Rough play mars match

Press, 13 May 1981, Page 26

Rough play mars match

Rough play spoiled the main clash in the Cooper Henderson women's division one competition between Aranui and Checkers at Cowles Stadium on Saturday.

Aranui. now called Asia Pacific after its new sponsor, took a fourpoint lead in the competition when it beat the defending champion, Checkers, for the second time.

Aranui won a tough, scrappy encounter. 38-30. Mairehau disposed of University. 51-38, and Continen tai Caterers Rangiora consolidated its fourth position, beating Rebels, 58-33, in a fast and open game.

The arch-rivals. Checkers and Mairehau. share second place on 10 points and will meet again tomorrow evening in Cowles Stadium. Mairehau, which has better teamwork at present, could upset Checkers this time, while Aranui should easily defeat Rebels in the early game.

Points after the seventh round are: Aranui 14. Checkers 10, Mairehau 10, Continental Caterers 6. University 2, Rebels 0.

Aranui 38 (A. Beukenholdt 18. P. King 6, A. Pule 5. D. Mac Kay 3. C. Stenstrom 2, V. Cowley 2, A.’ Brokenshire 2) Checkers A 30(L. Hannen 14, B. McLeod 10, D. Woodhouse 4, A. Taylor 2). Both sides took a long time to settle, the first 10 minutes being evenly matched as players marked each other closel_v. Better team control and a flurry from Adrienne Beukenholdt put Aranui ahead, 2312. at half-time. Regularly, Denise Mac Kay and Vicki Cowley broke clear as the more aggressive Aranui teamwork intercepted some

loose Checkers passes, turning defence in to attack with fast breaks.

Checkers’ play looked rather lethargic but livened up after a stern half-time chat from its two coaches. It quickly closed the gap to seven points with a good full court press. Almost as quick, its play declined against Aranui’s tight defence, missing many vital, usually safe shots at a critical stage in its fight-back. Mac Kay, who was fouled out in the twelfth minute, was always a danger but it was the energetic display from Angela Pule who gave Aranui good defensive and offensive thrusts as Checkers pressed to close the gap. Pule, having already played netball earlier in the day, rebounded strongly and fed the ball well. The two hardest workers on the court were the two smallest players, Sharon Constable (Checkers) and Ann Brokenshire, of Aranui.

For Checkers, Leslie Hannen had an off day and late in the game appeared to aggravate a minor back complaint, while her fellow national representative, Beth McLeod, had a patchy game. She played with deceptive skill while on top but quickly became despondent as she felt that the referees had missed several foul calls. Mairehau A 51 (D. Broughton 10.

Bennett 6. J. Cook 6. S. Kemp R, M. Stokes 4.1. Lee 2). University 38 (V. Brand 15. R. Walke,- 8. T. Co'stain 7. D. Atkins 4, R. Crow 2, M. Porteous 2.)

Mairehau quickly settled to lead 10-2 after four minutes with good teamwork but soon fell into some bad habits and let University catch it at half-time, 18-17. Mairehau missed the cool, calculated play ot its National player, Patsy Barry, who was out with an ankle injury. The second spell opened quietly and stayed scoreless until the fourth minute. Shortly after Mairehau sprang to life, rattling in 15 quick points with a solid display. At this stage, Mairehau had on the court all five team-mates of the champion 1979 Mairehau High School side.

Megan Stokes controlled the rebounds. Donna Broughton carried the ball to set play for Isobell Lee and Bronwyn Palmer. When the moves broke down the fleet-footed Karen Richardson stole several good balls and outran the University defence to score easily. Vickie Brand turned on a formidable performance for University, assisted by regular efforts from Thelma Costain and Rose Walker. Chris Proctor was surprsingly ineffective.

Continental Caterers Rangiora 58 (K. Smith 24. M. Ives 14, S. Blackadder 8. R. King 8, L. Stevenson 4), Rebels 33 (M. Steele 18, A. Robinson 4. B. Carr 4, J. Cuming 3, E. Young 2. M. Williams 2). This fast, free-flowing game ran from end to end for most of the encounter with the Rangiora girls eventually making better use of the

ball. Three quick baskets before half-time gave Rangiora a 27-18 lead at the break. Rebels held its own in the early stages of the second half but several baskets from Mary Jane Ives in the middle stages knocked Rebels. Rangiora ran away with the last quarter, scoring the last 17 points unopposed against a weak, tired Rebels defence.

Rangiora’s Kim Smith worked vigorously in al] aspects of play, hunting the ball on defence arid splitting open Rebels defence repeatedly at the other end. Her 24 points were a just reward for her effort. Rebels’ Heather Steele made good use of the ball, slotting 12 of her 18 points in the first spell but she tired quickly in the second half. Lower-grade results were: Men

Division two.— University B 52, United Service B 33: Taxes 58, Checkers B 50; Y.M.C.A.-Winstone 54. Burnside 46.

Division three.— H. 5.0.8. B 46, Christchurch Boys High 40.

Division four.— Eric 33, Police 17: Air N.Z. 37, Deaf Boys A 23; Hillmorton 0.8. 38, B.N.Z. 31; Seekers 52, Southern 7 22. Division five.— Media 30. 1.8. M. 18; Rehua 20, Kevstars 14; Albatross 34, Te Kaihanga 28; Riccarton B 17. Hotshots 14. Division six.— Continental Caterers 30. Deaf Bovs B 25; Mairehau C 14, Ashley 10; loc H 41, Rothmans 2; Railway 31, Mount Cook 28. Women Division two.— Halswell 67, Mairehau High 24; Checkers B 40, Hagley 28; Hotshots 45, Christchurch United 37.