Tigers tamed by slick Senators
The Southlands Boulevard Willetton Tigers have continued their disappointing premiership defence with a 94-90 loss at ATD Stirling Senators.
The Tigers now languish near the bottom of the ladder after winning only one of their opening four matches.
It was a hard fought win for Stirling who came from 10-points down midway through the third term to post their first win of the season.
Michael Jones was the Senators’ best with 14 points and nine rebounds. He was one of five players to reach double figures for the home side including Austin Bruton (20 points), Chris Dodd (15), Russell Haxby (14) and young-gun Sean Gilmore (14).
Rob Kampman fought hard for the Tigers with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Mark Jones (20 points, 7 rebounds) and Travis Moore (15 points, 11 rebounds) pitched in with handy contributions.
Bruton, son of Wildcats’ legend Cal, was red-hot early with seven first-quarter points.
A solitary point separated the teams at quarter-time, with the Tigers taking a 28-27 advantage.
Neither side could break away in the second quarter, as the two teams went shot for shot.
Mark Jones had a solid first half for the visitors, scoring 13 points in just his third appearance since returning from a long-term knee injury.
Stirling led the Tigers 46-45 at half-time after a defensively dominant second quarter.
The Senators took an early four-point lead in the third term before the Tigers clawed their way back to square the game up at 57-57.
The reigning champions then went on a 10-0 run late in the quarter to give them some breathing space, but Stirling would not go away sinking two baskets to peg the margin back to 67-61 at the final change.
In a game full of twists and turns, the home side went ahead in the final term. This was the fourteenth time the lead had changed during the match.
Bruton was fouled twice in the space of three minutes during the dying stages and made no mistake from the charity stripe, converting all four shots to take his free throw tally to 8/10 for the match.
With the Tigers down by three in the final minute, Kampman failed to take the game into overtime with a long-range attempt as Stirling clinched a thrilling victory.
In the women’s game the Tigers continued their unbeaten season with a clinical 89-52 win over the Western Stainless Stirling Senators.
Jasmine Hooper was exceptional for Willetton, recording a triple-double in her side’s comprehensive 37-point victory.
The reigning premiers took the lead midway through the first term and never gave it up to move to the top of the ladder with 4-0, while Stirling remained winless in last place.
The Senators had no answers for the dominance of West Coast Waves trio Melissa Marsh (24 points), Kate Malpass (15 points, 5 rebounds) and Hooper (12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists).
Michelle Joy (18 points, 7 rebounds) was the shining light for Stirling, but their 32 per cent field goal success rate was never going to trouble the flawless Tigers.
Article by Jordan McArdle at Warwick Leisure Centre
Photo by Grant Lauterbach
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.