LACEY LOWDOWN

The 2016 Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) Finals tournament began on Thursday in Porirua and it was a good day for Taranaki Thunder, Oceana Gold Rush Otago and Canterbury Wildcats as all three teams booked semi-final berths.

In Championship section B both Taranaki Thunder and Oceana Gold Rush Otago advanced to the semi-finals after both teams inflicted a defeat on the Auckland Counties Lady Hawks.

In Section A Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats are assured of a spot in the semi-finals but Waikato Wizards and Waitakere Lady Hawks will meet on Friday morning to determine the other team to progress.

There is still all to play for on day two in the Plate section as any two from Capital Flyers, Te Tai Tokerau Flyers and Nelson Sparks can progress. Even Tauranga City Coasters despite two losses have a mathematical chance of advancing..

Championship Section B

Taranaki Thunder 58 Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks 53 AOTTaranaki had to overcome a spirited Auckland Counties Manukau second half comeback before eventually winning in overtime.

A strong opening half propelled the Thunder to a 27-18 half time lead.

The mother and daughter combination of Sharne Robati and Paddy Pupuke-Robati began to get things going for the Lady Hawks along with Breana Jones and Hannah Turton and they pulled within 4 points, 41-37 with 6 minutes to play. Taranaki were unable to shake off ACM despite regular scoring contributions from Bailey Gavin and Joellen How.

Pupuke-Robati finished under pressure for an and one play before Leiani Tautiepa tied the scores 47-47 in the closing seconds to force overtime.

Robati made the first points in the extra period but Gavin and Tuki made a pair of baskets each to clinch a hard fought Thunder win.

Leading Scorers;

Taranaki – How 11, Gavin 11, Tuki 9p/10r

ACM – Robati 12, Jones 10

Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks 46 Oceana Gold Rush Otago 72

The first quarter was a disaster for ACM as Otago jumped out to a 16-0 lead. ACM took 6:30 to get on the scoreboard, Breeze Leonard finally getting a shot to drop. Aleisha Ruske nailed a couple of long range threes to help Gold Rush to a 19-8 lead at the first break. Things didn’t get any better in the second quarter for the Lady Hawks as Otago stretched out to a 39-18 half-time lead with Soraya Umaga-Jensen (7pts) leading a balanced scoring effort.

A long three Nicole Ruske trey on the three-quarter time buzzer extended the Southerners lead to 57-31. The final period was a formality, Otago advancing to the last four with a game to spare.

Leading scorers;

ACM – Jones 10, Robati 10, Pupuke-Robati 9p/7r

Otago – Visger 14, Nicole Ruske 13, Aleisha Ruske 11

Championship Section A

 Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats 84 Waitakere Lady Rangers 60

 A depleted Lady Rangers, shorn of three starters on Tall Ferns duty, conceded an early lead against Canterbury but to their credit never allowed the deficit to balloon out.

Hayley Gray (10pts) led all scorers at half time as her Wildcats led 44-27.

American Lauren Vetters, debuting for the Rangers, opened their account in the third quarter, replying to a Shea Crotty long three. Spoils were shared in the period as both teams logged 19 points.

Canterbury forwards Pip Connell and Ashley Gayle, both recovering from injuries, were used sparingly by coach Lori McDaniel allowing Fran Edmondson the opportunity to play extended minutes and she led all scorers as Canterbury eased to a comfortable 84-60 victory. Guards Darci Finnigan and Stevie Theyers led the Rangers effort with 15 points each.

Leading Scorers;

Canterbury – Edmondson 20p/13r, Gray 14, Snowdon 12

Waitakere – Finnigan 15, Theyers 15, Leslie 14

Waikato Wizards 50 Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats 66

 Waikato made the early running of this up-tempo affair before the Wildcats answered with 9 straight points to lead 16-10 at quarter time.

Courtney Hamblin and Fran Edmondson (9 points in the half) were driving the Canterbury effort as the lead extended into double figures but Waikato were still very much in the picture trailing 37-25 after twenty minutes.

Nice touches from Alyssa Hirawani kept Waikato ticking along but they were not able to make much impression on the red and blacks lead.

