Posted on 14 July, 2011

 VIC COUNTRY MEN V SA COUNTRY MEN.

Vic Country sped away to a 27-6 first quarter lead that helped them on their way to a 21 point defeat of SA country.

After being blown out of the water in the first quarter, SA Country did their best to fight back in the second quarter but to no avail, trailing by 37 points at half time. The third quarter however SA Country got points on the board and brought the score line back to a respectable margin outscoring VIC Country 23-12.

SA Country again outscored VIC Country in the last quarter 24-19 but the damage done in the first half was insurmountable, going down 83-62.

For SA Country Matthew Stock (17pts) top scored, while Brad Wright (14pts, 7rbds) and Bradley Coulson (10pts) were the others to reach double figures.

VIC Country’s Lucas Webb dominated with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals; it was an impressive effort from the VIC Country boys with every player having an impact on the score sheet.

QLD SOUTH WOMEN V ACT WOMEN.

ACT women will rue their mistakes after yesterday’s game against Queensland South, where they went down by 38-points early at the Kilsyth Sports Centre.

It was four (4) minutes before Act could put points on the board, Queensland South adding nine (9) points before their opponents could score. Queensland South upped the pressure throughout the half leaving ACT in allsorts ending the half with a 22-point buffer, 39 – 17.

Queensland were able to keep the momentum swinging their way in the second half, not letting the ACT team get a sniff. Queensland South were quite the opportunists, taking advantage of the ACT’s 44 turnovers, obtaining 22-points off them and dominating down low with 42-points inside the paint. Queensland South ended the game with a nice win 85 – 47.

NZ WOMEN V WA COUNTRY WOMEN.

New Zealand has defeated WA Country 52-43 following a powerful second half surge. In a tight game it was the performance of New Zealand’s Tessa Boagni that led to the 9 point win, as her brilliance could not be contained in the second half as she ran amuck.

In the 1st quarter Annie Ducas got WA Country rolling with the first 4 points of the game; however in what was a low scoring opening quarter the NZ Women hit back to trail 8-9. Askani-Muriaroha Pirihi’s 4 points helped kick-start the New Zealander’s into action.

The second quarter was very evenly contested, however WA Country were able to At half-time the match was continuing to be a tight affair, and WA Country led by 4 points (24-20).

NZ started the 3rd quarter strongly, drawing level with their opponents thanks to Tessa Boagni and Ella Fotu, while Abbie McDonald and Megan McKay were playing great games for the WA Country side also. The quarter, however, belonged to NZ, and they entered three quarter time with an 8 point turn around for the quarter, themselves now leading by 4. Three 3-pointers for the quarter by NZ was a major part of them grabbing the lead.

NZ started the 4th quarter in the same style they had finished the 3rd, pressuring their opponents and hitting the scoreboard with consistency from their attacking efforts. They raced to a game high 9 point lead forcing WA Country head coach ___ to call a timeout to attempt to resurrect the match for his girls. Unfortunately the surge from New Zealand had been too strong, and despite their best efforts the West Australians were unable to close the gap as they went down by 9 points at the final whistle. The catalyst for the New Zealand win was the ability to enforce the turnovers in the second half, a statistic they won 21-15.

For WA Country Megan McKay’s led the rebounds with 14, whilst Annie Ducas (5 rebounds) and Tori Dugan (6 rebounds) both led the scoring with 10 points apiece. For the New Zealanders, Tessa Boagni was a clear best with 15 rebounds and 14 points, while Pene Bishop-Paenga and Askani Muriaroha Pirihi both played very even performances to have 11 points each for the match.

WA METRO MEN V TAS MEN.

Tasmania keeps showing themselves as Championship contenders after a nice 10-point victory over the Western Australia Metro men Thursday afternoon.

The first half was a tightly contested one with Tassie keeping their weeks form going, challenging the WA Metro team to make the best of their opportunities. After going relatively basket for basket for the majority of the first have, Tassie were able to pull away by nine (9) points at the major break.

Much like the first, the second half remained tight. However WA Metro was not letting Tassie take the game away from them without a fight. Going into the last quarter the teams were only separated by two baskets. However, all their efforts were not enough and Tassie’s fantastic run in the 2011 under 16 Australian Junior Championships continued with a 62 – 72 victory.

SA COUNTRY WOMEN V QLD NORTH WOMEN.

A runaway final quarter to Queensland North has defeated SA Country 54-70; however that margin does not truly demonstrate the intensity of the match. Throughout the first three quarters it was a very tight affair; however Queensland North were simply unstoppable in the final quarter despite the brave efforts of their Croweater opponents.

