w/e 09/04/06 Mystics Lose After a Fine Season. Rhondda Rebels: 96 – 77 Manchester Mystics This was the second leg of the Division 1 play-offs Semi-Final. The Mystics, having lost narrowly at home, travelled to South Wales, feeling that they had a chance of springing a surprise and beating the powerful home team, who were unbeaten in the regular season. As they had done at home, the Mystics started strongly, and were down by only one point as the Rebels led at the end of the first quarter by 23-22. Despite the best efforts of the Mystics, led by Kristy Lavin, their Commonwealth games medallist, the Rebels exerted their strength and experience. Gradually they increased their lead to 10 at half-time and 22 at the start of the last quarter. In the end, the Rebels won comfortably, but the Mystics were not disgraced. Coach Sergio Lara-Bercial should be able to keep most of his young squad together for next season, with maybe one or two new players. In the two years they have been in Division 1 they have become a much better balanced team, well organised and positive in their approach and have had an excellent season. They should get even better in the future.
Top scorers: Mystics: Kristy Lavin: 15 Rehana Khalil: 15 Georgia Jones: 14 Rebels: Rosalee Mason: 29Gillian d’Hondt:25 Andrea Congreaves:14 w/e 02/04/06 Rebels Just Squeeze Past Mystics Manchester Mystics: 59 – 63 Rhondda Rebels In the first of potentially three games between the teams who finished first and fourth in the Women’s Division 1, it looked like a lost cause for the Mystics. The Rebels were not only unbeaten in the Division, they had already beaten the Mystics by big margins home and away. Three of their starters had been in the England Bronze Medal squad at the Commonwealth Games In the first quarter, the young Mystics were somewhat overawed and let the Rebels gain a 7 point advantage at the break. After that they gained in confidence and their tough defence and strong running made their opponents work very hard for every point. By half-time they had narrowed the gap to 27-28 and all was to play for. The Welsh girls came out strongly after the break and quickly extended their lead, with Rosalee Mason and Gillian d’Hondt using their height and strength well. For the Mystics, their England teammate Kristy Lavin was scoring heavily and the ever-dependable Georgia Jones was handling the ball with her usual quiet confidence. Then, with the score at 32-43, Rehana Khalil, who had had a rather nervous game until then, scored two quick three point attempts and brought the gap to 5 points. This fired up the Mystics and they scented a possible win and from then on the game was very close. To be fair, the Rebels always looked to have too much firepower for them, but the Manchester women did themselves proud in making such a close game of it. This was the narrowest win the Rebels had had this season. Coach Sergio Lara-Bercial was delighted with his team’s performance and was by no means pessimistic for their chances in the away leg, or legs .Next week the Mystics travel to Cardiff for the first away game. Only if they win this, does the series go to a third game. Top Scorers: Mystics: Kristy Lavin: 18 Rehana Khalil: /Liga Bergvalde: 11 Rebels: Rosalee Mason/Gillian d’Hondt: 17 Missy Lender: 11 w/e 12/02/06 Mystics Coast to an Easy Win. Manchester Mystics: 101 - 38 Stockport Lapwings This was a very one-sided game, effectively over by the end of the first quarter. The Mystics showed little sign of the hard game they had had less than 24 hours before as they defended energetically and broke quickly against a side who could do everything except shoot the ball. Kristy Lavin dominated the game whenever she was on court and Georgia Jones gave a controlled display of point guard play. Despite having plenty of height, the Lapwings gave up far too many rebounds, 54 to the Mystics’ 27. Only D. Cinite, coming off the bench, had respectable numbers and the Mystics took full advantage. By half-time, they were 67-17 ahead and the second half was a formality. Not surprisingly, they relaxed a little in the third quarter and the visitors cut the deficit by a few points. Verity Peets played better as the game went on, perhaps as her confidence improved and all the players who came off the Mystics bench did well. This was the Mystics last home game of the regular fixtures, but they are challenging strongly for a play-off place, which would extend their season. Top Scorers. Mystics. Kristy Lavin: 28 Georgia Jones: 16 Verity Peets: 16 Lapwings. D. Cinite: 21 O. Kavaliauskaite: 12 CJ Cronshaw: 4 w/e 05/02/06 SPELTHORNE ACERS 43 (7,27,33) SOLENT STARS 85 (26,48,64) Solent women’s team knew before the clash with Spelthorne last Saturday, that with only five games left this season, only by winning every game would they have a chance to make it into the playoffs. With Solent still struggling with injuries to Lizzie Cloke and Jodie Jerram and with Taacha Brown-Drummond still unavailable everyone needed to play hard in order to ensure victory. Coach Ball