31 August 2011

Photo: The end result of winning a championship!

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Tuesday 31 August 2011-Round  6

League Women –Warriors v Tracy Village Jets

The Tracy Village Jets held the Warriors to a meager 3pts in the first quarter on their way to a dominant 66-31 win in Women’s League play Tuesday night at the DBA Stadium. The Jets led 14-3 after one quarter of play and continued on in the same vein for the remainder of the game. Georgii Howlett (18 @ 20.2ppg)and veteran Jenna Lew Fatt (16 @ 3ppg) peppered the hoop for a combined 34 points in leading the Jets to their sixth straight win, keeping their unblemished record intact with no defeats after six rounds of play. The Warriors put in a much better performance in the second half, but were way too far behind to cause any worry in the Jets camp. Carolyn Nyhouse led the Warriors with 12. The win by the Jets sets up what may be a preview of what is to come in the distant playoffs as the Bombers take on the resurgent Uni Rebels next week.

Ansett v Uni Rebels

The welcomed addition of Tamara Sheppard and Trish Graham to the Uni Rebel lineup was enough to lift the Rebels to a 68-42 win against Ansett and a share of second place on the ladder with the Blues. The win was satisfying in that it made up for the Rebels loss to Ansett in Round 2 and also put out notice to the League that the Rebels are back in form and ready to defend last year’s title. The Rebels held a slim 30-24 lead at half time thanks to 13 first half points from Sheppard who finished with a game high 20. The League’s leading scorer, Sam Drescher (23.4ppg) from Ansett, paced the Blues with 18 but lacked the support that the Rebels enjoyed as Jaylene Bonson chipped in with 15 and Graham & Justine Schmidt each had 9.  

Lightning v Eagles

The Eagles put in a strong first half against Lightning that turned into a solid 50-35 win that put them equal with the Lightning on the ladder. With the addition of the experienced Barbara Teakle to the Eagle lineup the birds become a bit more formidable and pose more matchup problems to opposing teams. The Eagles jumped out to a 32-22 half time lead behind Leonie Snowdon (17), Lillian Williams (11) and Teakle (10) leading the way. The lone standout for Lightning was Chelsea Cook (12ppg) who hit a game and team high 18, her best for the season so far, but not much support came from the rest of the team despite their attempts to stay with the Eagles.

Ladder:       Tracy Village 6-0, Uni Rebels & Ansett 4-2, Eagles & Lightning 2-4 & Warriors 0-6

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

League MEN – Tracy Village Jets v Ansett

Ansett maintained their superiority over the Tracy Village Jets this season with their second straight win against the perennial finalists 91-72. The Blues beat the Jets by just five points in the third round, but lifted their game for this one with Daniel Florance (18.6ppg) racking up game high honour’s with 28 followed by Rashad Chase (24ppg) with 25 and Matt Hunt (18.3ppg) 16. Ansett powered away in the first quarter with a 31-13 run led by 15pts from Florance and 10 from Chase and never looked back despite a let down in the third quarter when the Bombers out scored them 16-11. By then the difference was 18 and it was a hard ask for the Jets to overhaul. Travis Ellis (30ppg) led the Jets with 26, Michael MacLean (12ppg) & Nick Pattrick (16ppg) had 12 each and Clinton Kononen, who was playing in a career milestone 500^th game, unfortunately didn’t get the win that would have capped off the milestone.

Eagles v Warriors

The Eagles won their fourth straight with a resounding 93-65 victory against the Warriors. Buster Perkins (20.4ppg) notched up his season best with a game high 39 (including 5 treys). Perkins led the Eagles to a 55-29 half time advantage that they extended out to a 34 point margin before the Warriors pulled the final score line back slightly before the end. The ‘big’s’ for the Warriors, John Culbertson & Alex Hamriding (6ppg) teamed up for their best showing this season with Culbertson (16.4ppg) hitting 19 and Hamriding 17, but the Warriors need more than size to be competitive as the season has shown so far. Adding to the Eagles score line was Joseph Johnson (12.4ppg) with 21 and Shane Harrison with 10.

Lightning v Uni Rebels

The Uni Rebels bounced back from their disappointing loss to Ansett last week by thumping winless Lightning 84-40. The Rebels actually trailed by one point after the first quarter, 17-16, but went on a scoring rampage (58-21) over the next two quarters to put the game out of reach for Lightning. Andre’ Moss (41.7ppg) led the onslaught with 27, with Jarrod Sheppard 24 (5 treys) and Matt Fagg 15 (14.5ppg) chipping in. After the initial adrenalin rush by Lightning the wheels fell off as they slipped off the frantic pace the Rebels set. Cameron Bailey (13ppg) led the Lightning with 12. The win sets up a huge game next week for the Rebels against the Eagles who currently hold a share of first place with Ansett. The Rebels beat the Eagles in round two 69-62.  

Ladder:       Ansett, & Eagles 5-1, Uni Rebels 4-2, Tracy Village Jets 3-3, Warriors 1-5 & Lightning 0-6

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