Day 2 - Match Reports

Women Game 17

QLD north 69 defeated by SA Country 80

A scrappy start by both teams going point for point early in the first quarter, but with QLD picking up early fouls SA Country were able to get a lead with their offensive attack and capitalised on the foul line.  At the other end QLD North showed promise with their transition game and ball movement in the half court, but were not rewarded with the points and put backs were hard to come by with the box out efforts of SA.

QLD applied a zone to stem the scoring, working briefly, SA Country were able to break it down and leaving QLD to work hard in their offensive end to get much needed points, however, with forced turnovers SA Country were really in control of the game from the outset.  This win puts SA Country keeps them on track and will need to back up against New Zealand, but for QLD North they will need to lick their wounds and back up for their game against WA Metro in their double header.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists
B. Mckay (SAC)	22	18	3
G. Thompson (SAC)	21	8		2
M. Carey (QLD)	13	5	2
E. Hutchison (QLD)	9	6		4

 

Men Game 18

NSW Metro 91 defeated WA Country 38

WA Country recovering from their hard introduction to Nationals in their last game were going to need to make an adjustment this game to ensure the same result was not going to happen. They started in a man to man defence but NSW Metro’s agility in attacking the gaps exposed the WA Country weakness.

At the other end, NSW Metro missed good shot opportunities inside and were out rebounded on the boards, allowing WA Country to use their strength in transition offence but in return NSW Metro used a press to capture additional steals and convert into points in continuing their assault on WA Country.

The second half saw WA Country look to their interior game for scores and defensively lift the tempo with their ball pressure shutting down gaps.  NSW Metro were forced to use the perimeter and in turn defensively lifted to continue their scoring and galloped away with 40 point lead going into the final quarter.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists
K. Achampong (NSWM)	12	11	2
D. Elkaz (NSWM)	20	4		2
J. Falco (WAC)	11	4		2
C .Bell (WAC)	4	5	1

 

Men Game 19

NSW Country 90 defeated Northern Territory 36

An impressive first quarter effort by Northern Territory, applying persistent pressure up the floor, but outshone by the athleticism from NSW Country which was consistent through the game.  Applying a full court press, NSW Country gained several steals and taking their opportunities to convert using both their interior and exterior offensive skills.

NT started to use the perimeter well in the third making back to back baskets in a fight back, but again NSW proved to be too strong and consistent securing half their score from steals.

Late in the game NT showed their frustration with the foul count as NSW Country were physically contesting the rebounds at both ends, and NT coming off second best.  NSW now taking their second win will be looking to continue their winning ways against QLD South in their double header.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists
J. Rauch (NSWC)	16	6	5
K. Zunic (NSWC)	15	5	2	2
W. McClay (NT)	9	5	4
M. Rowse (NT)	8	3		1

 

Women Game 20

Vic Metro 74 defeated WA Metro 39

Vic Metro continue to head into the game as favourites with a win under their belt and some obvious size advantage, but WA Metro were equipped to match in size against Victoria’s E.Magbegor, with S.Johnson able to go head to head.

However Victoria’s ability to defend inside securing several blocks in the first half, WA Metro were not able to score and with little range beyond the 3 points line the Victorians ran away with a convincing lead.

The defensive pressure continued by Vic Metro in the second half and caused two shot clock violations  as WA Metro struggled to find a scoring opportunity.  As the game drew to an end the WA Metro team did not give up and with the intensity brought more fouls and points from the charity strip but not changing the outcome.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists	Block Shots
E. Magbegor (VICM)	13	21			7
N. George (VICM)	16	3	2
R. Thompson (WAM)	8	3		2
E. Fisher (WAM)	7	4		2

 

Women Game 21

NSW Metro 70 defeated Tasmania 61

Tasmania came off a convincing loss to SA Metro on Day 1 and would be hoping to make amends today.  They started in a half court man obviously expecting NSW Metro to use their athleticism in the open court, and while this strategy delivered early Tasmania needed to adjust to stay in the game and moved to a half court zone.  This secured some defensive stops and allowed the game to come back to a 3 point difference.

NSW Metro played a half court man which allowed Tasmania to use to their advantage finding the gaps and keeping in touch of NSW Metro.  In an attempt to break the game open NSW Metro applied a full court press and were able to maintain their lead.

At the start of the fourth quarter some unforced turnovers from Tasmania saw NSW blow out to a near 20 point lead and Tasmania then needed to apply defensive pressure to save the game.  This pressure turned the table and some great outside shooting brought Tasmania back into contention but they were never able to recover from their early blow out.  The win for NSW places them in a strong position assuming they can back up their efforts in the blockbuster game against Victoria Country.

