Oceana Gold Rush Otago the 2015 WBC Champions - Jun 6, 2015
The Championship Grand Final of the 2015 Women's Basketball Championship featured the Oceana Gold Rush Otago and Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks. The Otago Gold Rush entered the game boasting the best record in the competition, a 13-1 record. When the two teams met during the regular season the Otago Gold Rush had recorded a 64-59 win. Kalani Purcell (188-F-95) amassed 11 first quarter rebounds as the Lady Hawks edged a low scoring stanza 14-12. The second quarter was equally tight as both sides struggled to find any shooting rhythm, the Lady Hawks still ahead 28-26 at half-time - Lady Hawks point guard Jordan Hunter (172-G-90, college: SE Missouri St.) led all scorers with 9 points at the break. Four points each from Janet Main and Samara Gallaher (178-G-92) kick started an Otago Gold Rush surge early in the second half before Hailey Purcell (173-G/F-87, college: Tenn-Martin) replied for the Lady Hawks. When Soraya Umaga-Jensen banked in a three with 3:30 left in the third period the Otago Lady Hawks lead had blown out to almost game winning proportions, 49-30, further extended to 53-34 with 10 minutes remaining. Gallaher and Jillian Harmon (185-G-87, agency: Players Group, college: Stanford) dominated the early exchanges in the the fourth quarter to ensure there would be no hint of an Lady Hawks come back, Otago Gold Rush cruising to their second WBC title they first achieved in 2011. Jordan Hunter, Hailey Purcell and Kalani Purcell battled valiantly for the Lady Hawks but the Otago Gold Rush effort, paced by point guard Janet Main, Harmon and Gallaher was relentless. Otago Gold Rush Coach Todd Marshall was naturally delighted with his team's performance, particularly the third period when the Lady Hawks were outscored 27-6. 'That third quarter, it doesn't get much better than that. We struggled in the first half and you wonder if it is going to come good for you. I'm very proud of the team, they train hard they play hard and they enjoy each others company, it's just been a fantastic season.' Having the competitions leading player, Jillian Harmon in the team was a major factor in the team's success. 'It certainly adds a bit of spice to it. When you already have a good team a player of that quality turns you into a stunning team. She releases pressure on other players' Harmon herself was very satisfied to pick up her second title this year. She was an important cog in the Townsville Fire team that won the 2014-15 Australian WNBL championship. 'It feels pretty good to win this New Zealand one, I played two completely different roles on the two teams but this is an awesome group of girls here, I had so much fun and I'm so fortunate they let me into the group.' Otago Gold Rush trailed at half time by two points but surged ahead in the third period. 'I think we were a bit tired in the first half but in the third quarter we took it to a different level and we were hitting shots from everywhere and everyone was contributing. We got contributions from everyone and that made it hard for the Lady Hawks to guard us, you never knew who was going to drive to the basket or who was going to make a three. Also our team defence was also awesome.' Courtesy of: basketball.org.nz
by
Search
InStat FREE TRIAL
Your promo code is eurobasket Click for FREE TRIAL to InStat
