Surprises in women’s matches

Press, 2 May 1988, Page 25

Surprises in women’s matches

Both unbeaten sides in the women’s division one club basketball competitions suffered defeats in fourth-round matches at Cowles Stadium on Saturday.

In a day of surprises, two former top sides, Checkers and Halswell, had their first wins of the season.

Checkers upset the highflying Minties side, 36-31, in a rather dour contest that both sides would rather forget while better teamwork and consistency helped Halswell beat Rangiora, 56-42. The defending club champion, Aranui, bounced back strongly from the previous week’s defeat to down the previously unbeaten University, 50-26. The evergreen Pat Barry masterminded Aranui’s win, completely shutting out University’s playmaker and top scorer, Charlotte Patterson, while setting up most of Aranui’s offensive moves as well.

Aranui 50 University A 26 Aranui: M. Cassidy 13, P. Barry 12, T. Stokes 10, D. Knops 10, M. Fitzgerald 3. University A: J. Harris 8, T. Whittaker 7, D. Lintsen 2, S. Francis 2, C. Patterson 2, A. Campbell 2, T. Lockington 2, R. Buick 1. Referees: Carol Fahey and Jim Henderson.

After promising efforts early in the season, University crumbled under strong pressure from a far better organised Aranui team. University worked hard on the defensive side of its game but with Pat Barry, a former national player, virtually tying up its leading playmaker and scorer, Patterson, University struggled to finish its offensive thrust. Justine Harris and Trina Whittaker worked hard but only managed three field goals apiece while the remainder hardly scored. On the other hand, Aranui had four players with double figures and its winning-mar-gin would have been greater

had Megan Cassidy been able to sink some easy baskets after working hard to get in close. Diane Knops was a model of consistency, playing with determination, while Terina Stokes continued to develop well. Checkers 36 Minties 31 Checkers: B. Carr 12, M. Mullany 9, I. Hartley 4, L. McClintock 4, R. Van der Monde 4, J. McGrath 2, S. Constable 1. Minties: A. Teki 9, A. Richards 9, M. Hendry 8, P. Milner 2, L. Bloxham 2, J. Cummack 1. Referees: Nick Warren and Kevin Fastier. Both sides would probably prefer to forget Saturday’s match. The foul count rose to 43 and the play did not flow. Players attitudes did not help. Maria Henry, who has dominated Minties’ scoring in recent weeks, was rather disgusted with the over-all situation. She picked up two quick fouls early in the second spell and then fouled out in the twelfth minute of the second half after scoring only eight points.

Alona Teki and Andrea Richards played better games for Minties. The diminutive Richards has to work really hard to make up for her lack of height while Teki’s play showed much more maturity. Barbara Carr returned from holiday to lead Checker’s efforts. Marama Mullany made a useful contribution but Isobel Hartley and Lee McClintock failed to penetrate with their usual authority. Halswell 56 Rangiora 42 Halswell: S. Pewhairangi 14, R. Walker 12, M. Van Vuuren 10, D. Dixon 7, R. Cooke 5, G. M. Slocombe 4, S. Thomas 4. Rangiora: L. Stanicich 10, K. Wells 8, C. McFarlin 8, G. McFarlane 4, W. Beri 4, C. Buchanan 4, N. Hall 2, L. Mosley 2. Referees: Paul Ray and Bruce Martin. Halswell led out strongly scoring 16 points in seven minutes before Rangiora could respond, helped by two early three-pointers to Rose Walker. Rrpigiora came back to

dominate the next seven minutes with seven players contributing baskets, reducing the gap to 16-21 after. 14 minutes. Halswell made sure of the win by leading 32-20 at half-time, while Rangiora failed badly from the freethrow line. Honours in the secnd half were even, both teams striving hard to gain the ascendancy. * Leona Stanicich fought hard for Rangiora, positioning herself well, while Katrina Wells and Colleen McFarlin supported well. Darlene Walker had a very disappointing day. She was closely marked after averaging 15 points a match in the opening round and failed to score. Sheree Pewhairangi showed much maturity in her play for Halswell, sharing the play-making with Walker and setting up several good baskets with long precision passes from deep in her own half. Marinda Van Vuuren put in her usual reliable effort while Diane Dixon improved her efforts. T -

Competition table P W L F A Pt Aranui 4 3 1 194 163 6 Minties 4 3 1 179 159 6 University 4 3 1 192J204 6 Rangiora 4 1 3 2007217 2

Checkers 4 ] l 3 188 210 2 Halswell 4 ] 1 3 180 180 2