Queensland North shot out of the blocks to claim a quick 11-2 lead midway through the 1st quarter, but SA Country were not concerned, trailing 13-14 at the end of the quarter thanks to the ever-reliable Brianna Walters and teammate Samantha Lubke’s proficiency from the paint.

In the 2nd quarter SA Country continued their free scoring ways, denying Queensland North scoring opportunities to build their lead to 8 midway through the quarter, but at this stage the game was not going to get away from either side, and so it proved with the Queenslanders coming back to within 3 points at half-time. Brianna Walters was dominating with 15 points for the South Australians, whilst Keely Frolling (9points and 9 rebounds) was the player responsible for the Queensland North late-term revival. The 5 more fouls committed by SA Country would have left their coach frustrated, as their opponents had 18 free throw shots (10 converted) compared to their own 4/7.

This was becoming an epic contest as each side ground it out in defence then rebounding hard when the opportunity presented. Queensland’s Alicia Frolings desperation evident with several blocks for the quarter, while Keely Froling was becoming the most dangerous player on the court, with 10 points for the quarter as her side snatched a 4 point lead over SA Country at three-quarter time.

The two sides had been evenly matched all day; however the challenge for SA Country was to prevent Alicia and Keely Froling from running away with the game. Despite the best efforts of Walters (20 points and 3 steals), Lubke (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Green (11 rebounds), Queensland North were just too determined, and Keely Froling put in the type of performance that will have many who witnessed it looking to her future development with a keen interest as she had a breathtaking 34 points and 12 rebounds for the match. Alicia Froling’s 12 points and 5 blocks were crucial when the going was tough, and Biondi-Howarth’s 10 point contribution also played a telling part in the runaway win.

SA METRO MEN V WA COUNTRY MEN.

South Australia Metro came to play serious basketball when they hit the court Thursday afternoon, handing over a 47-point drubbing to the Western Australia Country men.

The game started off close with only 10-points separating both teams at the first break. However SA Metro came out firing in the second half, draining their shots and crucifying the WA Country men for missing. They had a handy 27-point buffer at the major break, giving the WA men something to think about in the change rooms.

WA Country was able to improve their shooting in the second half, yet the deficit could not be improved at all. SA Metro kept piling points over the hapless WA Country team. The poor field goal percentage (21% for the game) led to the demise of WA Country, as well as poor rebounding efforts on both ends of the court. The South Australian team walked away with a nice 80 – 33 victory.

NSW COUNTRY MEN V NZ MEN.

NSW Country has held off a determined New Zealand to claim a 71-67 victory. Looking to arrest a three game losing streak, NSW Country dominated the 1st quarter to lead 26-11, but this New Zealand side has a steely resolve, and NSW Country never felt safe.

In the 2nd term NZ restored the gap to 11 thanks to the determined work of Jaylen Gerrand and Luke Witteveen. The evenness of the team performance from NSW Country was their most impressive asset, as 7 players scored 4 points or more. They were also very efficient with 5/9 3-point shots and 45% field goals converted, whereas New Zealand converted from the field at 38%.

In the 3rd quarter it was important that NZ got off to a good start to put themselves in with a chance of narrowing the NSW lead, and they did exactly that, hitting the scoreboard first before NSW Country hit back. They both went into the break with 14points apiece for the quarter; however one wondered whether New Zealand would be able to run over NSW. The 4th quarter was a fascinating one; as they fought from 14 points down to bring it within 3 points with a minute remaining.

Throughout the quarter, NZ asked questions of NSW Country but they were able to respond each time; however Head Coach Martin McLean would have had every right to feel nervous. With 9 seconds on the clock New South Welshman Robilliard converted one of his two free throws to make the lead 4 points, and NZ brought on Joseph Kang for a last ditch, 3 point attempt. With 1 second remaining, he shot for 3, but unfortunately missed and NSW Country won a truly spectacular game.

NSW Country’s Matthew Bateup had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 telling blocks that showed his hunger, while teammate Nicholas Bagaric had 10 points and 15 rebounds. The hero of the losing side, Jaylen Gerrard, spent a whopping 38 minutes on the court to finish with 22 points, while Luke Witteveen (12 points, 4 rebounds) and Brandon Gleaves (11 points, 10 rebounds) were fantastic also.

WA METRO WOMEN V NT WOMEN.

In a one sided affair the WA metro women defeated the NT 74 – 27. The first quarter was all WA with the girls from the west leading by 23 points at the first break. Keays was on fire for WA and kept scoring and influencing the play at both ends. The Northern Territory goals showed promise early but this quickly dissolved with poor ball use and inefficiency under the ring.

