Posted on 11 July, 2011

QLD SOUTH MEN V TAS MEN

Tasmania won in a close match against QLD South in a game that opened up in the last quarter, ending in a 62 – 66 victory.

The first quarter was goal for goal and fast paced with Tasmania pulling out in front at the buzzer.  O’Sullivan was the most dominant player at the ring for QLD South but, Clark was on fire for Tasmania, with the majority of points coming from him.

Tasmania extended their lead in the second with McVeigh scoring from all over the court. QLD South managed to find the ring however the collective effort of the team was not enough to close the gap and they were down by 8 at the half.

After the break Tasmania came out firing with Krebs putting on a show to extend the lead to 12. QLD South persisted again and with a spread of goal scorers and McVeigh still holding court they managed to stay competitive.

The final quarter was tense with QLD South coming back to send the game down to the wire. O’Sullivan was the hero for QLD South nailing shots from all over the court and adding some scoreboard pressure to the Tasmanian side. Tasmania managed to hold onto their lead in the dying seconds of the game, with great shooting from Woodfall despite fouling heavily and having Clark sidelined.

VIC COUNTRY MEN V NT MEN

VIC Country Men have pulled themselves off the bottom of the ladder with a win over NT by 90 points.

NT got away to a flying start in a fast paced opening quarter, with Ben Little scoring in the first fifteen seconds.  The glory was short-lived; however, as VIC Country went on to score 5 points in just over a minute.

There still looked to be hope for the NT Men at the beginning of the second quarter, but VIC’s height advantage let them dominate the defensive end and pile on 27 points before half time.

The second half was much of the same story, NT struggling to gain momentum after a disappointing first half.  Michael Hagan played excellently for NT and was their leading point-scorer.

Lukas Webb’s 21 points and 100% accuracy in free throws helped the VIC’s to their first win of this year’s competition.

Final scores 116-26

NSW METRO WOMEN V WA METRO WOMEN

In a match that showed little contest NSW Metro defeated WA Metro 66 – 48.

In a low scoring first quarter NSW Metro were able to pull ahead by 4 points, with Fareo scoring well. WA Metro struggled to find scoring opportunities, but Pirini found the ring on more than one occasion to keep her team in the game.

The second quarter did not end any better for WA, with NSW able to obtain a 14 point lead at the major break. Keays provided desperately needed goals for WA and gave her team some hope of remaining a threat in this game. NSW scored consistently through the quarter with a variety of scorers but Tupaea was the most dominant at the ring.

After the break WA came out firing trying to make a contest of the game. It was even scoring across the bench for WA with Pirini and Pitcher contributing more goals than others. NSW eased off with the pressure and allowed WA a chance of getting back in the game.

The final quarter showed early dominance from NSW before WA took control and started scoring heavily. Turnbull was a goal sneak for NSW with help on the floor from Tupaea and this allowed them an 18 point victory. WA resurged half way through the quarter, with Keays and Pitcher dominating in front of the ring. Unfortunately it was not enough to defeat NSW.

NT WOMEN V QLD NORTH WOMEN.

QLD North Women have had their first win in this year’s competition to the tune of 18 points, over the Women from NT.

The first quarter went NT’s way, with QLD North struggling to get off the mark until Keely Froling made a 2pt shot four minutes into the game. NT fought back, led by the speedy and courageous Lucy Murray.

Alicia and Keely Froling were standouts for QLD North, scoring 11 and 9 points respectively.  NT’s Tara Maxwell played brilliantly and scored 12 points, but it was not enough to bring them a victory.

Final scores 41-23.

NSW METRO MEN V WA METRO MEN

NSW Metro has knocked off WA Metro to claim a 73-58 victory. Both sides came into this match seeking their second win and despite a strong finish from WA Metro, the work of their opponents in the first half proved too big a challenge to come back from. NSW Metro started well to grab an early lead, though WA Metro came back to trail 26-14 at the end of the 1st quarter.

In the 2nd quarter Daniel Pitcher played well and finished the half with 7 points and 4 rebounds, whilst teammate Mosese Pamaka kept a cool head to marshall his side in attack, collecting 5 rebounds and 5 points himself. WA Metro had a perfect 5/5 free throws for the half which was instrumental in keeping them in the game, however the many pronged attack of NSW Metro was proving a handful, as they rebounded hard to build their lead to 14 points. WA Metro will have felt that they shot themselves in the foot a little, their 11 fouls to 5 a basis for the deficit. Beard and Broderick had 6 points apiece for the half.

