November 29, 2014

Photo:  Div 2 MVP Michelle Friel lent support to the League women effort with 16pts in win over Ansett that gets the Eagles to the Grand Final next Saturday!

Championship Season

Darwin Basketball Association League Results from Friday 28 November 2014

Preliminary-Finals

League Women – Eagles v Ansett

A big second half fight back gave the Eagles a 63-58 win against Ansett and another shot at the Tracy Village Jets in the Grand Final next Saturday. The Blues had built up a 28-23 half time lead behind a 16 point first half performance from this year’s MVP Sam Drescher, but after the break the mother & daughter combination of Trish Graham & Michelle Friel took over for the Eagles as they flew back into contention in what was going to be a ‘down to the wire’ finish. Graham hit 9 of her team high 19 in the third quarter (including back to back treys) to ignite a 21-16 run that tied the game up at 44 all with a quarter to go. In the last quarter Friel made her presence felt as she led the Eagles on a 19-14 run to seal the game. Friel hit 8 of her 16 points during the run while Graham added 6. A defensive move by the Eagles that put Edith Boundry on to Drescher in the second half proved to be a critical point in the game. Boundry held Drescher to just 3 points in the second half. Ashton Eaton tried to pick up the slack with a 15 point effort, but without Drescher’s input the Blues fell behind and out of the playoffs. The Eagles must now regroup for next Saturday’s showdown with the Jets.

Ladder after Preliminary-final:                   Tracy Village Jets 19-1, Eagles 11-10, Ansett 8-15, Lightning 4-16 – Ladder includes forfeits

Next Saturday Grand Final:                      Tracy Village Jets v Eagles 6:15pm

League Men – Eagles v Ansett

Ansett outgunned the Eagles 93-85 to book a flight to the Grand Final next Saturday against the Uni Rebels. The Blues came from behind to down the minor premiers in another memorable finish between the two sides. This year’s MVP Donte Nicholas from the Blues led all scorers with a game high 34, just one point off of his season average of 35. The Eagles had taken a 44-41 half time lead, but were once again in foul trouble. The fouls led to 28pts from the charity stripe for the Blues compared to just 13 for the Birds. Nicholas, who has the knack of getting fouled by the opposition took full advantage of the situation by hitting 13 of his own from the stripe (8 in the second half). Nicholas hit 6 straight points to close out the third quarter giving the Blues a 62-58 lead. The Eagles mounted a challenge in the last quarter through James Silvie who put up 17 of his team high 28, but the Blues had the answers and finished off the game from the charity strip with Matt Hunt knocking down 4 in the closing minutes of the game. Nicholas had plenty of support with Daniel Florance hitting 16 and Hunt and Matteo Rowse adding 14 each. Eagle Reece Turner hit 26, Chris Hart 17 and Henry Bui 10. Ansett has beaten the Uni Rebels in two of three meetings this season so the GF match-up should be a close one.

Ladder after Preliminary-final:      Eagles 13-6, Uni Rebels 13-6, Ansett 13-7, Lightning 8-10, Tracy Village Jets 9-9, Palmerston Power 7-11, & Razzle 2-17 – Ladder includes forfeits

Next Saturday Grand Final:   Uni Rebels v 8:00pm