Dandenong Rangers clinch another SEABL championship - Sep 12, 2015
THE Dandenong Lady Rangers claimed a remarkable fourth women's SEABL championship in six years with a clinical 76-63 win over a brave Kilsyth Lady Cobras on Saturday night at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium. A 12-2 scoring run mid-way through the third quarter for Dandenong proved to be too much for the visitors, who always fought hard but struggled to consistently threaten the Lady Rangers' defence. Guard Amelia Todhunter (166-G-88, agency: Agency) was the spark that ignited the pivotal run and claimed her second Barbara Barton Medal with a superb all-around display of 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. She had plenty of offensive support, Jacinta Kennedy adding a tidy double-double of her own with 17 points and 11 boards, while Aimie Clydesdale and Clare Papavs (180-G-87) chimed in with 12 and 11 points respectively. For Kilsyth, Rosie Moult came off the bench to nail four of her eight three-point attempts on her way to a team-high 14 points. Star guard Steph Cumming struggled through a 5-20 shooting night to post 13 points while skipper Sarah Parsons (180-F-86) hauled down an incredible 16 rebounds in her final game for the Lady Cobras. Dandenong coach Larissa Anderson hailed her conquering team as one she would 'go to war with' and reserved extra praise for Todhunter, who missed a large chunk of the season with a knee injury. 'Kilsyth is a great team, they really tested us,' Anderson said. 'But overall I think we stuck with it for the whole game and the credit goes to them, I thought they were amazing tonight. 'She (Amelia) certainly comes for the big games, she's only tiny but she has such a huge heart. 'She never, ever stops, she's so professional and determined and to come back from missing 15 weeks with what was a pretty nasty knee injury, is a real credit to her. 'They all step up for the big games and they showed that tonight, especially defensively. 'They always bring it for finals and I never assume it will just happen but I would not choose anyone else I would go to war with.' A proud Kilsyth coach Sam Woosnam admitted her plucky squad was simply outplayed by the Lady Rangers. 'It just wasn't our day and that takes nothing away from Dandenong,' Woosnam said. 'They took us out of our game, we couldn't get stops and they shot the ball extremely well. 'That's sport and that happens and I'm just so proud of our team. 'I can't fault my team, they gave their all and that's all I can ask for.' Opening the scoring through Kennedy, the Rangers quickly established an early 14-6 advantage despite Kilsyth's yeoman work on the offensive glass. But the Lady Cobras continued to pound the boards and by quarter-time had tied the game at 14-apiece. But another quick burst to open the second quarter had the hosts out to an eight-point lead as the alarm bells rang for Kilsyth. A collision under the Dandenong basket saw Lady Cobras centre Cassandra Sant head to the bench with a right knee injury. Remarkably, the visitors refused to yield and briefly took the lead before heading into the long interval trailing 34-31. Despite the Lady Cobras opening the second half scoring, it was a burst from Todhunter that broke the game open as Dandenong put the foot on the accelerator and raced to a 46-33 advantage with five minutes left in the third. Yet again Kilsyth closed the gap, this time through Moult, who nailed a pair of bombs from international waters as the Lady Rangers took a 54-46 advantage into the final quarter. Another baseline jumper from Todhunter early in the fourth gave Dandenong a 12-point lead and the general feeling was it was only a matter of time before Kilsyth returned fire. But every time the Lady Cobras threatened, the hosts seemed to have an answer, largely through Todhunter, who continued to terrorise the Kilsyth defence. With a 16-point lead and under two minutes to play, Dandenong could finally afford to play out the clock as Clare Papavs' corner triple put the icing on another championship cake. Courtesy of: seabl.com.au
Norwood Flames beat NA Rockets to clinch ABL title - Sep 4, 2015