The margin steadily grew in the 3rd quarter to 23 points and WA Metro was unable to quell the punishing NSW Metro side, struggling to move the ball out of their defence. NSW Metro’s Pitcher exerted his authority on the match with a scintillating quarter, whilst West Australian Broderick could not be questioned for lack of effort.

WA Metro started the 4th quarter quickly, grabbing the first 5 points to raise hopes of an unlikely comeback and despite New South Welshman Thon Maker looking menacing; WA Metro continued to finish strongly, reducing the margin to 14 with less than 4 minutes remaining. NSW Metro returned to the contest, Maker slamming home a dunk to kill off the challenge of their fast finishing opponents, who simply ran out of time to lose by 15.

Tom Savage topped the scoring for NSW Metro with 14 points and Daniel Pitcher’s 12 points and 6 rebounds were important too. The NSW Metro side rebounded well, with 16 more than their opposition. Broderick was the best of the West Australians with 14 points, with Hey the other dominant player in attack with 13 points.

SA COUNTRY WOMEN V VIC METRO WOMEN.

VIC Metro has maintained its unbeaten record with a 67-79 victory over SA Country in a tight tussle on day 3 of the AJC.

The match was won in the first quarter, where the 10 point jump VIC Metro had over their opponents set up the win. In the 1st quarter it was mostly one way traffic, VIC Metro controlling the tempo and rushed their opponents into errors. SA Country finished strongly, and the margin at quarter time was 7-17. VIC Metro managed 14-0 points in the paint during the quarter.

The 2nd quarter was a competitive affair, Brianna Walters of SA Country exerting a large influence in her side’s fortunes (7 points and 4 assists for the half). VIC Metro added a handy 2 points to their lead, the score at the half 25-37 and the last few minutes were particularly exciting, the ball flying from end to end both as sides exchanged 3 point shots. SA Country was in the contest more, leading in the turnovers 19-8 and rebounding hard (19-17 for the half), but VIC Metro’s class allowed it to maintain its lead.

The SA Country girls chipped away at the lead constantly during the 3rd quarter, reducing it to 10 at one stage; however VIC Metro maintained their composure to return their lead to 12 at the change. In the 4th quarter the South Australians continued to press and keeps the match interesting, however their ferocity at the ball gave away some costly fouls. Samantha Lubke provided a constant aerial threat as Brianna Walters (17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists) and Jemma Thacker (12 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks) played their hearts out to fight till the very end for the South Australian side. VIC Metro’s Amy O’Neill was a pivotal playmaker for her side, with 9 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, whilst Lauren Scherf led the scoring with 14 points.  

It was a true team performance from VIC Metro, as their 9 more assists showed. The ability of every member of the side to play their role was key to the win. SA Country had 10 more turnovers but scored only 1 more point off turnovers, while VIC Metro had 36-20 points in the paint.

VIC METRO MEN V QLD NORTH  MEN.

Vic Metro dominated the game from the tip off not giving their opposition in North Queensland a hope of interfering their Junior Championship hopes. Finishing the game with a 72-point victory.

The men from Vic Metro put on a clinic in the first half, absolutely destroying their opponent down low; they ended the first half with 52 points in the paint. North Queensland was their own worst enemy with 15 turnovers in the first half, Vic Metro pouncing at these opportunities getting 11 points off their mistakes. The game was all but over at the major break with Vic Metro taking a commanding 54-point lead to the change rooms.

North Queensland brought an increased pressure to the start of the second half, but it was to no avail as Vic Metro seemed to have all the answers for their opponents, not easing up on the pressure. Victorian Ben Simmons led the game’s scoring with 25 with many of his teammates following. North Queensland’s highest scorer was Sam Mayer with 12. The game ended with Vic Metro leading the stats in all but one category, turnovers, with a final score of 114 – 42.

ACT MEN V NSW COUNTRY MEN.

In an incredibly close and evenly-matched contest, the ACT Men have come out with a 10 point victory over the NSW Country Men.

The first quarter saw good handling of the ball in defence from NSW and a close contest.  The evenly matched contest was difficult to call, with the ACT boys playing ambitiously and leading the NSW boys by 2 at the first break.

NSW came back all guns blazing, and they looked to be breaking away from the seemingly tiring ACT boys, led by the speedy Luke McGuire. But 5 points from ACT’s Riley Habraken before the second change gave the men a five point lead at the half time break.

Although excellent in defence, the ACT men struggled to make a mark on the scoreboard early in the second half, lacking accuracy. They still managed to lead at the third break, though, by five points.