Opposition center’s Ashley Gayle and Miriam Stevens got into a mini wrestling match but when Edmondson brought up 50 points for Canterbury the advantage was 15 points. A Natasha Lenden three followed by a driving two plus the bonus freebie brought the Waikato bench to life – 53-46 with ten minutes to play.

A real battle ensued in the final quarter as the defence of both teams dominated proceedings but Canterbury kept their noses in front to record a 66-50 win and a place in the semi-finals. Wildcats forward Fran Edmondson capped a fine performance with a second double double of the day.

Leading Scorers;

Canterbury – Edmondson 15p/12r, Crotty 11, Gayle 10p/9r

Waikato – Stevens 11, Lenden 10, Fermanis 9

Plate Competition

 Te Tai Tokerau Phoenix 63 Tauranga City Coasters 58

Freda Riwai and Jeannie Cameron made ten points between them in overtime as Te Tai Tokerau just managed to hold off Tauranga City Coasters.

The Phoenix, with Jaimee-Lee Tito in fine scoring touch, charged out of the blocks quickly establishing a double figure lead and were well in command at half time leading 36-14. Tauranga were smarting from a poor first half and responded to coach Rachel Gwerder’s words to reel of a 10-0 start to the second term and pull back to 41-30 at three-quarter time.

The momentum stayed with the Coasters as Kaatia Watene and Briarly Rogers made long threes to pull their team to within two points with 6:40 to play. A Marion TeWhui basket steadied the ship for the Phoenix but Tauranga were not finished and they tied the scores via a Courtney Wilson three with a minute to play.

A Watene triple looked to be the winner but it was cancelled out by Jaimee-Lee Tito’s effort in the dying seconds to force overtime.

After that Riwai and Cameron had the final say.

Leading Scorers;

Te Tai Tokerau – Tito 24, Riwai 13, Hetaraka-Sadler 11

Tauranga – Watene 13, Rogers 11, Wilson 10

Capital Flyers v Te Tai Tokerau Phoenix

Early trapping defence from the Flyers caused some problems for the Phoenix resulting in turnovers capitalised on by the hosts for a commanding 26-9 opening gambit.

The Phoenix responded with the first half dozen points of quarter two and with Capital finding scoring a little more difficult it was just 34-15 to the Flyers at the main break. Tegan Graham (12pts) led all scorers at the half.

Capital scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a strangle hold on the game with a 44-15 advantage eventually cruising to a 65-20 victory.

Leading Scorers;

Capital – Graham 20p/10r, Vaofusi 11, Penese 8p/11r

Te Tai Tokerau – Tito 10

Nelson Sparks v Tauranga City Coasters

 A low scoring first quarter was shared 14 points apiece.

The game sprung to life in the second period as consecutive threes from Rebecca Hughes and Briarley Rogers (twice) propelled Tauranga to a 27-20 lead. The ever industrious Kat Jones and Jodi Hikuroa-Jeffrey (15 points in the first half) struck back for the Sparks as they edged ahead 32-31 at half-time.

Tayla Kendrick was a livewire at both ends of the court for the Coasters racking up a double double midway through the third stanza. Her efforts and those of Ellen McManaway kept Tauranga in touch, down 43-39 at the three-quarter mark.

Six points from Lauren Hippolite were key as Nelson piled on 17 points in six minutes to break the game open. Rebecca Hughes knocked down a pair of jump shots for the Coasters but it was not enough to threaten the Nelson lead. Hikuroa-Jeffrey was outstanding as Nelson closed out a solid 50-69 victory.

Leading Scorers;

Nelson – Hikuroa-Jeffrey 30, Hippolite 11, Jones 9/7, Neame 8/8

Tauranga – Kendrick 12p/13r, Hughes 11, Briarley Rogers 11, Wilson 9/7

In a non-competition game Capital Flyers were much too good for the Junior Tall Ferns winning 64-26.

Leading Scorers;

Capital – Graham 17, Morris 12, Penese 12

JTF’s – Rainsfield 6, Baudry 5

Injury cloud hanging over Ashley Gayle

The Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) Finals tournament begins on Thursday in Porirua with a number of teams having roster changes forced upon them.

Three of the six teams competing for the championship have lost personnel to the Tall Ferns who depart for China the day before WBC begins.