An improved performance from NT did not help bring back the margin leading into the half. WA dominated again with Crugnale and Pirini scoring well and the entire bench putting incredible pressure on the ball handlers of NT. The girls from the north struggled to get the ball near the ring before the shot clock expired however Murray excelled at finding ways to get the ball into their half.

After the half WA continued to dominate over the NT however the girls from the north did show improvement from the last period.  Pether and King were strong under the ring and continued to apply pressure on the ball carrier in their half. Sealy was helpful to the NT team and her pressure in defence helped minimise the goals that were scored.

The last quarter was a low scoring affair with the buzzer sounding faster than anyone expected. Pirini was clean under the ring and managed to score for WA and Sealy was strong at the other end of the floor. Maxwell was sidelined for the NT and WA pulled Pitcher out of the game to rest her legs.

VIC METRO WOMEN V TAS WOMEN.

VIC Metro Women continued their dominant performance defeating Tasmania by 13 points, 60-47.

VIC Metro began the game all guns blazing outscoring Tasmania 21-4 to take a 17 point lead into the second quarter. VIC Metro extended their lead by four points in the second quarter to lead by 21 points at half time. A close third quarter saw Tasmania prove to the large crowd that they could indeed match it with VIC Metro only losing the quarter by 1 point.

A 19-10 last quarter from Tasmania brought the margin back to just 13 points and showed the rest of the competition how to defeat VIC Metro.

Madelon Pringle (18pts) and Mariah Payne (12pts) top scored for Tasmania while for VIC Metro Lauren Scherf (11pts, 13rbds), Amanda Meinking (11pts, 12rbds) and Rachel Lucas (10pts) were the top scorers.

NSW METRO MEN V QLD SOUTH MEN.

New South Wales Metro came to the Kilsyth Sports Centre Thursday evening with hopes of solidifying the contention for the Gold Medal. They came out on top of Queensland South, who put up a valiant effort, only to go down by 12-points.

NSW Metro got out to a quick start, claiming an early 12-point lead in the first half. However, the men from Queensland South fought back hard in the latter end of the half only bridging the NSW lead by one, but stamping some authority on the game. The real downfall in the first half for QLD south was the poor shot selection leaving the half with only 11% field goal percentage, compared to their opposition’s 44%.

The second half continued much like the latter part of the first, with NSW metro holding onto their halftime lead for a majority of the half. QLD were able to improve their field goal percentage to __% and challenge the NSW men going into the final minutes of the game. But, NSW Metro was too strong in the end coming out the victors 61- 49… 

SA METRO WOMEN V NSW COUNTRY WOMEN.

In a close match country NSW managed a 12 point win over metro SA 67 – 79. In a tense goal for goal first quarter NSW came out on top by a narrow margin. NSW scored well with 23 for the period and Farrah-Seaton going to the ring on a number of occasions aided by Dick. It was not all bad news for SA with Hatchard scoring and controlling the ball well and NSWs’ Evans frequently losing control of the ball.

The second period saw NSW extend their lead to 12 points at the major break. Dick and Unicomb scored consistently for NSW and Wilson pressuring the ball in defence to make SA turn the ball over. Herriman from SA did the same job as Wilson but also contributed frequently to the score. Luders and Hatchard were also consistent shots at goal which allowed SA to remain a threat to NSW.

After the half SA came out firing having most of the ball in the opening minutes but ended up trailing by 16 at the sound of the buzzer. Herriman’s pressure and scoring was consistent yet again but was up to 3 fouls at the end. Luders were excellent in front of the ring yet again and provided points when they were needed most. At the other end of the court Evans was consistent both under the ring and on the floor.

In a high scoring, fast paced and foul heavy last period NSW looked to be on shaky ground until the absolute dying minute where turnovers and fouls allowed them to win. Evans and Dick were consistent in scoring and pressure and Evans in particular tried to take control with getting the ball down to the goals. For SA Herriman was unstoppable from the 3 point line and Hatchard was consistent on the floor. Lappin and Calvert were hard to beat in defence but the mass of pressure that SA applied was not enough to stop country NSW.    

VIC METRO MEN V ACT MEN.

Coming into this game both the ACT and VIC Metro were undefeated thus far into the competition, however VIC Metro flexed their muscles and ran away with a 55 point win.

Like the VIC Metro women before them, the VIC Metro men blasted ACT out of the water in the first quarter half to take a 31 point lead into half time. The second half was much of the same with VIC Metro’s unrelenting defensive pressure causing ACT to shoot at only 21% from the field.

VIC Metro dominated in the paint scoring 56-10 as they cruised to another victory, the final score was 86-31.