U18’S & Kevin Coombs cup recap – Day 6

Written by volunteers of Ballarat Basketball

Game 79 

Women Pool AA: NT (57) v ACT (61)

It was a slow start for the first game of Day 6 for both teams on Court 1, but the ACT girls nudged ahead by virtue of a higher number of offensive boards.

The NT girls were not daunted by this and hit their straps to turn this game into a see-saw battle with NT at times leading by up to six points.  Abbey Cubillo and Kahlee Stanislaus for NT were proving especially dangerous for ACT, scoring heavily from turnovers.

But as the game closed out the ACT team steadied, hit the front and held on against a very spirited NT team to win by 4 points in a very entertaining encounter.

Stats Leaders –

NT:

• Abby Cubillo: 27 points, 6 assists, 4 steals
• Kahlee Stanislaus: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
• Rachel Park: 9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals

ACT:

• Callie Bourne: 20 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists
• Annabelle Lindsay: 13 points, 12 rebounds
• Alana Dalgleish: 9 points, 5 rebounds

 

Game 80

Men Pool AA: Queensland South (100) v Northern Territory (50)

Queensland opened the game 6-0 through the pressure they provided to their opposition. They continued to score making a 14-0 run in the first three minutes. Northern Territory were able to steal some momentum making it 31-9 at quarter time.

The five minute mark of the second quarter the score line became a 30 point difference (45-15) – and at half time Queensland led Northern Territory 52-17.

Northern Territory upped their defensive intensity and held Queensland to 6 points five minutes into the third quarter. Before the third quarter break Northern Territory made a run, grabbing three defensive stops in a row, holding Queensland to 12 points for the quarter (64-37). The game resulted in Queensland South scoring 100 to Northern Territories 50. Queensland spread the scoring right throughout the team.

Stats Leaders –

Qld South:

• Tom Fullarton: 27 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
• Riley Martin: 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals
• Jack Williams: 13 points, 10 rebounds

NT:

• Ted Love: 12 points, 2 assists, 2 steals
• Henry Callander: 9 points, 3 rebounds
• Matthew Haniford: 8 points

 

Game 81

Kevin Coombs Cup: WA Black Ducks (91) v Qld Roaring (10)

WA Black Ducks got off to a dominate start scoring 8 points in the first five minutes and were able to shut out the Qld Roaring team for the entire quarter with the score at 12-0 at the first change. The second quarter was more of the same from the Black Ducks as they took complete control of the contest. Qld Roaring were able to rebound the WA side but turnovers were hampering their efforts. At halftime WA Black Ducks lead 39-2.

The third term saw a more organised Qld Roaring team give themselves plenty of opportunities to score but was unable to capitalise by making the final shot. Both teams had a player in foul trouble going into the last quarter. WA kept pushing in the last term with plenty of fast plays and quick scores. Qld however had learned from the previous quarters and again looked dangerous in offense. Although WA Black Ducks ran away with the win, the developing Qld Roaring team will learn a lot from the experience and have some stars in the making on their team.

Stats Leaders –

WA Black Ducks:

• Amber Merritt: 35 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
• Andrew Dewberry: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals
• Sarah Vinci: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists

Qld Roaring Thunder:

• Dylan Robinson: 8 points, 4 rebounds
• Ryan Williams: 2 points, 4 rebounds

 

Game 82

Kevin Coombs Cup: Qld Rolling Thunder (56) v NSW B (42)

NSW B started the game strongly with Clarence McCarthy-Grogan finding the basket easily. Qld Rolling needed to change things up and started playing hard defence on McCarthy-Grogan but NSW B were able to find other shooters to keep the scoreboard moving. After trailing by 9 at quarter time Qld Rolling were able to get back into the game by turning great defence into offence. They held NSW B to 9 points in the second quarter and scores were level going into the halftime break.

Qld Rolling’s effort continued into the third quarter and were able to take the lead after a 3-point play by Jake Fullwood. Qld Rolling held a 2-point lead at three quarter time. Qld Rolling came out of the gates strong in the fourth, spreading the floor which was giving them plenty of open looks. In the end it was the strong defence from Qld Rolling that strangled a fast starting NSW B and ultimately resulted in a 14-point QLD Rolling victory.

