24 October 2012

Photo:  Shane Harrison helped the Birds across the line late in their game against the Razzle.  The Eagles won 84-83!

Championship Season

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Tuesday 23 October 2012

League Women –Eagles v Tracy Village Jets

Tracy Village Jets held on to top position on the ladder with a narrow escape against the Eagles. The Bombers won the match 60-58 with a late basket to Demi Cubillo who hit a shot with just 19 seconds left in the game. The Bombers had a great start to the game as they rattled off 36 points to 21 in the first half looking well and truly in control. Guard Sam Rioli, Kylie Duggan and Tara Maxwell were hitting the open shots for a combined first half effort of 26 points, whereas the Eagles struggled to find the net. The Birds, however, did ignite in the last quarter behind Michelle Friel who piled on 18 points during a 26-15 run that almost pinched the game from the Bombers. Statistics show that there wasn’t much between the two sides although the Bombers did out rebound the Eagles 53-39 and they also put up almost 20 more shots from the field 82 to 65 for a 32% effort. Friel finished with a game high 26 points while Rioli had 16, Maxwell 14 (+10rebs) and Duggan 10 (+12rebs)

Lightning v Ansett

Lightning and Ansett also put on a show that came down to the wire with the Blues claiming a close 66-64 win that landed them in a two way tie for second place on the ladder with Lightning. Newcomer Nichole Silmon hit the last basket of the game for the win after she had re-bounded a missed shot from team mate Amelia Shanahan with only a few seconds left in the match. The Blues hit 25 of 63 field goals at a 40% shooting clip while Lightning had 32%. Despite 27 turnovers the Blues still managed to cause the minor upset. Sam Drescher (15rebs) from Ansett led all scorers with 23 while Silmon (15rebs) and Shanahan (14rebs) each had 18. The Blues enjoyed a big margin on the boards, grabbing 54 to 32 for Lightning. Jacinda Lambert (11rebs) led Lightning with 20 with Kylie Sealy hitting 12 and Brittany Ward 11.  

Uni Rebels v Palmerston

The Uni Rebels won their fifth game of the season to retain a glimmer of hope of making the playoffs. The Rebels downed Palmerston 69-43 for their best effort of the competition with Delsey Ah Wang leading the way with 20 points and Tamara Sheppard (12rebs) & Jaylene Bonson adding 19 each. The Rebels ambushed Palmerston in the first quarter with a 27-9 run that set the tone for the game. With a handy 41-25 half time lead the Rebels then charged even further ahead with a 19-4 third quarter run that virtually sealed the game. Jennifer Kinsella led Palmerston with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Rebels hit 41% from the field.

Ladder:                                           Tracy Village Jets 14-1, Lightning & Ansett 10-6, Eagles 7-9, Uni Rebels 5-11, & Palmerston 1-14

Next Week Round 17:       Lightning v Palmerston 6:15pm, Uni Rebels v Eagles 7:45pm & Ansett v Tracy Village Jets 9:15pm           

League Men –Razzle v Eagles

The Eagles may soon be named ‘the cardiac kids’ as they once again escaped with a narrow win against opposition. The Birds denied Razzle a second win in a row with a 84-83 win that keeps them in the four and a game ahead of the Uni Rebels. Shonsdale Robinson and Buster Perkins again led the way for the Eagles, but it was the rest of the team that brought home the win when both players fouled off mid-way through the last quarter. Shane Harrison sunk the last basket of the game with 14 seconds left, a fitting end for Harrison as he hit 10 of his 15 points in the last 4:42 of the game. The Razzle were looking for their second scalp of the season and almost took it until Harrison stole it back. Razzle trailed 48-38 at half time but fought back to actually tie the game up at 65 all after a shot by James Panton with about 7 minutes left in the game. The game see-sawed till the end before Harrison’s heroics won it for the Eagles. Robinson led all scorers with 32 (including 5 treys), Perkins had 19. Phil Collins hit 26 for the green and gold with Cameron McKenzie on 15 and Henry Bui 13

Ansett v Lightning

Ansett held off Lightning for a 71-64 win, their 10th of the season and one that gives them a share of first place on the ladder with the Tracy Village Jets and Lightning. Ansett’s leading scorer, Daniel Florance, closed out the game in great fashion, hitting 19 of his game high 24 points in the second half (11 from the charity stripe). Not much separated the two sides and the game was up for grabs heading into the last quarter with the Blues up 52-51. Lightning took the initiative at the beginning of the quarter and took a one point lead at 60-59 on a shot by Tom Godwin with 5:44 remaining. Lightning held the lead for only 4 short minutes before Florance hit a two pointer to give the Blues a 65-64 lead with 1:21 to go and Lightning never recovered. Big factor in the Blues win was their ability to hold Cameron Bailey to just one point. Bailey’s average is 15.5ppg. Another big factor in the win was Ansett’s 70% from the free throw line where they hit 26 of 37. Lightning’s Jesse Bell tallied 23 and Zac White 17 (+14rebs). John King lent support to Florance (11rebs) with 14pts and Jake Feeney finished with 12 and 10 boards.

Uni Rebels v Palmerston

The Uni Rebels kept their hope alive of making the final four after they dumped Palmerston 70-54. The Rebels remain just one game out of the four after 17 rounds of play and the game v the Eagles in Round 20 looms as a big one. With only 3 games left for each team neither can really afford to lose. The Rebels grabbed a 15-10 first quarter lead that they extended out to 42-24 at half time behind the shooting of Marcus Ch’ng and Jarrod Sheppard. Rebel Justin Eckhardt regained his shooting touch after a couple of mediocre games to top score for the game with 22 (including 4 treys). Team mate Sheppard hit 21 (also with 4 treys) and guard Ch’ng had 16 along with 5 assists and 3 steals. Robbie Wilson led Palmerston with 19 and Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson 11 with 10 boards.

Ladder:                               Tracy Village Jets, Lightning & Ansett 10-4, Eagles 8-7, Uni Rebels 7-8, Palmerston 4-9 & Razzle 1-14

Next Week Round 18:           Eagles v Palmerston 6:15pm, Razzle v Lightning 7:45pm & Uni Rebels v Tracy Village Jets 9:15pm, bye: Ansett