May 25, 2013

Photo:  Ansett's guard Matt Hunt helped the Blues upset the Eagles with 22pts,5 steals and 3 assists.

Challenge Season

Darwin Airport Resort League Results from Friday 24 May 2013

League Women –Uni Rebels v Lightning

The Uni Rebels continue to climb the ladder in the DBA Challenge Season competition handing the Lightning a 49-38 loss on Friday night. The Rebels have won 6 of their last 7 matches to turn around their season after a terrible start that had them tied for last place on the ladder after the 5^th round of play. Consistency and perseverance has proved to be the combination for a winning run into the final four. The Rebels are now in outright second place on the ladder. Jaylene Boundry hit a double with 10pts and 11 rebounds and had help from Jaylene Bonson who top scored with 11. Tahnee Lew Fatt led Lightning with 10. Neither side shot well from the field with the Rebels hitting 30% to Lightning’s 21%. The outcome didn’t manifest itself until the last quarter when the Rebels finally pulled away for the win. The Rebels take on the Tracy Village Jets next week in what may be a preview of a Grand Final matchup.

Palmerston v Eagles

Palmerston took advantage of an undermanned Eagle team to post their third win of the season, a 57-44 victory that pulls them to within one game of the struggling Eagles in the ‘Wooden Spoon’ race. Tessa Hart hit a team high 14 for Palmerston with team-mates Mel Charlton (12) and Morgan Johnston (10) lending support. Palmerston led at the end of every quarter and stymied every challenge from the Eagles. Louise Johansson led all scorers with a team and game high 19 with help from Elyse Videon (11) and Donna Peters (10).

Tracy Village Jets v Ansett

Game rescheduled to the 1^st of June.

Ladder:                                          Tracy Village Jets 11-1, Uni Rebels 7-6, Ansett 7-5, Lightning 6-7, Eagles 4-8-0-1 & Palmerston 3-10

Next week 31 May: Rd 14             Tracy Village Jets v Uni Rebels 6:15pm, Eagles v Ansett 7:45pm & Palmerston v Lightning 9:15pm.

League Men – Ansett v Eagles

Ansett upset ladder leaders Eagles with a close 78-70 win that puts them into a good place with the playoffs looming on the horizon. The game see-sawed back and forth with a number of lead changes until the closing minutes of the third quarter when Ross Vasic nailed a three pointer for a 4 point lead to the Blues with just 3:27 left in the quarter. The Blues were never headed from that point onward with the Eagles only managing to get within 5 points for the remainder of the game. The Eagles actually shot better from the field (38% to 33%) and outside the arc (36% to 20%), but the Blues cleaned up at the charity striped hitting 24 of 33 chances to just 10 of 24 for the Birds and it made all the difference to the outcome. Daniel Florance and Matt Hunt combined for 46 of the Blues points while Buster Perkins shouldered the load for the Eagles with a game high 36 (including 6 treys). Jarrod Sheppard added 18. Last season’s champions, Ansett, will now have momentum into the finals and a chance to get to the big dance. They have beaten the second placed Jets in both matches this season and are 1-2 vs the Eagles.

Tracy Village Jets v Palmerston

In another upset, Palmerston staged a second half revival to knock off the second placed Tracy Village Jets 71-59. Down by 10 points at the start of the last half Palmerston torched the Bombers with a third quarter blitz behind the scoring of Jesse Bell and Adrien Laborde who led Palmerston on a 26-8 run for a 49-41 lead heading into the last quarter. The Bombers fought back, but Palmerston stood firm with a 22-18 run for the win setting up a must win match next week against the Uni Rebels. If they win they will make the finals for the first time in their short history of League play. Travis Ellis led the Jets with 19 points and 12 rebounds with Liam MacLachlan adding 10 points and 10 boards. Bell took game scoring honours with 30 and Laborde had 19.

Uni Rebels v Razzle

The Uni Rebels kept their sleight playoff chances alive with a 77-69 win over Razzle. Both teams had four players score in double figures, but the Rebels had the edge. Michael Opara hit a game high 24 for the Rebels with Jamie Hamill (19), Jake Kirby (16) and Jermaine Lattimore (12) lending a hand. Razzle held a 37-34 half time lead, but the Rebels closed the gap with a third quarter 20-15 run and then finished off the game with a fourth quarter 23-17 effort led by Opara who hit 8 of his 10 last quarter points from the charity stripe as the clock wound down. Robert Oliver hit 19 for the Razzle with William McClay (17), Ben Cowcher (16) and Billy-Ray Roberts (10) helping out.

Ladder:                               Eagles 11-2,Tracy Village Jets 10-4, Ansett 9-3-1, Palmerston 6-6-1, Uni Rebels 5-9, Lightning 2-11 & Razzle 2-10

Next week 31 May: Rd 17     Razzle v Eagles 6:15pm, Uni Rebels v Palmerston 7:45pm & Ansett v Lightning 9:15pm. Bye: Tracy Village Jets