Stats Leaders –

Qld Rolling Thunder:

• Jake Fulwood: 23 points, 9 rebounds
• Thomas Holland: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
• Dylan Child: 8 points, 4 rebound, 8 assists

NSW B:

• Clarence Grogan: 15 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists
• Frank Dushimirimana: 15 points, 7 rebounds
• Georgia Inglis: 10 points, 4 assists

 

Game 83

Kevin Coombs Cup: NSW A (41) v Victoria (53)

Victoria were able to get off to a solid start without looking back, having open players under the ring at their disposal whilst NSW has to just settle for mid-range shots. NSW was not able to keep up with the quick pace of Victoria, falling 12 points short of the win although a stand out for NSW was Georgia Munro-Cook with a game high of 20 points.

A stand out for Victoria was Brian Carminati with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Stats Leaders –

NSW A:

• Georgia Munro-Cook: 20 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists
• Coban Palmer: 13 points, 11 rebounds

Victoria:

• Maxx Darby: 21 points, 10 assists
• Brian Caminati: 13 points, 13 rebounds
• Jayden Clark: 12 points, 9 rebounds

 

Game 84

Women Quarter Final: SA Country (77) v NSW Country (59)

The game began with a basket for basket intensity, SA grabbing a 6-point lead with four minutes to play. SA were able to secure baskets through their big Chelsea Brook. They continued to score inside and were able to gain a 12-point lead with three minutes to play in the first. SA used full court pressure defence to rattle NSW and held them to just 10 points however they were able to grab some momentum heading into quarter time. The quarter finished 21-10 with SA shooting at 56%.

SA pushed the ball gaining control of the game extending their lead to 24 points with only four minutes to go in the second quarter.

After the main break with SA up 46-23, Chelsea Brook with 15 for SA – SA shooting at 54%.

The third quarter SA saw continue with their hustle defence and intensity, grabbing a 29-point lead.

Three quarter time saw NSW close the gap a little, with the score line being 24 points (SA 60, NSW 36).

The first three minutes of the fourth quarter saw NSW make a run to close the margin however through the solid effort of SA’s Chelsea Brook steadying her team NSW’s momentum didn’t last long.

The game result in SA keeping the margin to 18 points, 77-59.

Stats Leaders –

SA Country:

• Chelsea Brook: 30 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals
• Rachael Hines: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
• Alexandra Walker: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists

NSW Country:

• Charlie Evans: 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
• Cassidy McLean: 11 points, 2 rebounds
• Abbey George: 8 points, 6 rebounds

 

Game 85 

Men Pool AA: Tasmania (70) v SA Country (79)

This was a game where SA Country’s consistency across most of the game allowed them to score a victory, but it might have been a different story had the Tasmanians not had such a slow start in Term 1 and again in Term 3.

Brad Rathjen from SA Country made the most of the Tasmanian turnovers to assist his team to a 15 point lead at the first break and despite the great shooting of Emmett Smith from Tasmania in the second quarter with 5 three-pointers the Tassie boys were still down by 11 at the main break.

They could not continue this streak in the third quarter and allowed SA Country to regularly work inside to score under the basket.  And although Tasmania played their best quarter in the last led by Smith who knocked down a very impressive 30 points, they were coming from too far behind and could not bridge the gap.

Stats Leaders –

Tasmania:

• Emmitt Smith: 30 points, 4 rebounds
• Brady Armstrong: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
• Harry O’Neill: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

SA Country:

• Brad Rathjen: 19 Points, 3 steals
• Lawson Munzberg: 14 points, 5 rebounds
• Harrison Mills: 14 points, 2 rebounds

 

Game 86

Women Quarter Final: Vic Country (70) v NSW Metro (77)

This game began with great intensity at both ends of the court, but NSW were making greater headway on the scoreboard and were heading for an 8 point-margin at the first break until Chloe Molloy from Vic Country dropped a long buzzer beater to get it back to 5 points. During the second term there were surges from Vic Country which at times brought them back to within 3, but again NSW Metro girls made it count when it mattered and by half time they had a threatening 15-point break.

The Vic Country transition offence began to work more effectively in the third term and they clawed their way back into the game to be only down by 6 with a quarter to play.  Vic Country’s Chloe Bibby was in everything and NSW Metro’s Bree Delaney was crucial to NSW staying in front. In the final term the Vic Country girls looked threatening and it got down to a single basket, but NSW Metro stood firm, held their nerve to record a deserved win and progress to the semi finals.

