Wollongong Roller Hawks defeat depleted WheelKings
Monday, 23rd April, 2012
With only 8 players available, and missing 3 key starters, the Sydney Uni WheelKings were no match for the current NWBL champion Wollongong Roller Hawks, going down 85-34 in Shellharbour yesterday.
In what turned out to be a scheduling nightmare by the NWBL, the WheelKings were missing CJ Grogan and Josh Meoli who were representing NSW Juniors at the Kevin Coombes Cup in Perth. Keegan Oh-Chee was also supposed to be over there but ultimately couldn't attend. Also missing for the Hawks game were Kylie Gauci, Sarah Stewart, Tina McKenzie and Katie Hill who were at a clashing Gliders camp.
Overall, the available Sydney Uni players competed strongly with veteran Craig Cannane putting in a solid 20 points and 8 rebounds. The score was respectable in the first half (36-21) but a blowout third quarter (20-6) saw the Hawks pull away. The WheelKings continued to battle through the 4th quarter to the point where Wollongong thought it necessary to put their starters back in for the last 5 minutes to push the score out.
With Coach Gerry Hewson unavailable, Assistant Alan Cox took the reins. He was very impressed with the effort from his team, "our guys played really well. Wollongong threw their best at us and we held on until the last 5 minutes. Our defence was strong but we failed to make a lot of good scoring opportunities. The team certainly showed great heart."
Full stats: http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/17/05/03/33/31S41H30b7RA/
Photo: 20 year veteran Craig Cannane led the WheelKings with 20 points and 8 boards (photo courtesy of Maxwell Illingworth)
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