decided to go with a strategy of extending their defence to try to put pressure on the Spelthorne guards and the tactic paid off early with early turnovers leading to early points for Tarnai and a three pointer from Ayres. Solent continued to score both in the half court and in transition with Gamman dominating on the offensive glass. Keogh was trying to help get Acers going by penetrating to the basket however the home team found themselves down 7-26 as the quarter ended. After such a dominant first quarter Spelthorne put a much better offensive display together in the second. Thompson began to score and with better ball movement they started to create more scoring opportunities. Although Solent’s defence had let up in it’s intensity they continued to match Spelthorne on offence. Jones and Powell scored from the outside whilst Syngellakis carried on Tarnai’s excellent work inside whilst Gamman continued to score at will. The half time break came with Solent comfortably in front 27-48. The interval enabled Coaches Ball and Lee to reinforce their team’s defensive responsibilities and Solent returned with better focus as the third quarter started. Ayres hit another three pointer and then Brownsell scored with a jump shot from the corner. Although Spelthorne were mixing up their defences well and throwing in some full court pressure Solent responded well. The last four minutes of the third quarter saw Solent keep Spelthorne scoreless as Cooper then Tarnai scored attacking the basket. The fourth quarter saw a similar pattern with Solent eventually running out 43-85 victors. “It was a good display today. We controlled the boards which with our height advantage you would have expected but I was particularly pleased with our improved shooting percentage and our assist to turnover ratio”, commented Coach Ball. “There ware so many positives for us to take away from this game. It was also pleasing to see Claire Maytham back on court and pulling the strings for us. She makes such a difference to the team”. Next week sees Solent travelling to third placed Nottingham Wildcats before they entertain league leaders and likely champions Rhondda Rebels on February 17th. Scorers: Solent: L Gamman 22, Z Tarnai 18, C Ayres 13, K Syngellakis 8, C Brownsell 7, C Jones 7, L Powell 4, S Cooper 4, C Maytham 2 Spelthorne: S Thompson 11, R Murphy 10, G Keogh 9, D Cloke 5, I Reydellet 3, B Lear 3, L Mgbado 2, B Cheveldave, H Swann, S Gamble w/e 22/01/06 Double Joy for Mystics. Manchester Mystics 63 (22, 37, 48) Lavin 13; Peets 11; Jones 11 Brixton Topcats 43 ( 9, 23, 30) Impuri 20; Payne 6; Charles 5 The young Manchester team had a hard weekend, with a home game against Brixton on the Saturday afternoon, followed by the long trip to take on the strong Solent squad on Sunday. The Mystics started much more confidently than the Topcats and a long 3 pointer by Reahan Khalil ended the first quarter with a lead for them of 22-9. Coach Sergio Lara-Bercial was able to rest some of his starters in the second quarter and still managed to keep a comfortable lead to half-time. The Topcats top scorer, Impuri, was proving the main threat, playing energetically under both baskets. Khalil again ended the half with a nice drive to make the score 37- 23. The second half was similar, with the Topcats unable to match the Mystics in overall shooting. Verity Peets had one of her best rebounding games for the Mystics, with 14 and Georgia Jones had 7 assists. Both had 11 points. The Topcats were credited with only 3 assists in total, which tells us something about why they lost. Top scorers: Mystics: Kristy Lavin: 13 Georgia Jones: 11 Verity Peets: 11 Topcats: P. Impuri: 20 C. Payne: 6 A. Charles: 5
Solent Stars: 57 – 72 Manchester Mystics The Mystics travelled to Southampton knowing they had beaten the Stars once this season and confident they could repeat the feat on the road. So it proved, with visitors always in control of the game. Young Georgia Jones not only controlled the game from the point guard position, but also headed all scorers with 25 points. These wins put the Mystics in fourth position in Division 1 and strongly placed as the play-offs approach. They have a tough run-in, with only one more home game in the regular season, against Stockport on the 12th February. Top scorers: Mystics: Georgia Jones: 25 Kristy Lavin: 21 Rehan Khalil: 12 w/e 15/01/06 Mystics Win at a Stroll. Manchester Mystics: 82 – 37 London Towers From the start, the Mystics asserted their authority, scoring freely from open play and from the line. The Towers did most things right apart from putting the ball in the basket and this continued throughout the game. Going into the second quarter, the Mystics were 31-12 ahead and moving well. Kristy Lavin was scoring strongly, Verity Peets was working nicely and Georgia Jones was firmly in charge. As the Mystics found against Rhondda, it is very difficult to hit your shouts when you are under pressure. With the game beyond the Towers reach by half-time, as they faced a deficit of 22-50, Mystics