28 March 2012

Photo:  Henry Bui nailed a couple of free throws that helped the men across the line in upset win against Jets

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Tuesday 27 March 2012

League Women –Uni Rebels v Tracy Village Jets

A second half comeback by the Tracy Village Jets preserved their unbeaten streak as they slipped past arch-rivals Uni Rebels 59-53. The Rebels had charged out to a 33-24 half time lead behind the hot shooting duo of Jaylene Bonson and Tamara Sheppard (24.5ppg) who combined for 24 of their team’s first half points. Bonson (20.2ppg) hit a team and game high 21 while Sheppard potted 17. The Rebel’s first half success was short lived though as the Jets clawed their way back into the game with a huge 22-10 third quarter run led by Georgii Howlett & Kylie Duggan that put them in front 46-43 with only one quarter of play remaining. A tougher defensive stance by the Bombers proved to be a winner as they limited Bonson and Sheppard to just 14pts in the second half while Howlett (18 @ 19.5ppg) and Duggan (12 @ 11ppg) stepped up their offense to total 22 between them as the Bombers held off the Rebel challenge.    

Eagels v Ansett

Lauren Flanegan carried the day for Ansett as she led them to a close 54-50 win against a stubborn Eagle outfit. Flanegan (7.5ppg) had the hot hand as she hit a team high 19 (including 4 treys) and dished out a number of assists to team mates. The Eagles probably feel unfortunate to loose, but failure to close out on Flanegan (who leads the League in treys) proved to be the difference between the teams. The scores were locked up at 34 each heading into the last quarter and the Blues wasted no time taking charge with Kia Bond hitting a trey to set them on the path to victory. Michelle Friel (18ppg) notched up a team high 20 and Katherine Hollis (6.5ppg) lent support with a season high 15, but when Friel fouled out in the last quarter the Eagles lost a bit of drive that the fleet footed guard provides for them at the end game.

Warriors v Lightning

The Warriors picked up their second win of the competition with a 46-36 triumph against Lightning. Jennifer Kinsella (20 @ 9.2ppg) and Roanna Edwards (9) opened up the game in the second quarter as they broke up a 10 all first quarter dead-lock during a Warrior 17-5 run that put them up 27-15 at the half time break. It was the break they needed because Lighting played them almost even in the second half, although unable to make much headway into the buffer created by the second quarter outburst. Kelli Sealy (9.2ppg) hit a team high 14 for the Lightning, but she was the lone standout in double figures. Jillian Pytko also hit double figures for the Warriors with 10.

Ladder:                               Tracy Village Jets 8-0, Uni Rebels 6-2, Eagles & Ansett 4-4, Warriors 2-6 & Lightning 0-8

Next Week:                        Eagles v Uni Rebels 6:15pm, Warriors v Ansett 7:45pm & Lightning v Tracy Village Jets 9:15pm

League Men – Eagles v Tracy Village Jets

In the first major upset of the season the Tracy Village Jets had another unbeaten record broken by the Eagles, who seem to be the team designated to stop any unbeaten streaks the Jets begin. The Eagles knocked off the Jets 82-78 in a close affair that could have gone either way. Fortunately for the Eagles it was their turn and new recruits Charles Benning (35) & Andre Moss (16) played a big part in the win. Joseph Johnson (22 @ 21.6ppg) has been shouldering much of the scoring burden in the last few seasons, but the likes of Benning and Moss have added another dimension to the Eagles fortunes for the rest of this year. The Jets really didn’t put a foot wrong, Travis Ellis (26ppg) and Michael Maclean (14.6ppg) hit 31pts each and usually that sort of effort would be a winner, but it just fell short of adding to their impressive start to this season and by no means takes away the fact that they still are the team to beat. For the first time this season the Bombers did not win a quarter of play during the game.

Ansett v Lightning

Ansett flew over, around and through Lightning during an impressive 99-67 win that stopped the Lightning two game winning streak. Seven different players hit double figures with Matt Hunt (18.1ppg) & Ross Vasic (7.4ppg) leading the way with 14 each. As the points rained down from so many different players Lightning struggled to contain them and slowly fell out of contention, trailing 57-30 at half time. Jesse Bell (19ppg) continued to pump in the points, leading Lightning with 22 and Cameron Bailey (13ppg) kept his fine form with 20 but after these two there wasn’t enough support to give chase against the flying Blues.  

Uni Rebels v Warriors

The Uni Rebels picked up their second win of the season with a comprehensive 74-57 victory against the Warriors. The win gets the defending champs within one point of getting off of the bottom of the ladder and gives hope that they can get back into the thick of things at the business end of the season. The Warriors jumped out to a 18-12 first quarter lead due to a bombardment of treys from Rob Oliver and Phil Collins, but that lead disappeared for good in the second quarter when the Rebels lit up the scoreboard during a 25-9 run that put the Rebels in charge of the game. Rohan Cropley (17ppg) and Rick McAlister led the Rebels with 18 and 16 and they were backed up by Simon Hamill (12ppg) with 14 and Marcus Ch’ng (18ppg) with 13. Collins (25.5ppg) hit a team and game high 31 (7 treys) for the Warriors with Oliver (6ppg) finishing on 11.   

Ladder:                   Tracy Village Jets 7-1, Ansett 6-2, Eagles 5-3, Lightning 3-4-1, Warriors 1-7, Uni Rebels 2-3-3

Next Week:    Ansett v Uni Rebels 6:15pm, Eagles v Lightning 7:45pm & Tracy Village Jets v Warriors 9:15pm