June 8, 2013

Photo:  Playoff time and nothing comes easy!

Challenge Season

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Friday 7 June 2013

League Women –Tracy Village Jets v Uni Rebels

Grand Final favourites Tracy Village Jets finished off the minor rounds with a 56-43 win against playoff contenders Lightning. The Bombers jumped on Lightning early with a 16-7 first quarter output that gave them enough of a buffer for the remainder of the game. Lightning hit a purple patch in the second quarter to close with five points at half time (27-22) but that was as close as they got. The Jets then put down all challenge’s Lightning threw at them in the second half to claim the points. Point guard Sam Rioli led the Bombers with 12 points followed closely by Tara Maxwell with 10. Emma Carbone took honour’s for Lightning with 10. Rioli played her 316^th League game which is 32^nd on the Player’s Honour Board. She has a total of 4453 points (14ppg) which is sixth on the Board.

Palmerston v Ansett

Second placed Ansett also finished off the minor rounds with a win, a 60-38 victory against Palmerston who end up with the Wooden Spoon for the season. Palmerston hung tough with the Blues until the last quarter when Ansett ran over them with a 18-4 surge that put the game out of Palmerston’s reach. Palmerston actually led at half time 23-21, but the combination of Sam Drescher and Amelia Shanahan took control in the second half as the Blues staged a comeback behind their two dominant scorers. Drescher finished with a game high 20 and Shanahan 16. They were joined in double figures by centre Patricia Atkinson who hit 14. Nina Hirvonen and Natasha Johnston led the attack for Palmerston with 12 and 10. Ansett hit 17pts from the charity stripe.

Eagles v Uni Rebels

The Uni Rebels claimed third place on the ladder with a final round 59-42 win against the Eagles. The Rebels took control of the game early with a 12-4 run in the first quarter and built that up to a 31-16 half time lead. They were never threatened by the Birds who struggled to make up the first half deficit. The win was a good tune-up for next week’s semi-final encounter with Ansett. Jaylene Bonson hit a team high 16 with Jaylene Boundry adding 12 and Kalisha Rioli 10. Louise Johansson put up a game high 17 for the Eagles.

Ladder:                                              Tracy Village Jets 14-1, Ansett 9-6, Uni Rebels 8-7, Lightning 7-8, Eagles 4-10-0-1 & Palmerston 3-12

Next week 14 June: Semi Finals   Tracy Village Jets v Ansett & Uni Rebels v Lightning           

League Men – Eagles v Palmerston

Palmerston thumped minor premiers Eagles 86-67 to increase their playoff chances starting next week…and their opponent will once again be the Eagles! The Birds looked to be cruising to another win after posting a 36-31 half time lead, but Palmerston rallied behind its ace gun Jesse Bell (27.7ppg) who piled on 17 of his game high 43 points in the third quarter to give Palmerston a 61-53 advantage heading into the last quarter. Bell (who now leads the league in points scored with 388) never let up with his assault on the hoop, nailing 14 points in the last quarter as Palmerston went on a 25-14 run to complete the moral boosting upset victory. Aaron Simpson chipped in with 18 for Palmerston while Joseph Johnson hit 23, Buster Perkins 16 and Jarrod Sheppard 12 for the Eagles. Not a great way for the minor premiers to begin their playoffs and Palmerston look to be the dark horse if their luck holds out.

Uni Rebels v Tracy Village Jets

The Tracy Village Jets sent the Uni Rebels packing for the season with an 86-39 win that will now pit the Bombers against the Blues in the semi-finals. The undermanned Rebels didn’t stand a chance against the Bombers who had their running shoes on. A 27-11 first quarter set the tone and it was more of the same in the subsequent quarters. Travis Ellis led the bombardment with 19 points, Liam MacLachlan had 15 and Daniel Miller & Jay Niven-Trewin hit 10 each. Jermaine Lattimore top scored for the Rebels with 19 and Malix Laurel had 11.

Razzle v Lightning

The Razzle finished off their season by getting up out of the cellar to beat Lightning 70-58. James Panton pumped in 27 points for the green and gold and he had support from Brendan Dell with14 and William McClay with 12. Razzle won all quarters by a narrow margin except the last quarter, but they kept enough of a buffer to hold off Lightning when they did challenge. Razzle ended the last quarter with five straight free throws that sealed the game. Cameron Bailey hit 18 for Lightning with Tony Halikos adding 12.

Ladder:                                              Eagles 13-3, Ansett 11-3-1, Tracy Village Jets 11-4, Palmerston 8-6-1, Uni Rebels 5-11, Razzle 3-13 & Lightning 2-14

Next week 14 June: Semi Finals    Eagles v Ansett & Tracy Village Jets v Palmerston