October 26, 2014

Photos: Lillian Williams gave solid support to Kimberly Brown with 17 points in Eagle women win over the Lightning. The Eagles also welcomed back Trish Graham (pictured at right) who put in valuable time on Friday night when they knocked off Ansett 62-59. Trish had 13pts.

Championship Season

Darwin Basketball Association League Results from Saturday 25 October 2014

League Women –Ansett v Tracy Village Jets

Ansett pulled off the biggest upset of the year when they topped the Tracy Village Jets 80-72 in an epic encounter that went into overtime. The Jets led at the end of every quarter except the one that mattered. The Blues were down 25-15 at the end of the first quarter, but never gave up the chase and were rewarded for their patience with the winning outcome. Ashton Eaton (15ppg) surprised everyone by hitting a league high 40 points with support from Sam Drescher (19 @ 16.7ppg) and Elizabeth Paice (12). The fourth quarter proved pivotal for the Blues as they scrambled to avoid another defeat. They tied the game up at 68 all in regulation thanks to a late basket from Paice and a free throw by Eaton. In the overtime it was all Ansett as they stopped the Bomber 18 game winning streak and handed them their first loss of the season. The Blues outscored the Bombers 11-4 in the OT to win just their fifth game of the competition. Captain coach Sam Rioli (14.8ppg) stood out for the Bombers, hitting a team high 27 points while Abby Cubillo (11) and Keisha Tinley (10) helped out. The Bomber cause wasn’t helped when Cubillo fouled out early in the OT, but it was a credit to the Blues defense that they managed to hold the league’s leading scorer, Cubillo, to just 11 points…she is averaging 25.4 points per game.

Lightning v Eagles

The Eagles won their second in a row with a 72-45 win over the Lightning giving the Birds a bit of confidence and momentum heading into a showdown next Friday with the Jets. A big third quarter explosion of points by the Eagles opened up what was a close match. The Lightning only trailed by 5 at half time 28-23, but after the break the Birds took wing and set up the win. Michelle Friel opened up the third quarter with a quick basket and the Birds were away on a 24-6 run led by Kimberly Brown that put enough of a buffer between the Eagles and Lightning to ensure the win. Brown hit a season high 24 (12 during the third quarter run) with solid support from Lillian Williams (17) and Friel (11). Kira Pendlebury led the Lightning with a team high 14. Yasmin DeCurtins & Tahnee De Santis added 9 each.

Ladder after Round 16:                                Tracy Village Jets 14-1, Eagles 8-7, Ansett 5-12, Lightning 4-11 – Ladder includes forfeits

Next week Round 18:                                   Tracy Village Jets v Eagles 6:15pm & Lightning v Ansett 7:45pm

League Men – Uni Rebels v Eagles

Chris Hart hit a game high 39 points to lead the Eagles to a nail-biting 89-88 upset of the league leading Uni Rebels. Hart and James Silvie were on fire from the get go, combining for 23 points in the first quarter as the Birds matched the Rebels from the floor with each team trying to establish a bit of superiority. The Eagles took a 46-42 half time lead, but trailed by one at 69-68 with a quarter to play. The Rebels lost a bit of firepower when John King retired injured after one quarter of play. The Rebels then had to rely on the rest of the team to support their leading scorer Tim Morris. Morris (28.8ppg) was doing his best to keep the Rebels on top and he had help from veteran Jamie Hamill who was popping from outside the arc. Hamill hit 6 treys for 18pts, but it was the Birds who finished up winners at the end of the match with Hart (25.2ppg) knocking down the last bucket for the Eagles to take the win. Silvie (26.4ppg) finished on 31 points (10 in the last quarter) and Reece Turner hit 10. Morris for the Rebels hit 35, Hamill 18 and King had 11 before retiring injured.

The win by the Eagles also put a dampener on a huge milestone set by Rebel Alex Hamriding. Hamriding set a new record for games played in League with 740, surpassing the record set by Tracy Village Jet Dahlia Docherty.

Palmerston Power v Tracy Village Jets

Deba George (42.5ppg) jacked up 11 treys in his total of 40 points to lead the Palmerston Power to an 82-63 win over the Tracy Village Jets. The former Cairns Taipan made it look easy from the field as the Jets struggled to contain him. The Bombers stayed with the Power for the first half, but started to drift behind into the third quarter when the Power got on a 27-13 run to head into the last quarter with a 59-41 advantage. The Bombers made a run at the Power in the last quarter but the challenge was met and the Power went on to win their second game in a row. A helping hand was given to George by Jesse Bell who hit 16 and Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson on 11. Travis Ellis & Luke O’Hea shared scoring honours for the Jets with 14 each. Jayden Adams added 12 and Liam MacLachlan hit 10.

Razzle v Ansett

Razzle failed to field a team for their match against Ansett thereby forfeiting the game to the Blues 20-0.

Ladder after Round 16:                                Uni Rebels 11-4, Eagles 9-4, Ansett 9-5, Lightning 7-7, Tracy Village Jets 7-7, Palmerston Power 5-10, & Razzle 2-13 – Ladder includes forfeits

Next week Round 18:            Tracy Village Jets v Ansett 6:15pm, Palmerston Power v Eagles 7:45pm & Razzle v Lightning 9:00pm. Uni Rebels have the bye