Both Knox ‘Under Armour’ Raiders SEABL teams returned yesterday from the nation’s capital with a second straight win to open up the season. The Raiders sit on top of the South Conference in the men’s and women’s competitions after two rounds.

SEABL Women

Up against the league’s newest team in the Canberra Capitals Academy, the Raiders fresh look team was once again impressive. The visitors in their second game under new head coach Cheryl Chambers raced out to an early ten point lead by the quarter time break.

With Amy Denson still not available, Emily Fryters and Shanae Greaves both shouldered the load in the bigs department, whilst rookie Emily Schill proved she can compete at the level, delivery 6 points, 2 steals and one rebound in 14 minutes of action.

The Raiders continued their form in the second quarter with last week’s two top scorers Kelly Wilson and Odette Andrew combining for 12 of the team’s 21 points. Wilson’s blistering start to the season has been a very encouraging sign for Chambers and the Raiders. The former league MVP notched up another game high with 21 points @ 50%, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals and currently sits fifth in league scoring with 19.5 per game.

With a commanding 17 point half-time lead, the young Raiders outfit showed no signs of slowing down in the third quarter as they put the defensive clamps on the home team who could only muster up eight points for the quarter. The Raiders poured in 17 of their own and extended the margin out to a game winning 26 with a quarter remaining.

In three quarters of basketball, the Raiders had done a phenomenal job of looking after the ball, committing just three turnovers, one per quarter. But with some added pressure and intensity from the Capitals Academy in the fourth, the Raiders were forced into seven turnovers and gave up 24 points as the home side pegged the final score back to 72-59 in favour of the Raiders.

Providing the scoring assistance to Wilson was Andrew with 11 points and 6 rebounds whilst bigs duo Fryters and Greaves both scored in double-figures. Fryters had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, and is currently the league’s leading rebounder with 13 per game. Greaves also had 10 points to go with 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

For the Capitals Academy, Kellie Abrams and Michaela Dalgleish both scored 13 points each as their new team goes to 1-1 on the season.

SEABL Men

Coming off a good first up win against Dandenong at home last weekend, the Knox ‘Under Armour’ Raiders SEABL men blasted the Canberra Gunners off the floor in Belconnen on Saturday night.

Despite the home side holding a slight three point advantage at the first quarter buzzer, the game belonged to the visitors after that point as the Raiders outscored the Gunners by 34 points over the next three terms.

The inside pairing of Lester Strong and John Philip were dominant, both recording impressive double-doubles and helping the Raiders to win the rebounding count 55-32. Strong had 19 points @ 72.7%, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks whilst Philip had 20 points @ 53.8%, 11 rebounds and 2 assists in the win.

Having outscored the Gunners by ten points in the second quarter to hold a seven point half-time lead, the Raiders showed they meant business in the third term scoring 25 points and holding the home team to just 14.

CJ Massingale enjoyed his stellar start to the season with 13 of his game high 28 points coming in the third quarter. Massingale also accumulated 8 rebounds and 3 assists, and is currently second in the league in scoring with 28 points per contest.

The scoreboard continued to tick over in the fourth quarter for the visitors as the final score line ballooned out to 90-59. Massingale, Strong and Philip were easily the game’s most influential players with Justin Aver enjoying one of his best games of his young career with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists off the bench.

For the Gunners, Mark Lacey finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds and was supported by Jonathon Miller with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Next up for the Knox ‘Under Armour’ Raiders men and women will be a double-header showdown with arch-rival Kilsyth Cobras this Saturday 31st March at Knox Basketball Stadium. The clubs will be playing for the Cystic Fibrosis Cup which Knox currently holds. The women will tip-off at 6pm and the men at 8pm.