May 31, 2015

Photo: Last years champions Tracy Village Jets looking to claim another championship this season.

Challenge Season

Darwin Basketball Association League Results – Thursday/Friday/Saturday 28, 29 & 30 May 2015

Round 16

League Women – Thursday – Eagles v Ansett

The Eagle women fought off the Blues from Ansett with a monstrous fourth quarter to claim a 66-44 victory on Thursday night to kick off this week’s DBA action. Ansett just wouldn’t go away and at the end of three quarters the scores were locked up at 37 all. The Eagle ladies must have said the right things in the huddle before the 4^th quarter started because they came out flying. Young Alysha-Marie Williams hit 8 of her 12 points early in the quarter before Michelle Friel took over, knocking in 12 points in the final minutes of the game to finish off the Blues for good. The Eagles outscored the Blues 29-7 in an explosive last quarter. Friel led all scorers with 27 points, Williams hit 12 and for the Blues Tamiyah Perkins hit 13 and Julia Woods 10.                              

Lightning v Tracy Village Jets

The Tracy Village Jets ran circles around the Lightning for a 70-34 win that took their undefeated win streak out to 24. A huge first quarter run of 22-10 set the tempo for the game as the after-burners kicked in for the Bombers. By half time the score was 46-16…game over. Player-coach Sam Rioli led all scorers with 15, Tania Dhu had 14, Tikesa Docherty-Cole 11 and Danielle Totham 10. Kira Pendlebury top scored for the Lightning with 8. The last time any women’s team went undefeated for a season was the 2002 Championship season Ansett side that went 20-0.

Uni Rebels v Razzle

The Uni Rebels seem to be going from strength to strength at the right end of the season. They dumped the Razzle 62-41 behind the strong play from experienced players Edith Boundry & Chantelle Lee and a number of younger players such as Annelise Kowcun and Daniell Ponter. Boundry led the side with 14, Ponter hit 13 and Kowcun 11 (including 3 treys). There was only one point separating the sides at half time, but after the break the Rebels caught the Green & Gold flat-footed and raced off on a 22-5 third quarter run that decided the outcome of the game. Erin Boyd led the Razzle with 10.

Saturday 30 May results Round 19

Ansett v Tracy Village Jets

Minor premiers Tracy Village Jets unleashed a scoring frenzy upon Ansett as they tuned up for next week’s opening playoff games. The Bombers blew the Blues off the court 97-31 to run their undefeated streak out to 25. The League leaders never looked in trouble as they blasted off to a 27-4 lead after one quarter. It was only a matter of by how much after that. Tikesa Docherty-Cole hit a game high 26 with 5 other players each backing her up with their own set of double figures. The lone standout for the Blues was Tamiyah Perkins with 17. The Jets now set their sights on the Eagles who will be their opposition in the major semi-final next Friday and should the Bombers win that one they will break a 2002 20 game winning streak that was set by the Ansett women for a single season.

Uni Rebels v Eagles

The Uni Rebels and Eagles went at it hammer and tong in a nail biting match won by the Eagles 66-62. The Rebels opened up behind Ambah Kowcun & Danielle Ponter to take a 21-14 first quarter lead, but that evaporated with an Eagle reply in the second quarter led by Michell Friel and Kristina Martinson. At the half the Birds were just in front 31-30 and for the remainder of the game it was tight. With just minutes remaining and the Eagles up by a couple Rebel Ambah Kowcun fouled out leaving a big scoring threat out of the equation and the Birds took full advantage to run out winners. Michelle Friel led the Birds with 22, Trish Graham 20 and Lillian Williams 10. For the Rebels Kowcun led all scorers with 23, Ponter 16 and Edith Boundry 11. The Rebels will match up with Ansett in the knockout semi-final this Friday.

Lightning v Razzle

Lightning won the game, but lost a chance to get into the playoffs. Lightning beat the Razzle handily 50-39 but due to competition qualification guidelines they miss out on a playoff berth to Ansett by just four points in their head-to-head results. So it is back to the drawing board for next season. Bonnie Illingsworth led the Lightning with 16, Emma Carbone nailed 15 and Kelly Doherty had 10. Top scorers for the Razzle were Erin Boyd with 9 and Caitlin Wortlehock 8.

