2 May 2012

Photo:  'JJ' Johnson (seen here v Ansett) hit a career high 38 points in League win over Warriors

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Tuesday 1 May 2012

League Women –Tracy Village Jets v Warriors

The Tracy Village Jets bounced back from their narrow loss last week to the Uni Rebels with a 93-36 thumping of the Warriors. Sam Rioli (15ppg) led from the front with a game high 24 points as the Bombers set the tempo for the game with an opening quarter run of 26-9. The Warriors never got close although they did put up a bit resistance in a low scoring third quarter when the Bombers outscored them 12-9. After that, however, the Bombers kicked in the after burners again during a 28-4 run to wrap up the game. Rioli had plenty of support with Kylie Duggen (11.9ppg) on 20 and Georgii Howlett (18ppg) & Demi Cubillo (6.2ppg) on 18 each. Kate Smyth led the Warriors with 10.         

Uni Rebels v Ansett

Tamara Sheppard (23.58ppg) hit a League and season high 38 points for the Uni Rebels as they charged past Ansett 93-33. The fifth win in a row keeps the Rebels firmly locked into second place on the ladder just one game behind the Tracy Village Jets. Sheppard weaved her magic on offence with 15 first half points followed by 23 in the second. Four other Rebels hit double figures in support of Sheppard. Jaylene Boundry (7.5ppg) had 20, Lucy Adam 14, Justine Schmidt 11 and Delsey Ah Wang 10. The undermanned Ansett had no answer for the Rebel onslaught and failed to put up any significant offense of their own to challenge them. Kate Hoschke (6.09ppg) was the lone standout for the Blues with 11 points and Amelia Shanahan added 9. For the record Sheppard has scored 20+ points in every game this season but 3.

Eagles v Lightning

In the closest game of the night the Eagles had to come from behind to defeat Lightning 57-43. Some stiff resistance from Lightning in the first half gave them a narrow 23-22 lead due mainly to the efforts of Kelli Sealy (9.89ppg) and Deearne Lee (3.5ppg) who made the most of their chances to score. Michelle Friel (18.2ppg) and Lillian Williams (11ppg) then got the Eagles on track in the pivotal third quarter as they zoomed past Lightning during a 25-3 run. The run gave the Birds a 47-26 lead heading into the last quarter and although Lightning came out firing to win the quarter 17-10 it was not enough to overhaul the lead the Eagles had put up. Sealy led Lightning with 16 while Lee finished up with 11. Friel led all scorers with 18 while Williams had 11.

Ladder:                                           Tracy Village Jets 12-2, Uni Rebels 11-3, Eagles 10-4, Ansett 5-9, Lightning 3-11 & Warriors 2-11-1

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

League Men – Ansett v Tracy Village Jets

Ansett stormed back from the brink of defeat to rein in the Tracy Village Jets in the latter stages of the fourth quarter to record a upset 74-69 win over the ladder leaders. The win pulls Ansett back into minor premiership contention as they are now only one game behind the Bombers. Ansett had raced away to a 17-9 first quarter lead, but the Bombers tied it all up at the half 33 apiece after a Travis Ellis led 24-16 run. The Jets then piled on 19-8 in the third quarter to hold a 52-41 lead going into the last quarter. The Blues then erupted for 33 points while holding the Bombers to just 17 to take charge of the game. Tom Hunt (17 @ 14ppg), Matthew Barrett (16 @ 10.2ppg) and Jarrod Sheppard (16 @ 12.9ppg) led the revival for the Blues as they squared this season’s series with the Jets at 2 apiece. In support of Ellis (28 @ 26ppg) Michael MacLean (16.5ppg) and Liam MacLachlan (12.7ppg) chipped in with 11 and 10 for the Jets. For the record the Blues hit 21pts from the charity stripe to the Bombers 11.

Eagles v Warriors

Joseph Johnson set a 41 point personal best scoring mark for League as he led the Eagles to a convincing 110-69 win against the Warriors. The win keeps the Eagles tied with Ansett for second place and just one game out of first giving them a chance at a possible minor premiership. The career high from Johnson (20.7ppg) was peppered with six treys during the game, four in the last quarter. After a reasonably close first quarter (27-21) the Eagles flew the coop with a 29-16 second quarter run led by Charles Benning (27.7ppg) who hit 13 of his 37. Ben Muvirimi (10ppg) put up 20 points for the Warriors with help from Tendayi Muyambi (13 @ 6.8ppg) and Rob Oliver (10 2 8.6ppg). Buster Perkins (21.5ppg) added 20 for the Eagles who now face the first place Tracy Village Jets in next Tuesdays match of the round.   

Uni Rebels v Lightning

Lightning picked up their third win in the last five rounds, easily defeating the Uni Rebels 91-65. The combination of Cameron Bailey (16.4ppg) and Jesse Bell (20ppg) continues to frustrate the opposition as they enjoy a real hot patch of scoring for Lightning. During this period Bailey has averaged 23ppg and Bell 22ppg. Lightning stunned the Rebels with a 32-10 first quarter and although they regrouped and played Lightning virtually even for the rest of the game the Rebels failed to make much inroad into that first quarter gap. Bailey finished with a season high 32 and Bell also hit a season high with 31. Ryan Smith (11.8ppg) topped the Rebels with 19 followed by Jake Kirby (10.5ppg) with 13 and Jamie Hamill (10.1ppg) with 12 (all treys).      

Ladder:                   Tracy Village Jets 11-3, Ansett & Eagles 10-4, Lightning 6-7-1, Warriors 3-11, Uni Rebels 2-9-3

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