Top women’s teams untroubled

Press, 28 July 1986, Page 28

Top women’s teams untroubled

The three leading teams, Admiral Lodge Checkers, Aranui and Edgells-Halswell, all had comfortable wins in the eighth round of the women’s division one basketball competition at Cowles Stadium on Saturday.

Checkers maintained its four-point lead on the table with a controlled 60-44 win over Rebels, of Mid-Canter-bury.

Aranui overwhelmed Continental Caterers Rangiora, 79-48, with a stylish secondhalf display, while Halswell established control on the first half to beat CharismaY.M.C.A., 65-41. Placings in the championship section are.—

Checkers 60, Rebels 44 Checkers’ controlled team effort and solid defence contained Rebels in the first half. Checkers’ offence was a little slow in the first quarter. It led 11-7, after 10 min but ran in a string of baskets in the next 10 min to lead, 28-9, by half-time. Checkers’ depth showed in its scoring, with nine out of its ten players recording baskets in the first spell. The pace increased markedly in the second spell, Rebels fighting back with some encouraging baskets. The foul count also rose dramatically, with 13 fouls recorded against each side in the second spell.

Barbara Carr ran in several early second-half baskets for Checkers, while the sharp shooting Rebels’ captain, Lynette McGrath, pulled her side back to 26-41 with three consecutive three-pointers. Raelene Forde set up more play for Rebels with some

good ball control. Other substantial efforts came from Tonee Wills, Anne Campbell and Sue Francis, leaving Rebels winning the second spell, 35-32, but not the match.

The league player, Leonie Erb, her sister, Connie, and Jacky Cook were always sound for Checkers, while Jane Lattimore showed more confidence.

Scoring details.— Checkers: L. Erb 11, B. Carr 10, J. Cook 8, C. Erb 8, C. Calvert, J. Lattimore and M. Cassidy 6, C. Heremaia 3, D. Woodhouse 2.

Rebels. — L. McGrath 15, T. Wills 10, A. Campbell 9, R. Forde 5, A. Shanks 3, S. Francis 2. The referees were J. Henderson and.P. Ray. Aranui 79, Rangiora 48

Rangiora used its height well to contain Aranui, especially in the first half. Considering that the Aranui team contained five out of its six league players, Rangiora’s effort was very commendable for a team which has yet to record a win.

Good attacking play from Andrea Smith and rebounding from Jennis Harris kept Rangiora in touch. Aranui led, 16-8, after 10 min but the pace increased and the team pulled out to a 38-26 lead at half-time.

Aranui got its traditional fast-running game working well In the second spell, consolidating its lead at 62-36 after 9 min, and extending to 72-41 after 16 min.

Shona Richards played her best match of the season. Her strong mid-court play, a keen sense of anticipation and some precision shooting gave her a valuable 22 points. Di Martin (12) and Ann Price (16) were steady and reliable at both ends of the court, while Thelma Costain and Vicki Cowley made good use of their court time. Scoring details. —

Aranui: S. Richards 22, A. Price 16, D. Martin 12, T.

Costain 9, V. Cowley and T. Bowkenhold 18, L. Richardson 4.

Rangiora: A. Smith 14, J. Harris 12, R. King 8, L. Stanicich 5, M. Pipe 4, R. Edyvean 3, E. Mosely 2.

The referees were S. Harrow and K. Fastier. Halswell 65, Y.M.C.A. 41 A sound all-round game from Mandy Collins and strong finishing efforts from Sue Bennie allowed Halswell to establish early dominance over Y.M.C.A. They were supported by the good mid-court efforts of Rose Walker and Sally Elliott. Collins made quite a number of steals at half-way and finished with a valuable 16 points, while Bennie drove and rebounded strongly for her 19 points. Y.M.C.A. changed its usual pattern with its captain, Margaret Cuttance, taking over the ball control duties, leaving Isobel Hartley and Leonie McLlntock to attack from the front Halswell led, 21-11, after three consecutive baskets in the eleventh minute, and pushed further ahead to lead 34--21 at half-time. Honours were shared in the second spell, with Y.M.C.A. getting its new formation working well, while Halswell’s usual teamwork and fitness fell away. Halswell led, 50-30, after 10 min.

Bennie and the hardworking Marinda Van Vuurren, who had four fouls each early in the second spell, both managed to keep out of trouble until late in the match before fouling out Scoring details.— Halswell: S. Bennie 19, M. Collins 16, C. Lightfoot and M. Van Vuurren 8, M. Bain 5, R. Walker 4, K. Paul 3, S. Elliott 2.

Y.M.C.A.: I. Hartley 11, D. Broughton 10, M. Cuttance and L. McLlntock 7, J. Slocombe 4, J. Lamont 2. The referees were J. Phillips and N. Love.

P W L F A Pt Checkers 7 7 0 403 318 14 Aranui 7 5 2 407 319 10 Halswell 7 5 2 392 297 10 Bumham 6 4 2 282 259 8 YMCA 7 2 5 344 378 4 Rebels 7 1 6 282 373 2 Rangiora 7 0 7 280 448 0