The final quarter was all about the ACT Men, who were excellent in defence and up forward and dominated the NSW Country men.  Mitchell Brown managed three 3-pointers for ACT within minutes, sealing the game

NZ MEN V WA COUNTRY MEN.

New Zealand and WA Country both came into the day 3 clash seeking their first wins of the AJC. New Zealand was too strong, beating WA Country 79-61. The athleticism and rebounding (59-41) of the New Zealanders throughout the match was too good in the end, despite a spirited last quarter from their opponents.

The first quarter contained many momentum swings, the first belonging to WA Country as they established a 5 point lead almost straight away before the New Zealanders got on a run of their own, scoring 10 consecutive points. New Zealand entered quarter-time up by 11 as Brandon Gleaves caught the eye with 5 points and 7 rebounds, while his side mustered 12 rebounds to WA Country’s 5.

The margin only increased by 1 point in the 2nd quarter, Nez Zealand going into the breakup 43-31. New Zealand committed 16-8 fouls, resulting in 23 free throws to their opponents, but their better accuracy from the field (17/38 compared to WA Country’s 9/29) helped maintain the lead. Mitchell Keller of WA Country had 8 points and 3 rebounds, while New Zealanders Brandon Gleaves and Luke Witteveen entered half-time with 11 points apiece.

The West Australians came out of the half-time break intending to speed the game up with fast rebounding, however they were wasting their opportunities and being caught on the return themselves. They two sides matched each other for much of the 3rd quarter, but NZ asserted control again, going into the last break leading 19 points ahead. Joseph Myatt of WA Country provided the highlight of the quarter, sending the ball flying with a powerful rejection.

He had clearly inspired his teammates for the 4th quarter, as the West Australians played with vigour and dare to hit the scoreboard with regularity, including two 3-pointers from Chad Simpson. WA Country won the final quarter, but throughout the game it was their inability to convert their opportunities (including 14 of 29 free throws) and prevent the New Zealanders rebounding that lost them the match.

Brandon Gleaves had 18 points and 12 rebounds for NZ, with teammate Luke Witteveen also productive with 15 points and 10 rebounds. For the West Australians, Chad Simpson and Liam Kelly led the scoring (19 points each), and Joseph Myatt had 11 rebounds.

VIC COUNTRY WOMEN V NSW COUNTRY WOMEN.

A strong third quarter from VIC Country women has resulted in a 12 point win over NSW Country on day three of the Australian Under 16 Junior Championships.

The first quarter was tightly contested with VIC Country managing to take a three point lead into the first break, NSW Country could not take advantage of their opportunities in the second and VIC Country extended their lead to seven at half time.

A 22-13 third quarter meant VIC Country was 16 points up heading into the final quarter, NSW Country did their best to steal the game but could only manage to cut the margin by four points going down 71-59.

Danni Pearce was VIC Country’s best with 22 points and six rebounds, while for NSW Country Kate Hewett also managed 22 points.

QLD SOUTH WOMEN V SA METRO  WOMEN.

Queensland South has just got over the line against South Australia Metro by five points this afternoon.

In a see sawing match that was influenced by many momentum swings and the crowd’s involvement it was Queensland South who prevailed on the day.

Kristy Wallace top scored for Queensland with 15 points and six rebounds and Krystle McKenzie assisted her with 12. For South Australia, it was Michaela Lappin and Jade Johnson who each had 13 points.

SA Metro began the game with far more intensity than their opposition. The influence of the crowd worked in their favour and this transferred onto the court as they led 8-6 with three minutes to play. However, SA accumulating four fouls in the first half was always going to be a tough situation to get out of. Queensland South capitalized on this by hitting free throws, playing a press defence up the floor and ending the quarter on an 8-2 scoring run and leading 14-10.

A quarter time plead from the SA Metro coach to take care of the ball didn’t transpire on court. Queensland South outhustled and out rebounded their opponents and went on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter. This was on the back of some handy offensive work from guards Wallace and Kirby Lennan, who fired through assist by assist to their centres and scored some points of their own. However, SA metro were not about to let this game slip, and started to find themselves getting to the free throw line on most occasions. As they started doing this, the points took care of themselves and Metro found themselves within three at the main break.

In the third quarter, SA Metro once again lifted on the back of a stellar start by Johnson. Metro went on a 7-0 run and turned the game into a physical, goal for goal contest.  However, Wallace and Lennan matched this effort by Metro and held tough against a strong defensive press. The momentum shifted again in the final minute with Hanna Tusa and McKenzie adding points to extend Queensland’s lead to nine points at the final change.