coach Sergio Lara-Bercial could give his younger, less experienced players plenty of court time and it was they who saw out most of the second half. They all acquitted themselves well and most got on the score sheet. The Towers tried hard to the end and made plenty of good scoring opportunities without making many count. When the Mystics first five came back on court they sealed what had become an easy win. Their next home game is on Saturday against Brixton, with an earlier tip-off time of 4.00 p.m. All are welcome. w/e 18/12/05 DONCASTER PANTHERS 25 ( 8,14,19) SOLENT STARS 114 (27,59,86) Solent came into their last game of 2005 on the back of two consecutive wins versus Southern opposition. The long trip to Doncaster would be their longest of the season and the Solent ladies, facing a youthful and inexperienced Doncaster team, set their sites on their third straight win. However, with only seven players, there seemed little chance of repeating the points total amounted during Solent's home win over the Panthers earlier in the season. Coach Lee made his season debut as Head Coach, emphasising that despite the reduced bench defensive pressure would remain a focus for the Stars. However, Doncaster were allowed to make a number of uncontested jump-shots in the early going. Solent called a time-out after 5-minutes and came out with renewed defensive intensity, forcing Doncaster to turnover the ball, leading to fast-break baskets for the Stars. Tarnai and Gamman combined for 14-points, making easy work of their inside advantage. The first-quarter total was added to by effective dribble penetration and outside shooting from Aryes, Jones and Brownsell, allowing Solent to race out to a 27-8 first quarter lead. Solent began the second with an air of complacency and whilst the young Panthers struggled to find a way through Solent's defence, the Stars looked disinterested and sluggish. Doncaster stepped up their own defensive pressure, out-muscling the Stars, but could not contain Brownsell who relentlessly attacked the hoop and the foul-line. By the time Captain Lynne Powell was fouled hard going to the basket and converting one from two foul shots, all seven players had scored, going into the half-time break ahead, 50-14. The third quarter saw Solent step up defensively, anticipating passing lanes, playing better help defense and suffocating Doncaster's offense. Solent totally dominated the play for the first 7-minutes of play, going on a 20-point unanswered run. This phase of play was characterised by running the floor and disciplined half-court offense. Doncaster was held to 11-points in a half that saw Solent shoot an impressive 66% from the floor and demonstrating some good offensive rhythm. The game ended with all the momentum going Solent's way, closed out by a big 3-pointer from Aryes. Jodie Jerram and Carrie Jones both played major minutes and assisted their team-mates admirably in a game that saw all 7 players score in double figures. The win solidifies the Star's 4th place in the Division 1, but with big games in the New Year against their four main competitors in the league, their play-off aspirations are far from guaranteed. After the game Coach Lee explained "It was a good win given our limited roster and it was a real team performance with everybody contributing at both ends of the floor. We now need to take this kind of intensity and focus into the New Year and execute with the same kind of confidence against the top three teams." The Stars will now enjoy a well-deserved break before resuming on January 7th for a warm-up game against RAF Mildenhall at Fleming Park, 4pm tip. Scorers: Solent: Gamman 21, Aryes 20, Tarnai 18, Brownsell 18, Powell 12, Jerram 10, Jones 10, Brown (DNP) Doncaster: Gerada 8, Flint 8, Brotherton 5, Labrow 2, Turner 2 w/e 11/12/05 Heartbreak for Mystics after Last Second Defeat. Nottingham Wildcats: 67 - 66 Manchester Mystics. It was not to be third time lucky for the young Mystics in their third clash with the Wildcats this season. On the two previous occasions, the Mystics had lost to the Midlands outfit by 15 points in the League Division 1 and 8 in the Cup. However, a refreshed and invigorated Mystics took on the Wildcats with a strong belief that they could turn the tables and upset the Cup semi-finalists, who currently occupy 2nd place in the League. Proceedings started very well for the Mystics, who built an early lead (10-2) through some strong full-court defence, huge rebounding efforts from all the players and some excellent shooting and inside play by Liga Bergvalde, Verity Peets and Kristy Lavin. This trend continued for the rest of the quarter and only the fact that the Wildcats went to the line 11 times prevented the Mystics from ending the quarter with a double-digit lead. As it was, they had to settle for a respectable 20-14 score. In the second quarter, the Mystics carried on their good defensive form and also played well through a very aggressive Nottingham zone defence, getting to the free throw line 10 times. Unusually for