Waitakere Lady Rangers are the heaviest hit as not only have they lost Chevannah Paalvast, Deena Franklin and Ferns debutant Katelin Noyer but also their experienced coach Aik Ho who is part of the Tall Ferns coaching setup. His assistant Ollie Bryce, who will also have to manage without the injured Annalina Crosbie, will fill his shoes.

Ho is disappointed to be missing the championships but is in a perfect position to comment on the chances of some of the other teams.

Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks have a couple of huge holes to fill with guards Jordan Hunter and Hailey Moala (nee Purcell) absent. Hunter is required by the Ferns and Moala has headed overseas to take up a contract with Gladstone Power in the Queensland Basketball League alongside sister and former Tall Fern Charmian Mellors. Coach Tania Hunter will have to be at her strategic best to cover for those losses.

The Tall Ferns assistant says, “ They will have Breanna Jones of course and I like the look of young Sharne Robati but Hunter will be a huge hole to fill and they will struggle without her.”

Waikato Wizards will need to manage without Krystal Leger-Walker. The 18 year old is a major offensive weapon for Waikato but her absence will give opportunities to the likes of Kendall Heremia and Georgia Perrott-Hunt. Veterans Miriam Stevens and Natasha Lenden will need to make significant contributions if Waikato is to see semi-final action.

Despite an Injury cloud hanging over import centre Ashley Gayle the Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats will go into the tournament as title favourites. The Wildcats have the deepest roster in the competition and boast a 9-0 unbeaten record in the current campaign.

Ho says, “If they have Pip Connell back from injury to boost their forward stocks they will be a tough proposition but certainly if Gayle can’t play it helps the other teams.”

A positive for the Wildcats is that former Olympian Tall Fern Sally Farmer is likely to be wearing a red and black singlet for the first time in over 10 years.

“I think it is great for the younger players to have someone of Sally’s experience willing to be in the mix. Sally and I played together and she was happy to come back more for the team’s benefit than her own, which I am grateful for,” said Wildcats coach Lori McDaniel.

Oceana Gold Rush Otago, last season’s champions, will be smiling as they appear to be at full strength. The Tall Ferns assistant coach likes their chances, “They’ve made two recent finals and I’m picking them to make it again this time. It’s great to see a bunch of local girls that have grown up in the team together doing so well. It’s good to see Toddy (coach Todd Marshall) doing such a good job without the stars of last year Jillian Harmon and Samara Gallaher.”

Also appearing to be at full strength are Taranaki Thunder. “For me they are the sleeping giants,” says Ho. “With Jess Tuki leading the team anything could happen with that group,” he says.

The six teams are divided into two pools of three with the top two in each progressing to semi-final play.

Pool A is made up of Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats, Waitakere Lady Rangers and Waikato Wizards

Pool B comprises of Oceana Gold Rush Otago, Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks and Taranaki Thunder.

The other four teams will contest the Plate Competition. Capital Flyers bounced back from a horror first tournament to finish strongly in their second outing in Nelson. Tauranga City Coasters and Te Tai Tokerau Phoenix have both improved greatly from last season and are capable of upsetting the Flyers and the other strong contenders Nelson Sparks.

Canterbury will be looking to win their first title since 2005 but there are a few hurdles to overcome before that might eventuate.

Ashley Gayle has been in dominant form for the Wildcats

In last Sunday’s Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) clash, played at Dunedin’s Edgar Centre against the Otago Gold Rush, Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats centre Ashley Gayle was carried from the court early in the third quarter.

An initial suspected achilles injury was  examined by Crusaders team doctor Deb Robinson, and Gayle was found to have sustained ligament damage only, to her right ankle.

The 6’4” American Gayle is now focused solely on her rehab plan, while her participation in the WBC finals tournament next month remains uncertain. She continues in her community coaching roles around the province.

Gayle’s team won the fixture 59-57 on two clutch free-throws by Tall Fern trialist Terai Sadler with just 4 seconds on the clock. Behind by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter, with veteran Sally Farmer playing the centre position in Gayle’s absence, the Canterbury women were able to keep their composure, posting a 21-7 fourth quarter to snatch victory.

The Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats remain unbeaten and alone at the top of the WBC table heading into finals weekend scheduled for 12-14 May in Porirua.

