One win required

Press, 28 July 1989, Page 35

One win required

By Bruce Martin The Canterbury women’s basketball team needs only one win from this week-end’s encounters, against Otago tomorrow evening and Southland on Sunday afternoon, to qualify for the final against the unbeaten Auckland team. The national women’s league final will be played in the Chase stadium, Auckland, on August 11. Canterbury’s main threat, the New Zealand Bssketball Institute, narrowly lost in extra time to the defending champion, Waikato, 64-63, last week-end. The abandoned N.Z.8.1. v. Auckland match has been rescheduled for August 5, but only if necessary. However, by then, the Institute will have five of its top players

with the New Zealand junior women’s team in Tahiti.

If Canterbury does the highly unlikely and drops the two games, it still has a points advantage in the case of a three-way tie with the Institute and Waikato, and has a two-win advantage should it tie with just the Institute. Canterbury beat its arch rival, Otago, twice during an -Easter pre-season tournament but it needed extra time before stopping Otago, 69-62, in ■ the cold Caledonian stadium. Otago’s performances have slipped recently with losses to Auckland, 5472, and last week-end to New Plymouth, 68-73. Some nagging injuries are still restricting several players, including Rhonda

Milner who has her achilles tendon well strapped, and Sue Bennie, who is suffering an ankle strain. The Southland women are led by Vicki Beardsley and the sharp shooting American, Earnesta Grace. Although the team has recorded only three wins in the league this season among them were the prize scalps of Canterbury (56-55) and the Institute 55-53. A fit and motivated Canterbury team should easily shut out Southland, however, particularly on its home court. The Canterbury men’s B team will be equally determined to record one win in the second division league, having lost the away clash with Southland. They meet in the early fixture.