The Flames were crowned champions of the women's league, after defeating the North Adelaide Rockets 59-42. The Flames had completed three double digit victories over the Rockets through the regular season and their Semi Final encounter, but it was the Rockets who had the better of the early going. A strong start by the underdogs had Flames player-coach Jessica Foley (182-G-83, college: Duke, agency: Turning Point Management) calling for timeout inside the first three minutes. The Flames did recover well enough to earn a 15-15 tie at quarter-time, but they were clearly not playing to their optimum, with a host of missed shots that would normally be makes. The Flames went on an 11-0 run in the second quarter, only for the Rockets to rally back to within one point. At half-time, the Rockets trailed 27-32, and were well and truly in the contest. Despite Rocket Jo Hill scoring an early second half bucket when she was laying on the floor, it was the Flames who lifted during the premiership quarter. The Rockets struggled to get anything inside, and struggled with their jump shots, leading to many transition opportunities for the favourites. The Flames won the third quarter 16-6 and led 48-33 heading into the fourth, on the back of another 11-0 run. The Rockets scored the first five points of the fourth, but never seriously threatened to steal victory, allowing the Flames to empty their bench for the final seconds. The Flames ended the season unbeaten for the second time in three years, while this was their third title in four years. Jessica Good (186-F-94) was named MVP as the game's outstanding player. She had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Marisa Stabile (182-F-92, college: Massachusetts) and Foley each added 12 points, while Rebecca Duke had 8 points and 6 assists. Hill picked up 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets. Jamie-Lee Peris (185-F/G-89) scored 9. The Flames boasted a 52-40 rebounding advantage. 23 of their rebounds were offensive. They also had 16 assists to 10 turnovers, whereas the Rockets had 14 assists to 17 turnovers. Courtesy of: basketballsa.com.au
Ringwood Hawks celebrate Big V title - Aug 30, 2015
The Ringwood Hawks celebrated the Big V title. They nipped Hume City in the decisive third game of the championship series. Amber Hegge (185-F-88, college: S.Dakota, agency: 2X Inc) stepped up with 17 points and 6 rebounds to lead the champions. Ringwood eked out a 12:7 lead after ten minutes. The Hawks accounted for a 30:23 halftime lead. Hume City denied the deficit and pulled ahead for a 2-point lead at the final intermission. However Ringwood went on a 17:13 rally in the fourth quarter and snatched a crucial victory. Emma Beddome (178-G/F, college: FGCU) posted 13 points for the Hawks. Colleen Planeta (188-F-88, college: Point Loma, agency: Law Office of David CollierLLC) responded with 16 points and 9 rebounds for Hume City.
Inspired Whitcomb leads Flames to back-to-back women's SBL titles - Aug 30, 2015
AN inspired Samantha Whitcomb (178-G/F-88, college: Washington, agency: Get a play) has delivered 41 points to lead the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames to back-to-back women's SBL championships with a 68-63 win over the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers in the Grand Final at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night. Having never previously won an SBL championship, the Flames now have two in the women's competition inside 12 months backing up last year's breakthrough triumph, by claiming the 2015 title with a five-point Grand Final win having lost just twice right throughout the season. The Tigers also lost just twice all throughout the year, but in the end it was reigning league MVP Samantha Whitcomb who was the difference between the two teams as she delivered one of the more stunning Grand Final performances. The Perth Lynx squad member lit up the Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night with 41 points, five rebounds and three steals on the back of shooting 14-of-24 from the field, 6-of-15 from three-point territory and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Jacinta Bourne (199-C-91) came up huge for Rockingham all night as well finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals while nailing four crucial bombs from outside three-point territory. Centre Darcee Garbin (185-F-94) had a fascinating battle inside with Louella Tomlinson and Zoe Harper, and finished with 11 points, six boards and three steals for the Flames. Only four players scored for the Flames with Talisia Bourne nailing the other two points but Lizel Buckley worked hard for eight rebounds. The Tigers had an outstanding season and never lied down in the grand