WBC Top 6 Standings ahead of championship play-offs:

9-0 Canterbury Wildcats.
7-2 ACM Lady Hawks.
7-2 Otago.
6-3 Waitakere Lady Rangers, Waikato Wizards

Hayley Gray led the Wildcats scoring

Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats preserved their unbeaten 2016 Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) record on Sunday – but only just.

The Wildcats won a hard fought encounter in Dunedin on Sunday narrowly beating Oceana Gold Rush Otago 59-57.

The two teams met in Christchurch three weeks ago and on that occasion Otago prevailed 72-70 in overtime in a non-competition fixture.

For the first three quarters of Sunday’s game a repeat result looked on the cards.

The Gold Rush led 20-14 at the first quarter break and 34-28 at half-time. The advantage was extended to 50-38 at the final break with guards Danielle Frost and Aleisha Ruske a constant threat for Otago.

Canterbury, aided by a first appearance this season of former Tall Fern Sally Farmer, stormed back in the final quarter. The full court pressure defence of the Wildcats and the scoring prowess of Hayley Gray turned the game on its head with the Wildcats taking the quarter 21-7 to clinch a victory, that for all but the final ten minutes looked unlikely.

Otago coach Todd Marshall was left to rue the high number of turnovers and lack of offensive execution by his team in the final quarter.

“I was happy with the majority of the game but down the stretch our composure was poor. Canterbury applied good full court pressure down the stretch and hit some key shots to clinch the win,” he said.

Final score;

Otago 57: Danielle Frost 13, Aleisha Ruske 12, Soraya Umaga-Jensen 9.

Canterbury 59: Hayley Gray 13, Fran Edmondson 10, Terai Sadler 9, Sally Farmer 9.

With the victory Canterbury win the WBC round robin series and carry number one seeding, and the more favourable draw, into the championship deciding Porirua tournament in mid May.

Otago slip to third on the ladder. The Gold Rush have the same 7-2 record as Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks but fall behind the Hawks on the head to head record.

The top 6 teams will compete for the championship in Porirua

WBC Standings ahead of Championship play-offs

 9-0 Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats

7-2 ACM Lady Hawks

7-2 Oceana Gold Rush Otago

6-3 Waitakere Lady Rangers, Waikato Wizards

3-6 Taranaki Thunder (Taranaki have a superior head to head record than Nelson or Capital)

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3-6 Nelson Sparks, Capital Flyers

1-8 Tauranga City Coasters

0-9 Te Tai Tokerau Phoenix

Shea Crotty leads the unbeaten Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats

Oceana Gold Rush Otago and Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats will be playing for more than southern pride when the Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) resumes on Sunday.

Canterbury is unbeaten this season boasting an 8-0 record whilst Otago (7-1) have lost just once, against Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks, in the current campaign.

Otago will entertain Canterbury at the Edgar Centre hoping for a repeat of the outcome when the two teams met in Christchurch three weeks ago. On that occasion the Blue and Gold’s slipped away from Cowles Stadium with a 72-70 overtime victory in a non-competition fixture.

That performance is not lost on Canterbury Wildcats coach Lori McDaniel, “ The Wildcats are looking forward to the battle of the South against the Goldrush this Sunday. The Otago women had an outstanding performance against us last month and we are going into this match with a focus on execution and intensity.”

Otago guard Janet Main scored 21 points on that occasion and small forward Bronwyn Kjestrup chimed in with 18 points. A similar output would help but Main will have only returned from China a few hours before the game. The Otago captain is the physiotherapist for the Junior Tall Ferns who have just returned from a nine game tour of China.

Fellow guard Nicole Ruske (13 points against China last Tuesday) was a member of the JTF’s team and like Main could be battling the effects of jet lag. Forward Natalie Visger will not be suiting up as a result of a calf injury sustained early in the game against Waikato in Nelson.

Canterbury coach McDaniel has an array of talent at her disposal. Shea Crotty, named this week in the Tall Ferns trial squad, leads a talented backcourt that also includes Anita Snowdon, Courtney Hamblin and Hayley Gray.

The forward spots are equally well covered with Fran Edmondson and Terai Sadler (also named to attend the Tall Ferns trial) complimenting the rebounding powerhouse that is American import Ashley Gayle.

Otago coach Todd Marshall is aware of the Wildcats depth, “Canterbury pose some real challenges due to their size and squad depth, this is an excellent opportunity to test ourselves prior to finals weekend in Porirua”.