Stats Leaders –

Vic Country:

• Chloe Bibby: 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals
• Chantel-Anais Horvat: 22 points, 16 rebounds
• Chloe Molloy: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

NSW Metro:

• Bree Delaney: 26 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
• Madeleine Norris: 19 points, 6 rebounds
• Madison Hare: 9 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists

 

Game 87 

Men Quarter Final: NSW Country (70) v WA Metro (67)

This quarter-final was full of promise and the big crowd on Court 2 were not to be disappointed.  There was an intensity about this game which spelt out finals and medals and both teams gave their all throughout the contest. At the first break, WA were up by one but it was basket for basket.

NSW’s Makauch Maluach and Angus Glover provided some real highlights when they combined for some nice alley-oops.  There was still only a single point in it at half time, with NSW Country in front this time.

The third term saw no let-up from either team with WA’s Lachlan Evans adding to his highlights tape scoring 12 points for the quarter.

The noise was deafening going down the stretch as both teams strived to gain just a hint of an advantage.  In the end it was probably the more even contribution from the NSW Country’s starters who saw them through to victory – but WA Metro can be very satisfied with their team performance and are unlucky not to be still in contention for medals.

Stats Leaders –

NSW Country:

• Makuach Maluach: 16 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals
• Myles Cherry: 16 points, 4 rebounds
• Angus Glover: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists

WA Metro:

• Lachlan Evans: 22 points, 2 rebounds
• Corey Shervill: 13 points, 7 rebounds

 

Game 88 

Pool AA: Qld North (68) v Tasmania (95)

Tasmania jumped ahead early in this game and in a high scoring quarter for them exemplified by Taylor Mole’s 11 points saw them lead by 15 points at the first break.  Their ball movement was too quick for Qld North and they were capitalising on turnovers.

Their high scoring continued through to half time and they were out then by 32 points – a mountain too high for the Qld North girls.

Whilst Qld North made up some ground in the second half, especially in the final quarter, there was no getting away from the fact that Tasmania deserved this win; their rebounding, accurate shooting and speed around the court were all winning factors.

Stats Leaders –  

QLD North:

• Lauren Norton-Mills: 32 points, 13 rebounds
• Ellie Collins: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
• Rebecca Abel: 14 points, 3 assists, 2 steals

Tasmania:

• Cassia McCaskill: 12 points, 4 rebounds
• Kelsey McDermott: 10 points, 6 rebounds
• Sara Storeshaw: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

 

Game 89 

Men Quarter Final: Vic Metro (70) v Vic Country (46)

The battle for Victorian supremacy was on in this quarter final and although Sam Whelan for Vic Country knocked down a three to open the scoring, Vic Metro soon got into stride and their defensive pressure and their size advantage caused some poor passing from the Country boys and opened up some clear lanes for the Metro team.

At times the pressure created a little tension between the teams and Vic Country found themselves in some foul trouble as the half wound down.  But this wasn’t the biggest problem for Country – their ability to score dried up and they were down by 21 at half time.

The rebounding ability of the Metro side was giving them a decided advantage and stopping Metro’s Gabriel Hadley was another headache for Vic Country.

The game was out of Vic Country’s reach and the evenness of the Vic Metro team came to the fore in the second half as the coach gave all his players plenty of court time to prepare them for the semi-finals and possible medals

Stats –  

Vic Metro:

• Gabriel Hadley: 18 points, 5 rebounds
• Ovie Maacbegor: 9 points, 9 rebounds
• Nick Dane: 8 points, 3 assists

Vic Country:

• Samuel Short: 9 points, 4 assists, 2 steals
• Thomas Pupavac: 7 points, 3 rebounds
• Marko Vekic: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

 

Game 90 

Women Quarter Final: SA Metro (78) v Qld South (47)

The SA Metro Women got out of the blocks well and had 9 points on the board before Qld South scored.  It was SA’s speed and aggression which was upsetting their opponents.  The Qld South girls managed to settle a little after this initial onslaught, but SA had their tails up and went into the half time break leading by 16.

The break did not slow the SA girls down and with some great three’s from Nicola Mathews and Tahlia Fejo, the Qld South cause was all but done.  Zitina Aokuso had a strong game on the boards for Qld South, and even though both teams had an even final quarter on the scoreboard, the real story was that SA has the game in their keeping and saved some of their powder for the semi-finals tomorrow.