final with centre Tomlinson leading the way inside with 14 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots. Kate Malpass (176-G-88) added 12 points, five boards and two assists as well for Willetton with Desiree Kelley having a strong performance with 12 points and nine rebounds. Harper put in a power of work down low as well and ended the Grand Final with nine points and 10 rebounds on the back of shooting 4-of-8 from the floor. Jacinta Bourne made a flying start to the game beginning with a steal and then nailing a three down the other end for the first score of the Grand Final. A three-point play from Samantha Whitcomb then gave the Flames an early 6-2 lead before six points from Kelley, and a basket from Malpass helped the Tigers tie up the scores. A triple each from Garbin and Jacinta Bourne, and two baskets and a pair of free-throws from Samantha Whitcomb then helped Rockingham open up a 20-15 quarter-time advantage. The Flames' lead was then seven points early in the second period after another basket from Samantha Whitcomb, but the Tigers then changed things up and went into a zone defence and things started to happen. From there, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run beginning with an and-one from Tomlinson. Five quick points from Garbin steadied Rockingham, but again Willetton caught fire with another 8-0 run, and despite five late first half points from Samantha Whitcomb it was still the Tigers leading 33-32 at half-time. It was basket for basket early in the third quarter but then some aggressive defence from Lara Napier on Samantha Whitcomb fired up the reigning MVP and in a three-minute burst in the period she nailed two stunning threes, a pair of free-throws and two other field goals. However, Napier and Tomlinson combined for Willetton's last 10 points leading into the three quarter-time to restrict Rockingham's lead to just three points. By the time Samantha Whitcomb nailed two massive threes in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, including a step back from the corner, the Flames appeared in control with an equal game-high lead of seven points but the Tigers refused to go away. A tough lay-up from Ebony Antonio and then long two from Tomlinson had Willetton back within three points with just under four minutes to go, and then after a scoreless almost two minutes it was Samantha Whitcomb who nailed her sixth triple of the game to steady things for Rockingham. Jacinta Bourne then nailed her fourth three shortly after and the Flames led by a game-high nine points, and went on to win by five to cap off a remarkable women's SBL season where the two grand finalists were split by just the five points over three meetings. Courtesy of: sbl.asn.au
Rockhampton Cyclones take out 2015 QBL Women's Championship - Aug 30, 2015
Congratulations to the Rockhampton Cyclones, who have taken out their first QBL Women's championship title, after defeating Gladstone Port City Power 2-0 in the Grand Finals best-of-three series. The Cyclones locked up the championship with a 68-58 victory over the Power on Saturday night, led by Chandrea Jones (175-SF-87, college: Syracuse, agency: LBM Management) on 23 points and 10 rebounds. It followed a solid 77-65 win on Friday night by the Cyclones, with Jones again leading the way for her team with 20 points and eight rebounds, matched by team-mate Nicole Michaels on 20 points and 10 rebounds. Chandrea Jones was named Grand Finals Series MVP for her efforts in both matches. Courtesy of: qbl.basketball.net.au
The Bankston Bruins earned the Waratah title. They beat the Sutherland Sharks in the championship game. 31 personal fouls committed by Sharks helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Guard Casey Samuels (182-94) stepped up and scored 27 points for the winners and the former international forward Rohanee Cox (182-80) chipped in 24 points and 6 rebounds. At the losing side point guard Lauren Sparks (168, college: Lubbock Christian) responded with 16 points and Jane Scrivens scored 7 points and 10 rebounds. Sharks' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Top scorers: Bankstown B.: C.Samuels 27+4reb+1ast, R.Cox 24+6reb, B.Maimone 9+9reb+4ast, A.Bywater 5+7reb+5ast, R.Cadee 5+5reb, C.Aravena 2 Sutherland S.: L.Sparks 16+3reb+2ast, L.Watkins 11+3reb+1ast, J.Nicholson 8+3reb, O.White 8+5reb+1ast, J.Scrivens 7+10reb+2ast, N. Towle 6+6reb+2ast
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