the Mystics, they scored only 5 of 10, which kept their half-time lead to 37-29. After the interval, an energised Nottingham came out of the dressing room determined to change the trend of the game. Led by England point guard Jo Sargeant, they managed to cut down the Mystics’ lead and even edge ahead (44-42) after a 9-0 run. A huge 3 from Rehana Khalil for the Mystics woke them up and from then on an exchange of baskets took the game to 48-48 at the end of the quarter. The Wildcats started the last period strongly, getting a 5 point lead, but the Mystics evened things out with a 6-0 run (56-55). At this point the Manchester squad seemed to be in control and able to manage the 4 point lead they took into the last minute of the game (63-59). Then disaster struck, with a few youthful errors, heavily punished by the experienced Wildcats. The Mystics fouled Jessica Kemp under her own basket and she scored with both the two free throws( 63-61). The Mystics missed their next shot and then let Sargeant have an undisputed 3 pointer. With 43 seconds to go, the Wildcats led 64-63. After a time-out, Verity Peets showed strong nerves in scoring both free throws to make the score 65-64 with 30 seconds to go. Rehana then went to the line and scored 1 of 2 (66-64) with 12 seconds to go. Then 17 year old Laura Burton scored a massive 3 to win the game by one point for the Wildcats. Despite losing, the Mystics have a lot to be proud of and a great future ahead of them. Next game at the Amaechi Centre is against high-flying Rhondda Rebels on Saturday, 7th January. Tip-off is at 7.30 p.m. and all are welcome. Top Scorers: Mystics. Liga Bergvalde: 23 Kristy Lavin: 14 Georgia Jones: 13 Wildcats. Sargeant: 20 Kemp: 15 Butters SOLENT STARS 67 (17,24,49) BRIXTON TOPCATS 39 (6,18,22) Solent Stars women’s basketball team continued their recent winning ways in the league with a confident 67-39 victory over a dangerous Brixton opponent at Hamble Community Sports Centre on Sunday. The Stars got off to a good start with first Taacha Brown-Drummond attacking the hoop and then Caroline Ayres hitting a three pointer from the wing. However an early second foul took Ayres out but Zsuzsa Tarnia and Drummond-Brown kept the score ticking over. After Louise Gamman scored with a perfect step back post move, Stars led 11-6. As Solent rotated their players it made no difference as Sarah Cooper scored after an excellent assist from Catherine Brownsell. Lizzy Cloke was fouled and nailed two from two from the free throw line whilst at the defensive end the Stars man to man defence continued to stifle Brixton. As the quarter finished Gamman again scored after excellent work on the offensive boards. However the second quarter was a different story. Following early points from both teams Stars went on a 5 minute drought on offence. Brixton used this opportunity to fight their way back in to the game. Stars added to their own problems with unforced turnovers and then when the team did execute on offence players seemed to suddenly fumble the ball when the basket seemed wide open. With the score having been brought back to 19-16 it was Tarnai who finally scored inside whilst being fouled and hit the ‘and one’ free throw. Imbert replied for Brixton but again Tarnia answered to take Solent into a 24-18 half time lead. The third quarter showed what Solent can achieve when they get on a role. The 25-4 score did not flatter the Stars and where in the second quarter players had hesitated, in the third the team played with real confidence. Meanwhile Solent’s defence was holding Brixton to one shot keeping them off the boards. In fact Voynova was the only Topcat to score in ten minutes. Drummond-Brown was getting inside the lane creating mayhem for the Brixton defence. She was able to score and when the Topcats helped to stop her getting to the hoop she dished to Gamman and Tarnai in side. Then with the Brixton defence collapsing to stop Solent’s penetration first Ayres and then Brownsell hit from beyond the three point line. Their more aggressive play was also enabling them to get to the free throw line more often. In the first half Solent had only taken 5 free throws whereas in the second they went to the charity stripe 19 times. The quarter was brought to an end with Carrie Jones hitting another three pointer and then fittingly Drummond-Brown hitting another two points driving to the basket. The final quarter was far more even but by then the game was over with Solent comfortably in the lead. The second half had shown what Stars can do when the players execute at the offensive end scoring 43 points whilst maintaining their defensive effort. Final score Solent 67 Brixton 39. “It was a good victory for us today. Brixton always are a tough challenging team who give everything on the court. But at times today we played very well. There are still periods in the game, as in the second quarter, when we doubt ourselves and cause ourselves problems. If we are to mount a serious play-off challenge in the second half of the season we will