League results & Game summaries- semi finals Tuesday 23 Nov

24 November 2010

Photo: Tamara Sheppard from Lightning League Women

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Tuesday 23  November  2010

Semi-Finals

League WOMEN –Lightning v Uni Rebels

Defending title holders Lightning marched into their second Championship Season Grand Final with a 74-68 win against the Uni Rebels Tuesday night at the Darwin Basketball Stadium.  Tamara Sheppard (20ppg) led the Lightning with a team high 27pts while team mates Claire O’Bryan (29ppg) and Chelsea Cook (7.6ppg) added 19 and 14 to the cause.  The game lead see sawed between the two sides until the last quarter.  Jamie Lee-Peris (22.3ppg) from the Rebels was game high scorer with a whopping 37pts but the only other Rebel to reach double figures was Michelle Friel on 10.  Heading into the last quarter the Rebels held a slim 50-49 advantage, but that soon disappeared as Sheppard and Lauren Sealy (10.5ppg) pulled the Lightning level before taking the lead and then hanging on for the win.  The statistics showed the teams almost even in every facet of the game except for one…three point shooting.  Lightning hit 53% from outside the three point line (8/15) while the Rebels (3/15) could only manage 16% and the Rebels put up 10 more shots from the field 75-65.  The Rebels now face a Tracy Village Jets team in the preliminary final next week.

League WOMEN –Tracy Village Jets v Eagles

Tracy Village Jets converted last week’s loss to the Eagles into a motivational factor as they knocked off the dark horse Eagles 54-47. Tara Carroll (12.6ppg) and Tikesa Docherty-Cole (11ppg) combined for 28pts and Annabelle Harbison added 11 as the Jets sent the Eagles packing.  The Jet came out firing as they raced to a 22-11 first quarter lead, giving the Bombers a bit of a buffer that was enough for a 31-20 half time lead.  After the break, however, the Eagles spread their wings and flew back into contention with a 19-8 run (led by Katherine Hollis (11 @ 7.5ppg) and Brianna Grazioli) that tied the game up at 39 all with just one quarter to play.  Harbison (5.3ppg) then turned the game around for the Jets with 7 of her total coming in the fourth quarter as the Jets put in a run of 15-8 to claim the win and give themselves a chance of a place in the Grand Final if they can knock off the Uni Rebels next week. The last time the Jets were in a Grand Final was 2006 and they lost out to Mitsubishi-RSL. 

Ladder:       Lightning 12-5, Uni Rebels 11-6, Tracy Village Jets 8-9, Eagles 6-11 and Ansett 5-11

Next week:  Preliminary Final -   6:30pm – Uni Rebels v Tracy Village Jets 

MEN – Uni Rebels v Ansett

Ansett pulled off one of the bigger upsets of this season with a solid game against the minor premier Uni Rebels, beating the Rebels 78-67 to advance to the Grand Final.  Ansett has not been in a Grand Final since 1999 when they beat Mitsubishi-RSL 63-62 to claim the title.  This win over the Rebels was only their second win of the season against the minor premiers, but it was the biggest.  Colin Matteson (25 @ 27.9ppg), Matty Hunt (18 @ 15ppg), Bryce Whitaker (16 @ 16ppg) and Cameron McKenzie (14 @ 5.7ppg) played their parts as they more than matched their counterparts from the Rebels.  Defensively Ansett shut down the outside shooting of Jarrad Sheppard (10 @ 12ppg) and kept prolific scorer Ethan Kennedy (18) well below his league leading 28.3ppg average.  The three point line proved dominant for Ansett as well as they hit 14/36 at 36% while the Rebels only managed 3/13 @ 23%!  The Rebels came out gunning and running for a 22-14 first quarter lead before Ansett turned on the after burners.  Ansett outscored the Rebels 42-27 during the second and third quarters for a handy 56-49 lead heading into the last quarter.  The Blues then took control and bombarded the Rebels with 5 treys in the last quarter during a 22-18 run that put them into the big dance in 10 days time.

League MEN –Eagles v Warriors

The Warriors got up over the Eagles in the knockout semi-final 82-79 with guard Bayi Handy leading the way with a game high 31pts.  Not much separated the teams in terms of stats, but the Warriors did shoot a better percentage overall.  The Eagles shot a woeful 7/27 from outside the arc while the Warriors were just 5/11.  Bobby Guyton (23.1ppg) hit 29 for the Eagles but was held scoreless in the last quarter and Matt Smith (23.1ppg) was also limited in his scoring, hitting 14 which is below his 23ppg average.  Handy (22.3ppg) on the other hand had support from Brice Giles (18 @ 22ppg) and Johnnie Mclawhorn (14 @ 14.1ppg) as the Warriors matched the Eagles basket for basket, narrowly winning in the end as the Eagles faltered at the free throw line.   Next weeks game between the Warriors and Uni Rebels will be a replay of last years Grand Final that the Rebels won 87-59.

Ladder:        Uni Rebels 16-3, Ansett 16-3, Eagles 12-7, Warriors 10-9, Lightning 6-12, Tracy Village Jets 5-13 and Razzle 0-18.

Next week:  Preliminary Final -        8pm – Uni Rebels v Warriors




Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.

Refreshing your Website?

Mobile responsive websites made easy using the new Stack Commerce Website Theme. Subscribe and enhance your site using our range of Add On Features including an integrated Shop.

Laptops showing the Stack Commerce Website Theme.