October 31, 2015

Photo: Uni Rebel Ambah Kowcun hit a game high 34 points to lead Rebels past the Eagles in overtime!

Championship Season

Darwin Basketball Association League Results – Thursday & Friday 29 & 30 October 2015

Round 14

League Women – Razzle v Lightning (Thursday)

Lightning kept their very slim chances of a final four berth alive with a 77-48 victory over wooden spooners Razzle on Thursday night. Razzle took the game to Lightning in the first half behind their prolific scorer Erin Boyd who hit a game high 20 points. The Razzle trailed by only one point at 30-29 at the half time, but after the break the Lightning took control and outscored the Razzle 47-19 for an easy win in the end. Brittany Ward led the Lightning with 18 followed by Emma Carbone with 16 and Sarah Clee on 10.

Eagles v Uni Rebels

The Uni Rebels won a cracker of a game and may have consolidated their final four position with a stirring overtime 63-58 win over the third place Eagles. Edith Boundry sent up a ‘hail Mary’ three point attempt at the end of regulation that dropped through the hoop to provide the Rebels with an opportunity to win the game. Tied up at 52 all the two sides then traded baskets for most of the overtime before the Rebels rattled home three straight baskets near the end to clinch the game. Ambah Kowcun stopped the Birds from climbing into second place with a 34 point haul, matching her best output of the season. The Birds were at a loss as to how to shut Kowcun down and she proved to be the winning element in the game, something the Eagles will have to curtail in the playoffs as they are destined to play again. Every quarter in this game was equal apart from the OT. Boundry & Tulaha Jeffery hit 12 apiece for the Rebels while Jasmine Stovall had 17 and Trish Graham 16 for the Eagles.

Tracy Village Jets v Ansett

League leading Tracy Village held off Ansett who got close, but not close enough. The Jets won the encounter 69-65 and it may have been a preview of the Grand Final on December 5th. Ansett jumped out to a 2pt 20-18 first quarter lead, but that disappeared as the Jets stiffened up on defense to hold the Blues to just 12 in the second quarter while hitting 18 for a go ahead 36-32 half time lead. The Jets held on to the lead although the Blues kept on scrapping. The last minute and a half turned into a nail-biter for the Jets as Ashton Eaton from Ansett went on a tear scoring 9pts in that time to get within 67-65 with 30 seconds remaining. Luckily for the Jets Delsey Ah Wang hit a bucket with 12 on the clock to seal it. Kylie Duggan hit a team high 18 for the Jets with Ah Wang on 15 and Sam Rioli on 10. Eaton ended up with a game high 27 followed by Tamara Sheppard with 20.

Ladder:       Tracy Village Jets 13-1, Ansett 8-6, Eagles 7-7, Uni Rebels 7-6, Lightning 5-8 & Razzle 1-13

Next week Round 15:  Thursday – Tracy Village Jets v Eagles 6:30pm. Friday –Uni Rebels v Lightning 6:30pm & Razzle v Ansett 8:00pm

Men Round 15

League Men – Eagles v Uni Rebels (Thursday)

The Eagles knocked off the Uni Rebels 70-61, handing the Rebels their third loss in the last four. They were once again without their main ‘go to’ man, guard Marcus Ch’ng who is nursing an injury and the Eagles were also without their point guard Reece Turner which left both sides in difficult positions regarding game plans. The return of Deola D’Folarin and Dirk Steenbergen to the Birds lineup proved to be a winner in the end as the Birds finished off the game much stronger than they started. Without the driving force of Ch’ng the Rebels resorted to firing away from outside the three point line where they amassed 24 of their points, but it was not going to be a way to win the ball game. Eagle D’Folarin top scored for the game with 23, Jesse Williams-Hook 11 and Lachlan Shipway 10. Bradly Radovic led the Rebels with 16, Thomas Uppena 13 and Jamie Hamill 12.

Ansett v Palmerston Power

Ansett looked like pulling off a major upset against the Palmerston Power, but failed to capitalize on a strong first half going down 90-75. The Power showed a lot of grit to come from behind in a game that the Blues needed to win to have any chance of a playoff spot. With Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson and Jesse Bell firing on all cylinders the Power bolted back in the second half outscoring the Blues 54-32 to erase a 36-43 half time deficit for the victory. Palmerston now have a shot at taking out the minor premiership which would be a first for the club. Hohipa-Wilson led all scorers with 34, Bell had 31 and Ben Streeter 11. John King hit 21 for Ansett with Jason Goodwin on 20 and Matteo Rowse on 15. So after making the Grand Final for the past two years the Blues will rue a terrible start to this season that left them well and truly behind the eight ball.

Lightning v Tracy Village Jets

The Tracy Village Jets took another step forward towards the playoffs with a close 71-61 win over the Lightning, one of the teams vying for a playoff spot. The two sides still have not clinched a spot. This match was close all the way until the Jets hit the lead for good with 4:29 remaining. Rohan Cropley hit a three pointer to break a 59 all deadlock and from that point onward the Jets were never headed, in fact the Lightning only hit one basket for the remainder of the game. Travis Ellis led the Jets with 24, Cropley hit 14 and Henry Callander 11. Craig Martin led the Lightning with 24 followed by Cameron Bailey with 23.

Ladder:   Uni Rebels 11-3, Palmerston Power 10-4, Eagles 7-7, Tracy Village Jets 7-7, Lightning 6-7, Ansett 5-8 & Razzle 1-11

Next week Round 16:   Thursday – Ansett v Tracy Village Jets 8:00pm. Friday – Eagles v Razzle 6:30, Palmerston Power v Uni Rebels 8:00pm, Bye – Lightning