May 4, 2013

Photo: Elyse Videon lent support to Michelle Friel with 15 points in close loss to Uni Rebels on Friday night.

Challenge Season

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Friday 3 May 2013

League Women – Lightning v Tracy Village Jets

Lightning ended the Tracy Village Jets 18 game unbeaten streak with an emphatic 62-21 win against the League leaders who have only lost 2 games out of their last 31 games! The absence of Jets playmaking guards Keisha Tinley and Kylie Duggan gave the Lightning a chance that they took full advantage of. Making up for last week’s disappointing loss to last placed Palmerston the Lightning made the most of the opportunity to knock off the Jets. Of the 26 scoring shots made, Lightning hit 11 from outside the arc for 33 points…more than half of their total. Kelli Sealy hit a season high 20 points (6 three pointers) with Sarah Hagen and Emma Carbone adding 11 each. Best for the Bombers was Tara Maxwell with 7. Lightning bolted out to a 14-2 first quarter lead that blossomed out to 25-4 at half time and the pressure never eased as Lightning outscored the Jets 35-17 in the second half to secure the victory.

Palmerston v Ansett

Ansett got back into winning ways with a decisive 74-46 win over Palmerston. After last week’s big loss to the Eagles the Blues were back at full strength with leading scorer’s Sam Drescher (24) and Amelia Shanahan (13) once again hitting double figures during the rout. Trish Atkinson also joined in the scoring adding a season high 17 along with double figures in rebounds. The Blues trailed Palmerston 14-12 after a quarter of play, but hit the after-burners in the second quarter with a 27-8 run for a 39-22 half time lead. Both sides hit 18 in the third quarter before another burst from Ansett in the last quarter iced the game for the Blues. Brielle Felton led Palmerston with 10.

Eagles v Uni Rebels

The Eagles and Uni Rebels match was the closest affair on the night with the Rebels outlasting the Birds 48-45 to leave the teams locked into a tie for fourth place on the ladder. Jaylene Boundry led the Rebels with 17 points but she had plenty of help from the rest of the team as all players contributed to the score line. Michelle Friel led the Eagles with a game high 22 and Elyse Videon chipped in with 15, but that was the bulk of the scoring for the Eagles. There was never more than a few points separating the teams throughout the tug of war and it was fitting that Boundry hit the last basket for the Rebels to claim the points.

Ladder:                              Tracy Village Jets 8-1, Ansett 6-4, Lightning 5-5, Eagles & Uni Rebels 4-6 & Palmerston 2-7

10 May: Rd 11                   Lightning v Eagles 6:15pm, Palmerston Tracy Village Jets 7:45pm & Ansett v Uni Rebels 9:15pm.

League Men – Tracy Village Jets v Eagles

The Eagles reclaimed bragging rights with a 76-69 win over arch-rival Tracy Village Jets. The loss of League leading scorer Shondale Robinson who has returned to the USA didn’t seem to hamper the Eagles much as Joseph Johnson picked up the slack by dropping a season high 43 points (13 from the charity stripe). With Shane Harrison putting up 12 and Matt Bakunowicz 11 the Eagles managed to stay in front of the Bombers who got a season high 21 points from Jett Sukcharoen, 12 from Jake Geer, 11 from Sam White and 10 from Steven Dunham. A slim 32-30 half time lead by the Eagles opened up into an 11 point buffer after a 22-13 run in the third quarter led by Harrison and Johnson. The Jets then staged a rally in the last quarter putting in a run of 26-22, but they were kept at bay by Johnson who hit 13 of his total in the quarter.

Lightning v Palmerston

Palmerston leap-frogged over the idle Uni Rebels into fourth place on the ladder with a hard fought come from behind 73-67 win against Lightning. Jesse Bell lit up the scoreboard with 36 points that more than compensated for the 24 scored by Lightning’s Cameron Bailey and he got support from Aaron Simpson and Tendayi Muyambi who hit 12 and 11 respectively. Palmerston trailed 36-31 at the major break, but put together a 24-9 run in the third quarter behind the offensive effort of Bell and Muyambi. That effort plus the defensive stand by the team gave Palmo a 10 point buffer at 55-45 heading into the last quarter. Despite a challenge from the Lightning in the fourth quarter, Palmo held on to claim the victory and a spot in the top four on the ladder.  

Ansett v Razzle

Game rescheduled to Saturday 18 May at 4pm due to Basketball NT Challenge Tournament.

Ladder:                               Eagles 10-1,Tracy Village Jets 8-2, Ansett 6-3, Palmerston 4-6, Uni Rebels 3-7, Razzle & Lightning 2-8

10 May: Rd 13                    Tracy Village Jets v Lightning 6:15pm, Ansett v Palmerston 7:45pm & Uni Rebels v Eagles 9:15pm. Bye: Razzle

Saturday 11 May: Rd 14    Ansett v Tracy Village Jets 4:00pm, Uni Rebels v Lightning 4:00pm, Razzle v Palmerston 5:30pm, bye: Eagles