Ladder:                                                                    Tracy Village Jets 20-0, Eagles 13-7, Uni Rebels 11-8-1, Ansett & Lightning 6-14 & Razzle 4-16

Next Friday Playoffs:                                            Friday: Tracy Village Jets v Eagles 6:15pm & Uni Rebels v Ansett 7:45pm

League Men Round 16– Thursday - Tracey Village Jets v Eagles

The Tracy Village Jets claimed the bragging rights with an 86-66 thumping of rival Eagles on Thursday night. The two sides were locked in a tie for second place, but everything now hinges on the outcome of Saturday night’s game between the Jets and Rebels. The Eagles have a better percentage than the Jets so the Jets must win. This game showcased the strength of the Jets with Travis Ellis and Jesse Bell leading the way. Ellis hit a game and season high 39, Bell had 18 and court captain Michael MacLean (who was playing his 599^th League game) 11. The game was close at half time 38-36 in favour of the Bombers, but in the crucial third quarter the Bombers came out firing with Ellis hitting 11 of his total and MacLean and Bell adding to a 23-11 run that gave the Bombers a 61-47 advantage with a quarter to play. Eagle Deola Folarin tried to peg back the difference, hitting 10 of his team high 31 in the last quarter, but not enough support was coming from the rest of the side and the Bombers did not let up in the run home. Reece Turner added 19 for the Birds.

Uni Rebels v Ansett

The Uni Rebels claimed the minor premiership with an emphatic 89-50 win over Ansett. Rebel’s top scorer Tyler Jefferson provided some ariel acrobatics by jamming home a number of dunks that got the spectators attention as he slammed in a game high 30 points to lift his average from 25 to 26.2ppg. Veteran Jamie Hamill (655 League games) knocked down 5 treys for 15 points in support of Jefferson while Jake Kirby hit 13 and Lance Schmidt 10. For the Blues Jake Feeney returned to the court to lead the side with 24 while Freddy Webb had 12.

Lightning v Razzle

Lightning capitalized on a strong third quarter to dump the Razzle 72-52. Craig Martin regained a bit of his shooting form that has been missing for the last couple of weeks to lead all scorers with a game high 24 with team mate Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson adding 13. The Lightning only led by four at half time 34-30, but they caught the Razzle napping in the third quarter and scooted off on a 23-4 run that virtually sealed the game. Ben Cowcher led the Razzle with 16, Rob Oliver had 11 and David Carroll 10.

Saturday 30 May results Round 19

Uni Rebels v Tracy Village Jets

The Uni Rebels throttled the Tracy Village Jets 92-67 and ruined the hoped of celebrations for a milestone 600 League games played by Jet captain Michael MacLean. The Rebels won every quarter and managed to shut down any challenge by the Bombers to get into the lead. Five players from the Rebel camp hit double figures with Tyler Jefferson again leading the way with a game high 25. The Rebels took a close 17-15 first quarter lead and had a 10 point advantage by half time 39-29. Jefferson was getting plenty of support from Jake Kirby (18), Marcus Ch’ng (17), Lionel Oger (14) and Lance Schmidt (12). The Jets struggled in the second half and top scorer for the Bombers, Travis Ellis, was held in check with only 10 points for the game, well below his 24.4 ppg average. Some of the slack was picked up by Jesse Bell who finished with a team high 22 and MacLean who had 16, but it wasn’t enough to get the win. The Rebels take on the Eagles in the major semi-final Friday and the Jets take on Lightning.

Eagles v Razzle

The Eagles showed no mercy to the Razzle in a 113-66 obliteration of the Green & Gold. Deola Folarin and Jesse Williams-Hook tore the Razzle defense apart in a 28-14 first quarter to set it all up. A number of other Eagles joined in the scoring spree in the second quarter as the Birds took wing during a 35-13 run to put the game way out of reach of the Razzle. Half time was 63-27. Folarin hit a game high 39, Williams–Hook had a season high 27, Reece Turner 18, James Smith 16 and William Tollner 12. Ben Cowcher led the Razzle for the second game in a row with 20, Rob Oliver & Nathan Radonich 15 each.

Lightning v Ansett

Ansett forfeited to Lightning 20-0.

Ladder:                                                         UniRebels 16-4, Eagles & Tracy Village Jets 13-7, Lightning 12-8, Razzle 4-16 & Ansett 2-17-1

Next Friday Playoffs:                                 Friday: Uni Rebels v Eagles 6:15pm & Tracy Village Jets v Lightning 7:45pm