Checkers take lead

Press, 23 June 1986, Page 25

Checkers take lead

Admiral Lodge Checkers established an early lead in the championship section of the division one women’s basketball competition by beating Edgell Halswell, 5140, in a scrappy game at Cowles Stadium on Saturday. In other games Burnham overwhelmed Continental Caterers Rangiora, 58-38, with a strong second half and Charisma Y.M.C.A. beat Rebels of Mid-Canterbury, SO--35. Aranui had the bye. Checkers’ win was meritorious because it played without its three league players. They were on the scorebench ready to play if needed. Halswell failed to continue the improvement showed last week. It lacked a vital finishing touch to the ground work of its guards and will need to lift its team spirit and cohesion if it hopes to be a threat to the top two sides, Checkers and Aranui. Placings after the third round of the championship section are.— P W L F A Pt Checkers 3 3 0 169 117 6 Aranui 22 0 110 82 4 Halswell 3 2 1 143 123 4 YMCA 2 1 1 97 84 2 Bumham 2 1 1 83 92 2 Rebels 3 0 3 117 162 0 Rangiora 3 0 3 115 174 0 Checkers 51, Halswell 40 Checkers showed more patience and discipline as each side sought to establish control over the early stages of this key encounter. Good efforts by Kathy Slave pushed Halswell ahead, 8-6, after seven minutes but Barbara Carr put Checkers ahead with success from the free throw line. Checkers threatened to pull away even further, leading 23-15 in the fifteenth minute only to be pegged back by some brilliant efforts of Rose Walker. She sank two threepointers and another basket with ease, inspiring better efforts from Halswell. Marinda van Vuuren and Mandy Collins responded to allow Halswell to grab a 27-25 lead by half-time. Tempers became a little heated in the second spell with some unnecessary off-the-ball fouls upsetting many players but Checkers remained calmer to sneak ahead, 34-31, after nine minutes. Halswell briefly grabbed the lead again before Checkers pulled away, aided by some forceful attacking efforts from Jackie Cook. Carr finished off Checkers’ efforts, bringing her game tally to 26 including nine baskets and eight free throws. However, at times she needed to support the team effort better. Sue Bennie, a former league player, was well contained and lacked penetration. She got into foul troubles, fouling out in the eighth minute. Halswell also lost the hard-working van Vuuren with only smin remaining. Jane Lattimore showed improved confidence in her play while the former league player, Megan Cassidy, had a disappointing game. Scoring details:— Checkers: B. Carr 26, J. Cook 7, J. Lattimore 6, M. Cassidy 5, C. Heremaia 4, C. Erb 3. Halswell: K. Siave 10, R. Walker 8, M. Collins 8, M. van Vuuren 6, C. Lightfoot 5, S. Bennie 3. The referees were B. Martin and K. Kilgour. Burnham 58, Rangiora 38 Burnham established a handy 11-2 lead after five minutes only to be pegged back by some controlled shooting by Liz Mosley for Rangiora. The remainder of the first spell was basket for

basket with Rangiora sneaking ahead, 30-29, by halftime. However, that was the end of Rangiora’s effort. Christine Williams continued her good first-half efforts, controlling play and slotting some good baskets in the second spell. Burnham scored 21 points to one solitary Rangiora basket to dominate the next 13min, and lead 50-32. Burnham relaxed its tight defence in the last quarter. Williams received good support from the regular play-maker, Rhonda Milner and Yvonne Crichton-Hill, used her height to dominate much rebound ball while Julie McGrath and Joanne Thomson improved their efforts. Rongo King marshalled Rangiora’s effort well. Scoring:— Burnham: C. Williams 18, R. Milner 11, Y. Crichton-Hill 9, J. McGrath 9, J. Thomson 6, O. Cook 3, A.. Teki 2. Rangiora: E. Mosley 11, R. King 9, J. Harris 6, A. Smith 4, R. Cooke 3, L. Stanicich 3, R. Edyvean 2. The referees were K. Pastier and S. Harrow. Charisma-Y.M.C.A. 50, Rebels 35 Rebels started strongly, leading 11-4 after five minutes. Y.M.C.A. could not

get its teamwork going. Isobel Hartley produced her top form, scoring valuable baskets to give Y.M.C.A. the edge, 19-12, after 15min and 24-17 by half-time.

Y.M.C.A. dominated the next quarter with some fast, attacking basketball while Rebels lacked effort and direction. The long drawn-out game, which lasted two hours, was hampered by 39 fouls and many needless refereeing calls. Rebels restored some honesty to its scoreline with an improved last quarter with Lynette McGrath and Tonee Wills scoring better. Wills has played exceptionally well this season, improving week by week showing skill and speed while her aggressive play, sometimes a little too keen, frustrates the opposition. Lorraine Forsythe and Raelene Forde worked well for Rebels while Margaret Cuttance, Donna Broughton and Leanne McClintock were to the fore for Y.M.C.A.

Scoring:— Y.M.C.A. M. Cuttance 16, I. Hartley 12, D. Broughton 7, L. McClintock 6, J. M. Slocombe 5, P. Turnock 2, J. Lamont 2. Rebels: T. Wills 15, L. McGrath 9, R. Forde 7, S. Moon 2, S. Reid 2. The referees were D. Heslop and W. Poulter.