Cockburn too strong for Stirling
The Cockburn Cougars have handed the ATD Stirling Senators their third loss in a row after taking out Saturday night’s game 112-105.
The Cougars were ahead from the outset, stepping up the defensive pressure and taking out a 13-point lead at quarter time.
Senators forward Lee Roberts and teammate Geordie Cullen attempted to narrow the gap in the first half, tallying up 12 points each, but Stirling still struggled with the Cougar defence.
The second half saw the Senators up the intensity and begin to challenge the home side, with imports Lee Roberts (42 points and 21 rebounds) and Michael Jones (22 points)putting in the hard yards to have their team trail by just seven points after the third quarter.
Cockburn guard Damien Scott’s determination helped the Cougars maintain their lead into the dying minutes of the game, with the 18-year-old putting up the majority of his 17 points in the last quarter.
Cougars import Ty Harrelson was also impressive throughout, contributing not only 23 points for his side, but snatching 10 steals and 11 assists.
Cougars coach Stephen Charlton said he was especially happy with Cockburn’s efforts in the first half, and applauded Stirling’s increased intensity in the latter part of the game.
“I thought our intensity in the first half was pretty good... I think to Stirling’s credit, they improved their intensity and they made a really good run...but we kept scrapping and found a bunch of guys that worked for us to close the game out,” he said.
Despite Cockburn’s best efforts the Senators were not ready to go out quietly, and the last minute of the game saw both teams rushing to score, resulting in a number of fouls against a desperate Stirling side.
Cockburn managed to capitalise on these late penalties and hold onto a seven-point lead.
In the women’s league, the Metropolis Fremantle Cockburn Cougars managed to overturn what looked to be a Western Stainless Stirling Senator’s win, taking out the match 54-47.
The Senators maintained their lead right until the final quarter, when an impressive three-pointer from Kara Hargreaves put the Cougars in front for the first time, and another later to take their lead to 49-45.
Kara Hargreaves went on to score 19 points for the Cougars, with sister Courtney also adding 10 points to the team’s total.
Strong performances from Senators captain Emma Berryman (13 points) and forward Michelle Joy (14 points) were not enough to equal Cockburn’s intensity, and the Cougars were able to hold on to a seven-point lead.
Article by Hannah Jenkins at Wally Hagan Stadium
Photo by Mick Cronin
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