Stats Leaders –

SA Metro:

• Tahlia Fejo: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
• Meg Prosser: 12 points, 9 rebounds
• Nicola Mathews: 12 points, 2 rebounds

QLD South:

• Carleigh Patrick: 16 points, 7 rebounds
• Madison Woodford: 10 points, 2 rebounds
• Emma Read: 8 points, 3 rebounds

 

Game 91 

Kevin Coombs Cup: NSW B (36) v WA Black Ducks (83)

The further this game went the more dominant the WA team became.  They had done their homework on NSW’s dominant player Clarence McCarthy- Grogan and whilst he remained effective on the defensive boards they managed to restrict his effectiveness in offense.

By half time the WA triple threat of Amber Merritt, Jake Kavanagh and Andrew Dewberry had done the damage and WA had doubled NSW B’s score.

After the break, whilst NSW B managed to pick up their scoring rate in the third term it only seemed to spur WA onto greater heights, and the final term was played entirely on WA’s terms.  The Black Ducks are looming as favourites.

NSW B:

• Clarence Grogan: 16 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists
• Frank Dushimiramana: 8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists

WA Black Ducks:

• Amber Merritt: 32 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists
• Jake Kavanagh: 26 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals
• Andrew Dewberry: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists

 

Game 92

Women Quarter Final: Vic Metro (73) v WA Metro (38)

Courtenay Wragg from Vic Metro took on WA Metro with a good stance, as the refs called a charge to start of the quarter final. Both teams came out with strong offensive and defensive play in the first quarter. Vic Metro performed hard pressure in WA Metro’s offensive end, resulting in keeping WA out of the game. Having extra height in the Vic Metro team was leading factor to their leading margin. Vic’s Anneli Maley displayed excellent team play, as she assisted her teammates to the ring. WA Metro stepped up their game with a tight full court press, putting the pressure back on the Vic’s. With still a reasonable margin in the third quarter, the pressure began to heighten. Both teams displayed excellent basketball skills throughout the game. As the fourth quarter commenced WA’s Chelsea Belcher lifted the stadium with a nice 3-pointer. With six minutes remaining WA Metro were in foul trouble which didn’t help their trail to Vic Metro. Despite WA Metro fighting hard to catch up they weren’t able to be the pressure. As a result Vic Metro’s skilful ball work and intimidating defence, they earned the game with a 35-point victory.

Stats Leaders –

Vic Metro:

• Rebecca Pizzey: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
• Monique Andriuolo: 13 points, 6 rebounds
• Keira Rowe: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

WA Metro:

• Amy Atwell: 17 points, 6 rebounds
• Shannon Street: 8 points, 5 rebounds

 

Game 93

Men Quarter Final: NSW Metro (72) v SA Metro (70)

Tip off in this important quarter final clash saw 206cm NSW Captain Deng Gak easily win possession for his team and NSW were away, opening up and maintaining an early 8-point lead.

Whilst this seemed to spark a revival by SA Metro and they indeed drew level around mid second quarter, there was still a 6-point advantage to NSW Metro at the long break. There had been many athletic moves by all players, but Gak’s attempted alley-oop had the large crowd wanting more.  He would later oblige with a one handed slam dunk.

The SA Metro boys applied a level of pressure on the NSW shooters in the third term which saw them grab the lead and head into the last quarter 4 points to the good.  A lot of this was on the back of a hard-working trio of SA Metro players – Xavier Owen-Thomas, Lat Mayen and Jacob Rigoni.

The defensive skills of SA’s Biar Garang kept Gak quiet early in the final quarter and the lead was suddenly out to 12 and SA Metro could smell victory.  It was not to be, NSW Metro boys dug deep on their reserves, clawed their way back and held on for tense 2-point victory.  Their perseverance will test any opponent in the semis and possibly the gold medal game.

Stats Leaders –  

NSW Metro:

• Deng Gak: 21 points, 5 rebounds
• Jayden Prakash: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals
• Ciaron Fitz-gerald: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists

SA Metro:

• Jacob Rigoni: 19 points, 7 rebounds
• Isaac White: 12 points, 5 rebounds
• Brent Hank: 8 points, 5 rebounds

 

Game 94 

Women Pool AA: WA Country Women (60 ) v NT Women (48 )

The NT girls came out with a purpose as this game got underway and with their usual go-to players, Abby Cubillo and Kahlee Stanislaus leading the way they went the first quarter huddle with a 9-point lead.

However WA Country found a way to restrict the impact of these players and through clever rotations from the bench to bring fresh legs into the game, they slowly clawed their way back into the game to be just 2 points behind when the teams went into the sheds.

In the third term WA Country went on a scoring spree with Kasey Miegel leading the way with Cassady Anderson doing plenty of damage at the defensive end.  By three-quarter time WA was now 12 points to the good.