Again, SA Metro came charging at Queensland with all it had. Within the first three minutes, the lead was cut to four on the back of a seven point last quarter performance from Lappin. Tension was building, but so was the foul count, as SA hit five team fouls with two minutes to play. The Queensland bench started to get more vocal than their opponents for the first time in the match and this advantage was pivotal in the final charge by Queensland.  With a minute to go, both teams were in the bonus, but it was Queensland’s free throw shooting that proved the difference in the end, running out winners 61-56.

SA COUNTRY MEN V TAS  MEN.

SA Country has delivered Tasmania their first loss of the tournament, taking the 13 point win on Monday night 75-62.

It was a 23-7 second term that did the damage, as the Tassie side finished the stronger of the two but were unable to make up sufficient ground..

SA Country shot well, connecting on 44 per cent from the floor and 56 per cent from long range which saw them put together a match-winning score.  

For SA Country, Nathan Wright finished with a team-high 21 points, with Brad Wright adding 15 points.

 For the Tassie side, Tanner Krebs finished with 22, while Cameron Brown finished with 12 points.

SA Country 75 (Wright 21, Wright 15) def TAS 62 (Krebs 22, Brown 12) 

ACT WOMEN V NZ WOMEN.

New Zealand has outclassed a determined ACT outfit by 15 points this evening. 

New Zealand let at every quarter and despite many challenges from their opposition at different points in the game, they were able to withstand the pressure, winning 53-38.

Askani-Muriaroha Pirihi was instrumental for NZ, scoring 17 points and grabbing six rebounds and was assisted by Tessa Boagni who had ten points and eight rebounds. Renee Polyak provided a lone hand for ACT with 20 points.

In a see-sawing first quarter, no side could gain ascendency on the scoreboard. Polyak for ACT and Pirihi for NZ scored an early six points each and got their respective sides moving the ball on the offensive end. As the quarter came to a close, NZ had the advantage at 14-10.

The second quarter was dominated by New Zealand. Their ability to grab offensive rebounds and create second and third opportunities was a key factor in attaining the half time lead. Once again Pirihi starred, knocking down the three point shot when it was needed and Ella Fotu, who grabbed every rebound, dished out many assists and proved to be a threat inside the paint, assisted her.  New Zealand led 33-17 at the half.

After the half time break, the ACT crowd started to find their voice. A constant defence chant echoed the court and spurred the girls in blue on. However, New Zealand was still able to find space at the top of the key and knocked down shots at pivotal points in the game. Again, the lack of offensive boards was hurting the ACT’s chances, as they trailed 45-22 going into the last quarter.

ACT deserved the credit for the last quarter. The team never gave up, and on the back of three last quarter three point shots to Polyak, they scored the first ten points and appeared to be back in the contest. However, New Zealand held firm and ran out the eventual winners.

QLD SOUTH MEN V NT MEN.

QLD South have run away with a monster 77 point win over the NT, dominating all aspects of the game to seal it 111-33.

A 28-12 first term set the tone for this match-up, as NT worked desperately to stay in the contest. But a 35-2 third term all but shattered any hopes of a come-back, as QLD South streaked clear for the massive win.

Despite shooting only 26 per cent from the floor, the NT side were able to drill 7-11 threes, a solid positive to take from the game. 

QLD South were too good in all other aspects, highlighted by the steal count, with QLD South snatching 20 to just five from their opponent.

For QLD South, James Ringholt finished with 31, while Michael Hagan had 10 for the  NT.

QLD South 111 (Ringholt 31) def NT 33 (Hagan 10)

VIC COUNTRY MEN V NSW METRO MEN.

Despite a big 20-12 final quarter in favour of VIC Country, NSW Metro had done enough earlier in the contest to seal a comfortable 11 point win over VICs on Monday, 62-51. 

Kai Healy was best for the NSW Metro side, delivering 16 points for the match, while Lukas Webb top-scored for the VIC Country side with 15 points.

After only one point separated the two sides after one, NSW Metro set about putting this game out of reach for the VICs. A 19-9 second term followed by an almost equally impressive 18-10 third term, well and truly achieved that.

VIC Country had plenty more of the offensive ball, but shot a lowly 21 per cent from the field, NSW Metro’s 34 per cent being good enough for the win.

NSW Metro 62 (Healy 16) def VIC Country 51 (Webb 15)

Kallum Kubicki of Tasmainia; Tessa Boagni of New Zealand; Luke McGuire of NSW Country.

Photo’s courtesy of Kangaroo Photo’s.