Statistical leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists	Blocks
E. Carroll (NSWM)	14	4	5	4
J. Robinson (NSWM)	12	9			2
R. Abel (TAS)	20

 

Men Game 22

SA Country 59 defeated by ACT 68

ACT were able to hold a comfortable 10 point lead for the most of the first half with scores levelling just before half time and SA Country staying within 5 points for most of the third quarter.  ACT’s ability to score both inside and outside the paint was first class compared to SA Country who took less than half their shots in the first half from outside the paint. ACT were converting points outside at a rate unmatched by the South Australians, with the end result being 13 outside shots to 29 (ACT). In the end, ACT’s size was too much for the smaller South Australian team.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists	Block
M. Scott (SAC)	14	12
D. Stock (SAC)	11	4		3
B. Doran (ACT)	19	4	2		3
G. Morrison (ACT)	14	13		2

 

Women Game 23

NSW Country 63 defeated Australian Capital Territory 37

Not the smoothest of starts for either team, with ACT having to work hard to get the ball to a good shot option against a physical NSW Country group. With NSW Country converting their scoring attempts the ACT transition baskets were far and few between and emphasised their need to work the ball in offence but were not rewarded like NSW Country who took an 8 lead into the first break.

Into the second quarter some early fouls by NSW Country and a defensive of ACT kept ACT in a threatening position narrowing the margin to three points. A period of missed shots by ACT and fouls put NSW Country on the foul line who made the most of it and took the lead out to ten points. ACT were not able to fight back like their New Zealand game and the lead blew out by 20 points, enabling NSW Country to keep their dreams for top 4 alive.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists	Block Shots
J. Simmons (NSWC)	21	11	2	5
C. McLean (NSWC)	11		4
C. Bourne (ACT)	9	12	2
E. Rowcliffe (ACT)	7	7			2

 

Men Game 24

WA Metro 51 defeated by SA Metro 76

SA Metro made a cracking start against a physical outfit in their first game of the day.  With a full court press they were able to get a lead which took them into the first break up by 14. WA let SA Metro get up by 20 and then had to work to bring the game back to a 14 point margin at half time.

Despite the 14 point gap WA Metro refused to let go and powered through the third quarter to keep in touch, and good use of a 3-2 zone forced SA Metro to look to their exterior to score points, which was not fruitful and provided the opportunity for WA Metro to keep within threatening margins with their physical rebounding.

The physicality didn’t stop on the rebounds for WA Metro and D.Crook exited the game after a tough drive from WA Metro had him hit the floor hard.  This seemed to inspire the South Australians and they stormed off to a 20 point victory and a much needed win.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists	Blocks
B. Martin (WAM)	12	6		2	3
H. Peters (WAM)	9	5			3
B. Garang (SAM)	14	18	1		1
K. Sapwell (SAM)	28	1	1

 

Women Game 25

QLD South 73 defeated Northern Territory 44

With a strong press and reassuring communication between the players of QLD South it was easy to tell where this game was headed.

Strong inside moves by J.Fuiava and U.Motuga for QLD South made a statement to the NT about whose owned the paint.  NT adjusted to limit the scoring inside but this only opened up the opportunity for QLD South to test out their outside game and bring other players into the game.

With a fast change in tempo from QLD South in the third quarter, NT struggled to keep up the pace and focused on defensive rebounding to limit second chance points.  The tempo maintained by QLD South created fouls for them which NT took advantage of.

QLD South continued their high intensity defensive effort Into the last quarter QLDS although pulling back to a half court defence they persisted in communication and physicality to beat screen work of the NT, and securing steals in the process and giving them a prominent win by 29 points.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists
J. Fuiava (QLDS)	18	9		2
R. Mate (QLDS)	14	4	2
F. Swan (NT)	18	7		1
A. Cubillo (NT)	13	5		2

 

Men Game 26

QLD North 48 defeated by Vic Metro 63

Turnovers were critical for QLD North early on giving Vic Metro the opportunity to settle into the game and with effective offensive transition delivered points early on.  This was demonstrated through Vic Metro’s offence where they seemed to outnumber QLD North at times with they appeared to be in everywhere on the court at the same time.

QLD North were not deterred and persisted with their attack of Vic Metro but the game started to slip away leading into half time where the scoreline moved to over fifteen points from several missed opportunities of QLD North. Third quarter saw the QLDers make a statement to the Victorians that the game wasn’t’ over and brought the margin back to seven points.  Vic Metro lifted their intensity and drew several fouls which allowed them to capture some easy points and draw away late in the third quarter and while QLD kept having a crack they were not able to break a 15 point deficit and giving Vic Metro another win.