The fourth quarter was played in a manner that indicated the week has been hard as both teams showed signs of tiredness and turnovers began to mount.  WA Country though kept their noses in front and claimed the win.

Stats Leaders –

WA Country:

• Kasey Miegel: 13 points, 8 rebounds
• Mackenzie Clinch-Hoycard: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals
• Raya Thompson: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

NT:

• Kahlee Stanislaus: 17 points, 4 rebounds
• Abby Cubillo: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
• Iesha Smith: 8 points, 8 rebounds

 

Game 95 

Men Quarter Final: Qld North (89) v ACT (59)

Early on the teams were matching up though via different strategies – Qld North had a size advantage and were working the boards well, while the ACT had the speed to move the ball into offence quickly.

But the speed began to wane and the inside advantage of the Qld North boys began to tell as Tendekai Machando knocked down 10 first quarter points.

Qld North held their defensive pressure via a zone and worked their way to a 14-point lead at the main break, despite the ACT outscoring them narrowly for the term.

In the second half, luck rolled Qld North’s way as ACT balls seemed to rim out while their opponents were hitting baskets cleanly, even the threes.  Leading player for Qld North, Harrison Froling went on a steady but mounting scoring spree having 29 points on the board by three quarter time.

The ACT were well served by bench players, Glenn Morrison and James Martin, but Qld North had too many guns across the bench.

Stats Leaders –

QLD North:

• Harrison Froling: 29 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists
• Tendekai Machando: 19 points, 2 assists, 3 steals
• Jesse Milburn: 11 points, 2 steals

ACT:

• James Martin: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
• Glenn Morison: 10 points, 3 rebounds

 

Game 96

Men Pool AA: WA Country (60) v Qld South (72)

A fairly even first quarter saw a 5-point lead to WA. Qld were able to pressure WA into numerous mistakes in the second quarter. The resultant turnovers and more accurate shooting saw Qld leading by 5 at the main break. Leading scorers for the half were Sam Julitz for WA and Thomas Hains for Qld, both with 10 points. Qld South carried their momentum into the third term, with Thomas Hains bagging a further 11 points to take his tally to 21, giving his team to a 12-point buffer. WA had no answer to Qld captain Tom Fullarton, who contributed strongly both defensively and offensively, finishing with 19 points for the game.

Stats Leaders –  

WA Country:

• Sam Julitz: 20 points, 8 rebounds
• Taj Fleming: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
• Matthew Germs: 8 points

Qld South:

• Thomas Hains: 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals
• Tom Fullarton: 19 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists
• Harrison Isaac: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals

 

Game 97

Kevin Coombs Cup: Qld Roaring Thunder (23) v Victoria (51)

Victoria were on the hunt for a win and jumped ahead early in this game getting the ball regularly into the hands of Jayden Clark.  But their lead was maintained in the first half as the coach rotated all players into the game.

By the long break Victoria had a match-winning lead of 25 points.

The teams began to tire into the second half and this meant that the Vics lead was never under threat.  Brian Carminiati was able to find open opportunities for the home side and they celebrated long and hard the victory.

Stats Leaders –

Qld Roaring Thunder:

• Dylan Robinson: 5 points, 2 assists
• Natalie Palmers: 4 points, 8 rebounds
• Eithen Leard: 4 points, 7 rebounds

Victoria:

• Brian Carminiati: 16 points, 9 rebounds
• Jayden Clark: 14 points, 10 rebounds
• Maxx Darby: 11 points, 5 rebounds

 

Game 98

Kevin Coombs Cup: Qld Rolling Thunder (58) v NSW A (30)

The Queenslanders made the most of early turnovers and converted opportunities into scores throughout the first half.  Steven Elliott was the go to player for Queensland, while Jessica Cronje was giving her team chances with strong boards and assists.

The lead was consolidating for Qld and at half time they had an 18-point advantage.

Although NSW found their way to the basket a little more easily in the second half through Coban Palmer and Georgia Munro–Cook, Qld Thunder went on their way to record a comfortable win.

Stats Leaders –

Qld Rolling Thunder:

• Thomas Holland: 18 points, 8 rebounds
• Steven Elliot: 16 points, 4 assists
• Benjamin Grice: 12 points, 10 rebounds

NSW A:

• Coban Palmer: 11 points, 5 rebounds
• Georgia Munro-Cook: 10 points, 13 rebounds