23 November 2011

Photo:  Lillian Williams top scored for Eagles with 16 vs Uni Rebels

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Tuesday 22 November 2011-Round 20

League Women –Uni Rebels v Eagles

The Uni Rebels took out the minor premiership for the second consecutive year with a Round 20 84-46 win against the Eagles. Tamara Sheppard led the way with a game high 22 points with Jaylene Bonson adding 19 and Delsey Ah Wang 16. The Eagles had the worst possible start to the game being completely shut out in the first quarter as the Rebels raced to a 17-0 lead. The Eagles tried to climb back into the game with a solid second quarter, but the Rebels were focused on winning the game and tuning up for the playoffs as they routed the Birds with a 50-31 second half to sew up the minor premiership. Lillian Williams led the Eagles with 16 and Leonie Snowdon chipped in with 8.

Ansett v Warriors

Ansett was put behind the eight ball for the second week in a row as they dropped behind the Warriors in the first quarter before regrouping to win 57-42. Fielding only 5 players for the game the Blues relied heavily on the sharp shooting Sam Drescher, but she got support from Victoria Uhlig (12) and Amelia Shanahan (10) who stepped up to the challenge. The Warriors jumped out to a 9-6 first quarter lead behind the shooting of Captain Kate Smythe, but they failed to sustain the drive as the Blues came back in the second quarter when Drescher found the range to pot 9 of her game high 27 giving Ansett a 25-21 half time lead. Highlight of the game would have been Warrior Jennifer Kinsella (19) scoring all of the Warriors 11 points in the third quarter.

Tracy Village Jets v Lightning

Tracy Village got in some shooting practice as the Jets bounced the Lighting 82-38 to seal third place on the ladder. Dictating the run of play from the start the Bombers limited the Lightning to just 3pts in the first quarter while hitting 20. Lightning had no answer to the effort being put in by Bomber Georgii Howlett who racked up a game and season high 36 which is also the League high at this point of the season. Kelli Sealy was the only Lightning player to reach double figures with 12. Tara Maxwell also hit a double for the Jets with 12.  

Ladder:                                           Uni Rebels & Ansett 17-3, Tracy Village Jets 14-6, Eagles 6-14, Lightning 4-16 & Warriors 2-18

Next Week Semi Finals-   Elimination Final:       Tracy Village Jets v Eagles 6:30pm Qualifying Final:        Uni Rebels v Ansett 8:00pm            

League MEN – Uni Rebels v Ansett

The Uni Rebels made it a ‘three peat’ of minor premierships as they pipped Ansett at the post with a nail biting 76-74 win decided by two free throws from Globtrotter import Michael Jones. The close encounter by the two teams will be played out again next week in the Qualifying Final set to kick off at 8pm next Tuesday. Jones finished up with a game high 29 points with Jarrod Sheppard hitting 23 & Andre’ Moss 13. Ansett was in it all the way, but never did make up a 5 point deficit from the first quarter when the Rebels outscored them 17-12. It was pretty much level pegging from that point onwards with the Rebels just managing to stay in front despite the challenges from the Blues. Matt Hunt (19), Daniel Florance and Rashad Chase (17 each) gave as good as they got, but couldn’t quite make it over the hump. It will all happen again next week in what should prove to be another enthralling encounter.

Lightning v Eagles

The Eagles flew past Lightning 76-64, but had to withstand a final flurry from Lightning as they tried to end their season on a high note. It wasn’t to be, however, as the Birds held on to maintain their place in the playoffs next week. After building a 16-11 lead at the end of one quarter of play the Birds really took wing, putting in a 27-7 second quarter run that gave them a commanding 43-18 half time lead. Larry Williams who finished with a game high 30 for the Eagles hit 4 treys during that run. Lightning then bolted back into the picture as they threw everything at the Eagles only to fall short…they outscored the Eagles 46-33 in the second half. Hopefully the Eagles they won’t have such a defensive letdown in the playoffs. Jesse Bell & Cameron Bailey led Lightning with 12 each while Daniel Reid lent support to Williams with a season high 14 for the Eagles.

Warriors v Tracy Village Jets

The Tracy Village Jets rebounded from their narrow loss to the Eagles last week to thump the Warriors 100-68. Six players hit double figures for the Bombers with Liam MacLachlan leading the way with 15, Aaron Simpson & Ben Appleford 14 each, Jett Sukcharoen 15, and Dan East & Luke O’Hea 10 each. Both teams came out firing with the Bombers finishing up with a 22-21 lead after one quarter and then built on that lead slowly to turn the game into a rout. Ben Muvirimi & Rob Oliver shared scoring honour’s for the Warriors with 12 each. Rohan Cropley and Eric Klenke added 11 and 10.

Ladder:                   Uni Rebels & Ansett 17-3, Eagles & Tracy Village Jets 11-9, Lightning 3-17 & Warriors 1-19

Next Week Semi Finals-   Elimination Final:       Tracy Village Jets v Eagles 6:30pm

                                          Qualifying Final:    Uni Rebels v Ansett 8:00pm