League results from Tuesday 5 June. Semi Finals

7 June 2012

Photo:  Ansett’s Jarrod Sheppard led the Blues to upset over minor premier Tracy Village Jets.

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from tuesday 5 June 2012

Semi-Finals

League Women – Tracy Village Jets v Uni Rebels

The Tracy Village Jets waltzed into the Grand Final with an impressive 78-63 win over the Uni Rebels who have now dropped their last two games to the minor premiers. The Rebels must now regroup to take on the resurgent Eagles in next week’s Preliminary Final. The Jets are looking to add only their fourth Challenge Season Grand Final since 1976. The Bombers held a sleight 20-18 lead after one quarter of play, but boosted that up to a 40-30 lead at half time due to some good percentage shooting from Kylie Duggan & Georgii Howlett (9 each in the first half) who had solid support from Desiree Weetra (12) and Sam Rioli (20). Jaylene Bonson (24 @ 18.5ppg) and Tamara Sheppard (14), as expected, carried the load for the Rebels with a combined 20 first half points despite the close marking of the Jets defenders. The Rebels lifted their defensive workload after the break to put in a 19-14 run that cut the Bomber lead to 54-49 going into the last quarter, but poor shooting from outside the arc (1/7) and the free throw line 10/20 didn’t help the Rebel’s who only hit 34% from the field. Another factor leading to the Rebel loss was the defensive effort put in by the Bombers on Sheppard, the League’s leading scorer at 24.8ppg. Sheppard only managed 4 points in the second half. The Bombers, on the other hand, were 12/16 at the line and 4/11 from outside the three point line. A last quarter 22-14 run sparked by Howlett (19 @ 18.3ppg) & Rioli (16.7ppg) put the game on ice for the Bombers. Duggan (12.6ppg) added 13 for the Jets while Justine Schmidt chipped in with 7 for the Rebels. For the record the Jets had 24 assists to the Rebels 9, while the Rebels out re-bounded the Jets 59 to 47.      

Eagels v Ansett

The Eagles dispatched Ansett 68-42 behind the hot handed Trish Graham who racked up 24 points, her best effort of the competition. With six different players putting points on the scoreboard the Eagles flew past the Blues in the first quarter with a 15-4 run that set up the win and a rematch with the Uni Rebels in the Preliminary Final next Tuesday. The Blues put up more resistance in the second quarter during an Eagle 22-18 run but despite the best efforts of Kia Bond (10 @ 6.7ppg) and Amelia Shanahan (14 @ 9ppg ) the Blues couldn’t make any inroads into the Eagle lead. Shanahan hit 7/10 (70%) from the field. Two of the Challenge Seasons hottest three point shooters, Graham and Lauren Flanegan went head to head with Graham (11.7ppg) coming out on top 4-1 as Flanegan had a woeful shooting night with just 1 from 5 attempts outside the arc. After the break the Birds took off again with a 15-6 third quarter run that dropped the Blues further behind 42-28 with one quarter to go and things didn’t look good for the Blues. Lillian Williams (10.3ppg) knocked down 9 of her 12 points in the last quarter as the Eagles held off the Blues with a 16-14 run that put the Birds into the Prelim next week. Michelle Friel (19.2ppg) also hit 12 for the Eagles. The Eagles need to find a way to lift their team shooting percentage (just 38% for this game) if they are to have any chance against the Rebels who have beaten them 3 out of 4 times this season. The Eagles have been in 5 of the last 6 Challenge Season Grand Final’s, winning 3 of them…can they win another?

Ladder-including Semi final games:          Tracy Village Jets 18-2, Uni Rebels 15-5, Eagles 13-7, Ansett 6-14, Lightning 4-15 & Warriors 3-16-2

Next Week-Preliminary Final:                   Uni Rebels v Eagles 6:15pm

League Men –Tracy Village Jets v Ansett

Ansett powered past the Tracy Village Jets for an 84-77 upset win that sends the Blues into their second consecutive Challenge Season Grand Final. The Blues lost last year 83-64 to the Uni Rebels and have not won since 1999 when they defeated the Jets 68-57. The Blues had to stage a comeback to win this one against the Bombers. They (Blues) were down 25-22 after a first quarter blitz by Bombers Travis Ellis (25pts @ 26.2ppg) and Michael MacLean (20pts @ 16.3ppg), but grabbed the half time lead at 44-42 behind the good play of Tom Hunt and Jarrod Sheppard who led a 22-17 second quarter run by the Blues. With both teams shooting around 40% from the field it came down to a shoot-out from the three point line and the charity stripe. The Blues took the honour’s with 7 treys from a whopping 28 attempts and 81% from the line 21/26. The Jets hit only 1 from 10 treys and 14/24 from the line. The fact that Captain Michael MacLean was out of the game after his second technical foul in the fourth quarter didn’t help matters either, but the Blues stuck to their game plan and got a huge scoring effort from 5 different players in double figures. Sheppard hit 21 @ 12.5ppg, Matt Hunt 18 @ 17.4ppg, Tom Hunt 17 @ 13ppg, Jake Feeney 14 and 10 from Matthew Barrett. Back to the drawing board for the Bombers who will not have an easy time against their traditional rivals, the Eagles, in the Preliminary Final next week.

Eagles v Lightning

The Eagles won a squeaker against Lightning 73-71 to advance to a Preliminary Final showdown with the Tracy Village Jets next week. Shane Harrison knocked down a field goal late in the fourth quarter and Charles Benning (18 @ 29ppg) hit a free throw to sew it all up, but it was a nail biter for the Eagles who had to stage a comeback from a 59-48 deficit heading into the last quarter. Lightning looked confident heading into the last quarter having built up a good buffer with Jesse Bell, Christian Williams (13) and Brodie Hertel (12) all shooting over 45% from the field. However, Buster Perkins (22.2ppg) turned it all around for the Eagles in the last quarter hitting 13 of his game high 26 (including 3 treys) during a 25-12 run capped off by Harrisons last bucket and the free throw by Benning. Bell had another outstanding game for Lightning, finishing with a team high 22 (21ppg) that finished his season as a career best showing in League play. Joseph Johnson (20.3ppg) also hit double figures for the Birds with 12. The Eagles will have to lift their game if they are to upset the Jets next week. Shooting just 30% in this game will not cut it against the Bombers who always show up for a game against their lifelong rivals…most games being decided by just a few points, especially in playoffs.

Ladder-including Semi final games:          Tracy Village Jets & Ansett 16-4, Eagles 13-7, Lightning 8-12-1, Warriors 4-15, Uni Rebels 2-13-4

Next Week-Preliminary Final:                       Tracy Village Jets v Eagles 7:45pm




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