Despite that depth and Canterbury’s unbeaten record Marshall is looking forward to the encounter, “The most looked forward to game of the season thus far, the team is looking forward to playing its only game in front of a home crowd this season,” he said.

The winner of the game will win the WBC round robin series and carry number one seeding, and the more favourable draw, into the championship deciding Porirua tournament in mid May.

Canterbury, should they lose, would finish second. However if Otago lose they will slip to third. The Gold Rush would have the same 7-2 record as Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks but would fall behind the Hawks on the head to head record.

Tip-off is 12.00pm (midday) on Sunday April 17^th at the Edgar Centre, Dunedin.

The live statistics link is;

http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/21774/17/62/32/24Y12cp0iqFco/

Shea Crotty helped the Canterbury Wildcats remain unbeaten in 2016 WBC

Taranaki Thunder secured an important win early on Day 1 of the 2016 Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) second tournament on Friday at Saxton Arena.

The Thunder upset hosts Nelson Sparks winning 52-36 and in so doing boosted their chances of a top six finish and an opportunity to contest the championship section in Porirua early next month.

Jess Tuki was a rebounding machine for Taranaki, grabbing 11 by half-time, eventually finishing with 17 to add to 8 points. Iritana Hohaia complimented Tuki nicely with 12 points (5/9FG) whilst Jodi Hikuroa-Jeffrey fought something of a lone hand for Nelson recording 16 points.

Waikato Wizards were given a huge fright by Capital Flyers coming from four points down at three-quarter time to eventually win 52-50. Miriam Stevens (19pts) eased her team over the line with 11 final quarter points. The Flyers, led by Tegan Graham’s 16 points, were denied their first win of the season but bounced back later in the day.

Graham (28pts) combined for 52 points with Kayla Kiriau to give the Flyers their break out win, 85-74, against Taranaki Thunder. They led 36-32 at the main break and controlled the tempo in the second half to record a deserved win.

The long journey south caused Te Tai Tokerau Phoenix a few problems as they managed just two points in the opening quarter against ACM Lady Hawks. They did improve as the game progressed but still went down 59-25 to the Aucklander’s who were paced by Jordan Hunter (18pts) and Hailey Moala (13pts).

A key game featured the unbeaten Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats and Waikato Wizards. The scores were tied 22 apiece at half time but the inside domination of Canterbury forwards Fran Edmondson (11p/15r) and import Ashley Gayle (13p/11r) proved the difference as the Wildcats ran out 58-53 to the good.

Tauranga City Coasters were outclassed by Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats 110-33 in the opening game of the day but demonstrated a huge improvement against Oceana Gold Rush Otago later in the day losing in heartbraking fashion 65-62. The Coasters were ahead 62-60 with under a minute to play but committed an inbounds turnover allowing Aleisha Ruske the opportunity to make the go ahead three for the defending champions with 34 seconds remaining. Rebecca Hughes missed a jump shot on the next play for the Coasters who were then forced to foul allowing Janet Main (12pts) to ice the game for Otago.

15 year old Tauranga guard Briarly Rogers was outstanding leading all scorers with 19 points (8/12FG).

Otago won the battle for second spot on the WBC ladder beating Waitakere Lady Rangers 70-57. The Rangers welcomed back Chevannah Paalvast (12pts) fresh from her Australian WNBL success with Townsville Fire but it was the performances of Soraya Umaga-Jensen (17pts) and Natalie Visger (15pts) in Otago colours that caught the eye.

In the last game of the day Kat Jones kept Nelson’s slim championship play-off hopes alive with a dominating 19 points, 10 rebounds performance as the Sparks kept Te Tai Tokerau Phoenix winless with a hard fought 44-39 victory. Sian Telfar (9pts) top scored for the Phoenix despite leaving the court early in the third period after sustaining an eye injury.

WBC Current Standings

6-0 Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats

5-1 Oceana Gold Rush Otago

5-2 ACM Lady Hawks

4-2 Waikato Wizards, Waitakere Lady Rangers

3-3 Taranaki Thunder

2-4 Nelson Sparks

1-5 Tauranga City Coasters

1-6 Capital Flyers

0-6 Te Tai Tokerau Phoenix