 73-57 and smashed the Fire, 86-62. Round 11, the Boomers played a struggling AIS outfit, and quickly ran over the students, 94-38. In Round 12, Bulleen played again a struggling team, this time the Adelaide Lightning at the Veneto Club, smashing the Lightning 108-73, Bulleen's highest score for the season. In Round 13, the Boomers would again travel to Perth and also Adelaide for the "Doomsday Double" to play the Waves and the Lightning. The Boomers beat the Waves 95-81 and the Lightning 89-62 at Wayville Sports Centre. In Round 14, Bulleen again played Dandenong in a highly-anticipated game, but the Boomers were far too strong for the Rangers, running out 88-71 victors. In Round 15, the Boomers would regain some respect from two-time reiging champions, Canberra. The Boomers outscored the Capitals 33-21 in the final quarter to run out 72-79 winners. This win would clinch first place on the ladder for Bulleen. Bulleen also played the AIS in Canberra, crushing the Institute 102-44, but the win would be tainted with a serious knee injury to Rachel Jarry. In Round 16, after weeks of heavy rain, the game between the Boomers and Lightning was forced to relocate from the Veneto Club to Templestowe Leisure Centre, after the Veneto Club began to flood due to the rising Yarra River. Despite a knee injury to star Jenna O'Hea, the Boomers would win 84-68, marking the 17th straight win for the club, a franchise record. Although, this would come to an end the next day, as the Boomers lost to the Bendigo Spirit in a low-scoring affair in Bendigo, 62-55. The Boomers regained some momentum in Round 17, annihilating the Townsville Fire 91-45 at the Veneto Club. Round 18 saw the Boomers play Dandenong at Stud Road in front of a large crowd. Scouts from WNBA franchise Tulsa Shock were in town to get a peak at rising star Liz Cambage, who played a stellar game; scoring 25 points at 77 percent, pulling down 14 rebounds in 26 minutes of court time. The Boomers would win 85-66.

With the Round 18 win, the Boomers would head into the iiNet WNBL Playoffs as the number one seed and would play the Canberra Capitals in the First Semi Final at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. After coming back from a 19-point second quarter-deficit, the Boomers would clinch the win and a home Grand Final, 71-67, after Canberra again failing to hold onto a large fourth-quarter lead. Cambage playing the game of her life in the second half, scoring 29 points, and pulling down crucial rebounds. Jessica Bibby, for the Capitals, was unstoppable from 3-point range, knocking down 5-7, but missing the game-winning shot at the game's death.

After beating Bendigo in the Preliminary Final, Canberra would play Bulleen in the Grand Final for the third straight year. In front of a sellout crowd at The Cage, Bulleen would thrash the Capitals 103-78, putting up the highest score in WNBL Grand Final history. Elyse Penaluna was pivotal in the win, scoring 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds, even knocking down a back-breaking 3-pointer from the top of the arc, just her fourth of the season. Bulleen was inspired by the determination of their injured players, Kylie Reid, Rachel Jarry and O'Hea, all providing crucial moments to clinch the game. With her first touch, Reid knocked down a three, stretching an already large margin in the first quarter. Jarry and O'Hea were inspirational with their grit and willingness to put their body on the line, both players registering 11 points. Amongst all of this though, it was point guard Sharin Milner who took MVP Honours, scoring 27 points (9-11 FG, 5-7 3PT, 4-4 FT), dishing out 5 assists and pulling down 4 rebounds. The win would snap the 28-year premiership drought for the club, claiming their first ever WNBL Championship.

According to the ABC News website, on 13 March 2011, "Bulleen outclassed defending champion Canberra on both ends of the floor to clinch the 2010/11 WNBL championship with a 103-78 demolition that made amends for last year's loss in the decider." .

During the offseason, three of the club's players would go on to play in the WNBA: Jenna O'Hea who was signed as a free-agent by the Los Angeles Sparks, Liz Cambage who was the 2nd overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft by the Tulsa Shock, and Rachel Jarry who was selected 18th overall again in the 2011 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream, but was later traded to the Minnesota Lynx.

2011/12 season

The Bulleen Boomers of 2011/2012 - the season commences in October 2011 - will be a dramatically different team to that which delivered the club its first-even WNBL championship early in 2011.

Speaking to Megan Hustwaite of the Manningham Leader newspaper in early August 2011, coach Tom Maher reported that Hanna Zavecz and Elyse Penaluna would be playing in Europe and that five other players from the past season's championship team had retired: co-captains Desi Glaubitz and Sharin Milner, plus Shelley Burston, Anna Crosswhite and Kylie Reid. The paper quoted Maher, speaking of his team this season, as saying, “If I tell you how young we are, it’s just hilarious. We’ll be one of the youngest sides ever in the competition.”

Liz Cambage and Rachel Jarry, the only two Australians drafted into the WNBA during 2011, will both return to the Bulleen Boomers, as will several other players from the previous season. But Jenna O'Hea, currently playing with the LA Sparks in the WNBA, will suit up instead for the Dandenong Rangers in the WNBL during 2011-2012.

===Notable Players===

• Michele Timms
• Hollie Grima
• Katrina Hibbert ('Froggy')
• Sharin Milner
• Allison Tranquilli
• Karin Maar
• Elizabeth Cambage
• Jenna O'Hea
• Drederick Irving

External Links

• Official Club website
• WNBL official team website