DIVISION ONE
The Crinums completed a commanding double over the Kingdom Stars this afternoon at the Ellis Park arena. After defeating the Stars 54-34 during Power Week one, the Free State side once again asserted their dominance. The Stars settled quicker in the opening quarter and raced to an early three-goal lead. Both sides displayed beautiful pieces of play in their shooting circles, but some much needed intercepts from Crinums’ Centre Refiloe Nketsa and Wing Attack Karla Victor helped swing momentum in favor of the side to take a 11-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Crinums came out with serious defensive intent in the second stanza, bringing that high-pressure style that forced a couple of wayward balls from the Stars. The Shooting duo of Bianca Lubbe and Xandri Fourie wasted no time in converting the turnovers while maintaining a one hundred goal percentage and extend their lead by fourteen goals at half time. Despite nine changes from the Stars in the third quarter, the Crinums remained ruthless defensively, forcing uncharacteristic errors from the Stars while increasing the score by seventeen goals heading into the final quarter.
The unbeaten Free State team had enough composure to close it out in the last quarter with the cushion they had built. Despite the intent from the Stars to fight back, there were still patches where they couldn’t quite clean up. Credit must go to the Crinums’ defensive unit throughout the encounter, particularly Nketsa, whose four intercepts and three deflections earned her the Player of the match award as the Crinums ultimately won the game 68-34.
In the other match, The Southern Stings overturned a strong opening from the North West Flames to secure a hard fought 54-48 victory. The Flames came out firing in the opening quarter, with Sunel Smit proving clinical from range as she converted a Telkom Super Shot to help her side establish early momentum. Despite the Stings’ defensive pressure, they struggled to apply the finishing touches and lacked composure in key moments as the Flames held onto a 13-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the Stings claw their way back into the contest as the Flames began to unravel with costly ball handling errors. However, the Flames defensive pairing of Martiné Jordaan and Christi-Mari Coetzee stayed relentless and turned ball, ensuring the Flames remained narrowly ahead. A tactical timeout from the Flames coach urged the side to continue believing in themselves, but the physicality inside the Stings shooting circle soon paid dividends as Sian Moore and Simone Dry used their speed and clever movements to trouble Jordaan and Coetzee. During the Super Shot period, Dry nailed a brilliant two-pointer before Moore added two more of her own to complete the turnaround and hand the Stings a 27-20 lead at half time.
The Flames attempted to regroup in the second half with changes in the shooting circle, but the Stings’ attacking combinations continued to pose difficult questions defensively. Dry’s baseline drives and unpredictability in the circle, alternating between short sharp passes and quick movement, made it difficult for the Flames to settle. Jordaan remained a standout performer for the Flames with vital intercepts to keep her side in the contest, but the unforced errors continued to haunt them. Although the Flames closed off the last quarter with a valiant fight, reducing the deficit from ten to six goals, the Stings eventually wrapped up the match with a deserved 54-48 win.
‘’We have to go back to the drawing board, and we have to go and sit and figure out where did we go wrong. The players need to take responsibility for their decisions and what happened on court, and we have to come back and fix that because that’s part of life’’, Flames coach Adine Adriaanse stated after the game.
DIVISION TWO
The Queens lost the first three quarters but managed to salvage a dramatic draw against the Mpumalanga Sunbirds. Both teams settled into a rhythm in the opening quarter, but the Sunbirds capitalized better on turnovers to edge ahead 14-12 at the first break. Five changes came in for the Queens in the second quarter, including a switch in the shooting circle where Asanda Myeni replaced Thobekile Mjaja on Goal Attack. The contest became an intense defensive battle with both teams going neck-and-neck for most part of the quarter. However, Sunbirds Goal Shooter Kelly-Ann Gouws pulled through with two resplendent two-pointers during the Super Shot to help her side maintain a narrow two-goal cushion by half-time.
Mjaja returned to Goal Attack in the third quarter and completely changed the game with her play making and defensive work rate. She won a crucial turnover in the closing stages of the quarter to level matters and erase much of the Sunbirds’ earlier dominance. The match became increasingly frantic in the last quarter as the Sunbirds fought hard to protect their slim two goal advantage. However, Queens’ Shooter Aphiwe Thusini held her nerve under immense pressure, converting a two-pointer in the final twenty seconds to ensure a share of spoils as the match ended 50-50.
Meanwhile, Sonoblomo and Tshukudu put in a double shift after playing two games apiece today. Sonoblomo successfully maintained their winning momentum after beating Tshukudu 51-45 in the first encounter before following it up with another impressive performance to beat the Comets 56-39 and complete a successful day on court. Tshukudu walked away victorious in a pulsating clash that ended the day’s proceedings after beating Baobabs 47-44.
FULL DAY RESULTS:
Tshukudu 45-51 Sonoblomo
Lilies 40-52 Diamonds
Queens 50-50 Sunbirds
Crinums 68-34 Stars
Stings 54-48 Flames
Comets 39-56 Sonoblomo
Baobabs 44-47 Tshukudu
