ABA WOMEN Sutherland Sharks -v- Hills Hornets Won 73 - 66
and Sutherland Sharks -v- Manly Warringah Lost 59 -54
The Sharks ABA Women had a tough double header this week-end with two teams – Hills Hornets and Manly Warringah - that were looking to consolidate their positions in the top six for the finals in a couple of weeks.
On Saturday the Sharks ladies travelled to Hills to play a team that had recruited from near and far in both coaching and playing staff in an attempt to re-establish themselves in the Waratah League. After a defeat by Hills in the first round by 8, the Sharks knew that this was going to be a tough ask to reverse the result, in particular when Hills had further strengthened their ranks with some tall timber.
The Sharks looked like midgets against the Hills line up at the tip off and with the score being 11/0 against the Sharks after 5 minutes if seemed that the Hills ‘bigs’ were set to dominate the encounter. A defensive adjustment by the Sharks helped them to convert some quick baskets at the offensive end and the Sharks ladies finished the quarter only 2 down (16/14). The Sharks had to step up the physicality against the physically dominant Hornets, starting the second quarter and they did. This, matched with some great perimeter shooting from Peta Kneen and Merle Hall against the Hornets zone saw the Sharks finish the quarter, 3 in front (35/32).
From the start of the second half the Sharks stuck to the recipe of tough defense and up tempo transition that put pressure of the Hills big players to get up and down the floor. This pushed the lead out to 12 at the end of the third quarter and set up a test for the Sharks ladies to keep their composure down the stretch. As expected, Hills focused in on their ‘go to’ stars in Molly Lewis and Ellie Manou but brilliant defense by our ever consistent leader, Mel Bartlett, on Lewis left Manou to play a lone hand. Despite a brilliant 30 pts and 23 rebounds by Manou, the final buzzer gave the Sharks a memorable win by 7 (73/66). Four of the Sharks finished in double figures with Peta Kneen leading with 25 pts. The Sharks went away reflecting on the wisdom of the old saying about, “… a champion team will beat a team of champions”.
Sutherland Sharks -v- Hills Hornets
Full time Sharks 73 – Hills 66
Half time 35 32
After the emotion of a great win on Saturday it was always going to be a tough ask to back up both mentally and physically for the road trip to Manly on Sunday. The Sharks had a 3 point loss to Manly in a nail-bitter at home in the first round, so they knew that they were in with a big chance to follow-up Saturday with a second win.
As was the case in the first round this was a very physical encounter. The Sharks women matched up better against their opponents but never seemed to be able to get their noses in front. The Sharks were in foul trouble very early as they tried to match the aggressiveness of Manly on all parts of the court. Manly went strong to the offensive boards and the worst stat of the first half for the Sharks was their defensive boards, totaling only 4. Despite this the Sharks only trailed by 3 (31/28) at the long break and were very much in the game.
A spirited start to the 3rd quarter by Manly pushed the lead to 11early but some tough plays by both Merle Hall and Courtney Dean got the Sharks back to a 3 point deficit at ¾ time (46/43). The 4th quarter just bought more of the same physical defense by both teams which lowered both teams shooting percentage. Mel Bartlett was outstanding and not only lead the way with brilliant defensive footwork on the ball-carrier but set the example on the defensive boards. The game was still up for grabs by either team going into the last minute even though Manly had not relinquished the lead since half time. The Sharks were forced to foul to stop the clock in the last seconds of the game and Manly held their nerve to convert from the line. The final score was 59/54 and Peta Kneen 14, Merle Hall 12 and Courtney Dean 10 lead the scorers for the Sharks.
Sutherland Sharks -v- Manly Warringah
Full time Sharks 54 – Manly 59
Half time 28 31
With the final round of fixtures next week-end being another double header (Saturday Paramatta (H), Sunday Norths (A)) the Sharks ladies have a chance to finish off their season with some more success.
DejaVu for Wildcats Men - By Noel Rowsel
The Parramatta Wildcats men's team has fallen 119-118 to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on Saturday night at the Auburn Basketball Centre (ABC) Lidcombe, in round eighteen of the 2009 Waratah Basketball League (WBL) competition.
The defeat comes just six days after the Sea Eagles had defeated the Wildcats at the Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre (NBISC) Warriewood and has undoubtedly guaranteed the Northern Beaches team will take out this year's minor premiership.
Saturday night's game saw the Sea Eagles begin where they had left off against the Wildcats on the previous Sunday, controlling the game to lead 29-22 at the first break behind an inspired three-point shooting display from guard Michael Bell.
Wildcats head coach Dave Riemer had remained steadfast with his starting five during the opening term but the introduction of Charles Bloemen and Anto Lalic in the second term had an immediate impact, with the home team beginning to look far more self-assured.
Graeme Dann and Stefan Blaszczynski both moved into double figures for the game as the Wildcats pounced to lead 53-49 at half time.
Both teams were simply outstanding during the third term, as befitting a contest between two teams at the top of the competition ladder.
Kristian Blaszczynski, Anto Lalic and Luke Martin all moved into double figures for the Wildcats, whilst Karl King, Ben Arkell, Duane Jordan all reached double figures for the Sea Eagles as the tempo of the game lifted to new heights.
The Wildcats would eventually edge out the visitors 37-33 in the term to move out to an eight-point lead heading into money-time but ran into foul trouble from the outset of the final quarter.
The flow of the game changed under stricter policing of the rules in the final term, allowing the seemingly-faultless Sea Eagles to recover from a double-figure deficit and grab the lead just minutes from full time.
The final minutes of the game saw each team positioned to win, although the Wildcats looked to be the better-placed team as the seconds agonisingly ticked down on the game clock.
The Sea Eagles had one final near-impossible chance to win in the last second of play and King proved worthy of his name, drilling a desperation three-point attempt to snatch victory out of the Wildcats grasp as the full-time hooter sounded the end of regular time.
The most telling statistic of the game was perhaps the three-point shooting of both teams, with the Wildcats hitting just five of twenty-three attempts and the Sea Eagles connecting on eighteen of thirty-six at an impressive fifty percent accuracy rate.
Wildcats Women Denied a Morale-Boosting Win - by Noel Rowsell
The Parramatta Wildcats women's team has probably come as close as it will get to a win this season, falling 61-53 to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on Saturday night at the Auburn Basketball Centre (ABC) Lidcombe, in round eighteen of the 2009 Waratah Basketball League (WBL) competition.
The Wildcats have already reserved a spot for the wooden spoon in their trophy cabinet but few could have predicted the gutsy performance the young, inexperienced team would put up against the Sea Eagles on Saturday night.
Local fans were undoubtedly heartened when the Sea Eagles arrived for the game without Sydney Flames WNBL imports Eva Afeaki and Sally Potocki but the visitors still controlled proceedings to lead 17-12 at the first break.
The young Wildcats showed great character to shut the visitors down to just four points in the second term, racing past to lead 24-21 at half time, then increased their margin to lead 44-36 at the end of the third term.
Winning however is very much a confidence factor and the Wildcats began to get shaky legs in money-time, unfamiliar in the role of front-runners.
The Sea Eagles responded accordingly, lifting their game to a new level in the final term to run out 8-point winners.
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 63 (Kaia Hammond 18 points; Candice Trevenna 17 points, 10 boards) def Parramatta Wildcats 53 (Brianna Gibbs-Manuatu 14 points, Amanda Ford 12, Victoria Saad 11, Kate Atherton 10 boards, Donna Amery 9 boards)
Last Modified on 26/11/2009 12:15