Statistical leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists
S. Froling (QLDN)	13	8		1
C. Wright (QLDN)	13	2	3
C.Cagle (VICM)	18	7	3
M. Barry (VICM)	7		3

 

Women Game 27

SA Metro 75 defeated WA Country 44

SA Metro started the game with a determination to lead the scoring and they used their athleticism to get scores both inside and on the perimeter.   SA Metro focused on a full court press and delivered much needed stops but importantly good scoring options as the steals were converted to fast break points.   Taking an eight point lead into the quarter time break, WA Country did not look to give in through the second quarter and applied defensive pressure to the best of their ability.   They managed to get their hands on the ball in a number of contests but not able to hold on against he might of South Australia Metro.  It wasn’t a game that saw SA Metro run away on a scoring spree, but instead a slowly outscoring WA Country each quarter that resulted in the final scoreline not reflecting the effort by both teams but for SA metro, keeping them on track for the top 4.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks
S. Simons (SAM)	16	7	3
D. Rees (SAM)	7	14		2
T. East (WAC)	15	2
T. Sears (WAC)	7	10

 

Men Game 28

VIC Country 59 defeated by New Zealand 78

NZ broke out to a strong lead early in the quarter with a fast paced game and shots were not dropping for the Victoria Country team.   At the start of the second quarter Victoria found their shooting hand and went on an eight point scoring run against a slow New Zealand zone and brought the scoreline back to a manageable 3 point difference but this was short lived and New Zealand controlled a large amount of the play into the end of the quarter having them run off to a 20 point lead.

Despite Vic Country executing a range of well executed defences they were not able to match the size and speed of the New Zealand team.  Heading into the final quarter the scoreline 14 the difference and Vic Country gave it several cracks but were not able to close the gap delivering NZ their second win.

Statistical Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks
A. Hodge (VICC)	16		1
L. Wright (VICC)	14	4
U. Naboa (NZ)	18	6	4
S. Waardenburg (NZ)	12	11		3

 

Men Game 29

Tasmania 53 defeated by NSW Metro 93

Tasmania lacked size against a bigger NSW team, but their athleticism challenged the NSW Metro team from the get go.  Both teams got into early foul trouble with their consistent interior focus offensively.  Tassie looking at their penetration and NSW using their post feeds to secure points.   Tassie knocked down a big three leading into quarter time to keep them in touch with NSW and scores at 18-24.

It was with full court pressure that NSW were able to demonstrate the agility and skill of their players securing forced turnovers from Tasmania. While the tempo of the game didn’t slow down the scoring did for Tasmania and they struggled in the half court resulting in a NSW Metro win by

Statistical leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Assists
L.Jaffray (TAS)	13
K. Paul (TAS)	8	6
A. Waban (NSWM)	15	5	4
M. Duffy	13		5

 

Women Game 30

SA Country 72 defeated New Zealand 48

The game being SA Country’s second for the day was going to test them against a fresh NZ team.  The game proved to be a physically demanding effort of both teams from the outset.  SA Country struggling to break away for most of the first half.  It wasn’t until NZ conceded some open looks in the half court and fouls that SA Country saw an opportunity to break a point for point game into a 6 point lead.

This lead was all SA Country needed to believe that the win was within their reach and NZ were not being rewarded for the effort they applied in their defensive end.

Statistical leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists	Blocks
T. Gray (SAC)	17	5
B. Mckay (SAC)	11	19
N. Rucke (NZ)	17		2	3
E. McGoldrick (NZ)	8	11			4

 

Women Game 31

Vic Country 54 defeated NSW Metro 51

Vic Country was chasing a much needed win against a strong NSW Metro unit and they started the game well going point for point early.  In the second they got out to a small lead but some missed scoring options from stagnant offence and poor defensive transition resulted in a NSW Metro comeback levelling the scores late in the second quarter and going point.

It looked to be anyone’s game into the fourth quarter and with both teams largely relying on interior play scoring with the rare outside score.  As the clock closed in the defensive intensity of both teams lifted and Vic Country missed some crucial shots allowing NSW Metro to get a five point jump in the final three minutes with some smooth foul shooting.  Vic Country settled their selves and fought their way back with two great close range shots to bring them back to 1 point the difference in the final minute of the game.  After a well controlled half court defence following a Vic Country timeout, the Vic girls delivered a desperate much needed basket giving them a 1 point lead.  NSW Metro returned fire with a time out but the tactics did not deliver on the court and Vic Country were carried over the line by their hard work and desperation strongly supported by the voice of the home crowd.

Statistical leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Assists	Block
J. Shelley (VICC)	14				1
D. Markwell (VICC)	11	6
L. Marov (NSWM)	12		1
E. Carroll (NSWM)	18	7		2