November 30, 2013

Photo:  Eagle Louis Ilton dropped in 20 points during overtime loss to Ansett on Friday night.

Championship Season

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Friday 29 November 2013

League Women – Semi finals -Tracy Village Jets v Uni Rebels

The Uni Rebels pulled off the biggest upset of the season by beating the undefeated Tracy Village Jets 74-54 to advance to the Grand Final. Only a point separated the sides at half time with the Bombers holding a 29-28 lead. The physical contest took its toll on players from both sides and trips to the free throw line were frequent. The Rebels nailed 25 points from the charity stripe while the Bombers hit 16. Rebel Jaylene Bonson led the Rebels with a season and game high 28 (9 from the stripe). The third quarter proved critical as the Rebels hit a purple patch to break the game wide open, scoring 20 points to just 13 for the Bombers. Bonson and Jaylene Boundry did most of the damage during the run as the Rebels grabbed the momentum. The last quarter was all Rebels as a number of Jet players fouled out or left the game due to injuries. The Rebels took off on a 26-12 run with Bonson hitting 11 of her total in the quarter, including seven straight shots from the free throw line. Import Dana Rommel lent support to Bonson with 18 points. Jet Sam Rioli led the Bombers with 20 followed by Tikesa Docherty-Cole with 15. The Jets must now regroup for their Preliminary Final match on Tuesday against Lightning. The Grand Final appearance for the Rebels will be their first since 2011 when they beat Ansett for the title.

Lightning v Ansett

Lightning’s overseas import Sarkitsha Higgins proved to be the launch pad for Lightning’s 64-51 knockout semi-final win over Ansett. The win gets the Lightning a shot at the Jets in next Tuesday’s Preliminary Final. The Lightning wasted no time in setting up their win as they bolted out to a 25-12 first quarter lead behind the shooting of Higgins and Kelli Sealy. Higgins hit 10 of her game high total of 28 in the quarter while Sealy hit 7 of her 15. The Blues tightened up their defense and played Lightning close in the second quarter thanks to Chelsea Cook and Sam Drescher who combined for all but two of the Blues points during an 11-10 run, but they still trailed 35-23 at half time. After the break Lightning powered away on another run, this time 22-14 to take a commanding 20 point lead into the last quarter. The Blues won the quarter 14-7 but the gap proved to be too much for the Blues to overcome. Drescher finished with a team high 21 and Cook added 14.

Ladder:                              Tracy Village Jets 20-1, Uni Rebels 15-1-4, Lightning 11-1-9, Ansett 8-13, Eagles 4-0-15-1 & Palmerston 3-17

Next Tuesday 3^rd December Preliminary Final:   Tracy Village Jets v Lightning 6:00pm

League Men –Semi finals - Eagles v Ansett

Ansett knocked off the Eagles in overtime 78-76 to move directly into the Grand Final for the second year in a row (they won it last year). The contest was a tight hard fought match that provided plenty of excitement for players and spectators. It was all tied up at half time 29 each and all tied up at the end of regulation 67 apiece! Eagle Buster Perkins made sure the game went into overtime with a basket and a free throw to knot it all up at the end. In the overtime, however the Blues took advantage of their trips to the free throw line to win the game and send the minor premiers to a Preliminary Final showdown with the Palmerston Power who have proved to be no easy push-over this season. The Blues hit 23 from the charity stripe to just 13 for the Birds…a huge gap in a game as close as this. John King led the Blues with 21 followed by Matthew Barrett with 19 and Daniel Florance, who had 15. Perkins led the way for the Eagles also with 21 and he had support from Louis Ilton with 20 and Jarrod Sheppard with 13. The last time the Eagles were in a Championship Season Grand Final was in 2007. The Eagles beat Palmerston 2 out of 3 times in the minor rounds.

Palmerston v Tracy Village Jets

Palmerston kept their hopes alive of winning a Championship Season Grand Final when they sent the Tracy Village Jets packing with an 83-74 win in the knock-out semi-final. Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson led the charge for the Power with a season high 33 points, getting back up from the league’s leading scorer, Jesse Bell (22ppg), with 22 and Eruera McCullough 16. A solid team effort by the Bombers put them in front 39-28 at half time and they looked to be in a very good position to take out the game, but the Power proved to be a different opponent in the second half. Hohipa-Wilson took flight, hitting 27 of his total in the second half while a lid seemed to be in place on the hoop for the Bombers. The Power outscored the Bombers 55-35 in the last half. Phil Collins led the Bombers with 17 Alex Weetra had 13, and Daniel Miller and Travis Ellis 12 each. For the record the Bombers have missed only 3 Championship season Grand Finals in 14 years, including this one.  

Ladder:                                           Eagles 15-4, Ansett & Palmerston 13-6, Tracy Village Jets 11-8, Uni Rebels 8-10, Lightning 5-13 & Razzle 0-18

Next Tuesday 3^rd December Preliminary Final:   Eagles v Palmerston 7:30pm