need to look at why these moments occur in games,” commented Coach Ball. Next week Solent will travel to play Doncaster Panthers for their last game before the Christmas break. Scorers: Zsuzsa Tarnaii 16, Louise Gamman 14, Taacha Drummond-Brown 12, Caroline Ayres 10, Lizzy Cloke 4, Carrie Jones 3, Catherine Brownsell 3, Lynne Powell 3, Sarah Cooper 2, Jodie Jerram w/e 04/12/05 SOLENT STARS 77 (12,33,52) LONDON TOWERS 39 (10,19,26) Solent Stars women’s team consolidated their fifth position in Division 1 with a convincing 38 point victory over London Towers on Sunday at Hamble Community Sports Centre. Solent’s game plan was to put pressure on the Towers guards and use their bench to create an up-tempo full court game. Towers started in ther zone and in the first quester were able to withstand the Solent pressure and keep the game to a half court battle. Stars initially struggled against the zone and the first ten minutes was a low scoring affair 12-10. The second quarter started in similar fashion but with the score at 16-13 after three minutes Solent started to break down the Towers 2-3 zone. First inside with Louise Gamman scoring three consecutive baskets and then with Lynne Powell from the perimeter as Towers zone collapsed she nailed two 3 pointers. With Drummond-Brown and Catherine Brownsell scoring in transition after Towers turnovers and Caroline Ayres and Zsuzsa Tarnai scoring after offensive rebounds, Solent were able to stretch out to a 33-19 half time lead. The third and fourth quarters saw Solent add to their lead. With Towers undermanned due to Jo and Gill Ferry being unavailable the Toers players began to tire under the continuing defensive pressure. Solent rotated their players and all ten players ended up on the score-sheet reinforcing the total team approach this game had demonstrated. The improved 3 point shooting was a feature of the team’s improvement with Jodie Jerram and Caroline Ayres adding to Lynne Powells ‘three show’. Meanwhile Catherine Brownsell, Carrie Jones and Lizzy Cloke created instant offence out of their pressure defence. The final quarter saw Sarah Cooper in particular scoring both inside, finding space against the zone defence, but also in transition powering up and attacking the basket. Fittingly it was Powell who with the clock winding down hit another three pointer to take Solent to a 77-39 victory. “This was a very encouraging performance”, commented Coach Ball. “We had been too reliant in previous games on scoring coming from Caroline, Zsuzsa and Taacha. Today saw every player contribute and we were more balanced at the offensive end. We had trained excellently this week and I hope that the players can take confidence into what I expect to be a tough game with Brixton next week.” Scorers: Powell 15, Cooper 14, Gamman 12, Tarnai 9, Ayres 7, Brownsell 6, Drummond-Brown 5, Cloke 4, Jerram 3, Jones 2 12/11/05 MYSTICS SURVIVE TO BRING WIN HOME STOCKPORT LAPWINGS 92 - 97 MANCHESTER MYSTICS Forget winning or losing, the Greater Manchester derby game between the Mystics and Stockport was a testament to how the women's game can be as entertaining and spectacular as the men's. The two squads provided the most exciting game of the year so far and possibly one of the most enticing and attractive clashes of recent English basketball history. Stockport presented a very different and strengthened squad to last season's with 4 new foreign imports amongst their ranks. On their part, the Mystics, still missing Kristy Lavin, Louise Barnes and Molly Lafferty and, with Jennie Fields having dropped out due to her University commitments, resorted to their junior players to complete an already very young squad. All in all, 5 out of 9 players in the squad for this game are still eligible to play Junior basketball. The Lapwings dominated the first few minutes of the game with some great shooting from outside the arc by Lithuanian Orinta and Canadian Dickenson, with good post work and offensive rebounding by Latvian Cinite. This strong start allowed them to take a 7 point lead which the Mystics managed to answer through Rehana Khalil’s very accurate 3 pointers and Verity Peets’ and Liga Bergvalde’s hard work inside. From this point on, the game became an extraordinary exchange of baskets between the two teams with all players in both teams contributing highly. On the Mystics side, special mention should go to Natalie McKenley who played very strong defence and also contributed with 6 crucial points at this stage to reach the half-time mark 48-47 to the Lapwings. After the break, the dynamics of the game didn't change and Stockport kept leading the way, their lead moving between 1 and 7 points at various stages of the second half. At this point, the Mystics’ chances were severely damaged by both Rehana and Verity picking up their 4th personal foul. The young Mystics bench however, came to the rescue again with Charlotte Stoddart, Jamie Curtis and Emma Macready giving the team plenty of good minutes. With 6 minutes to go, the Mystics still found themselves trailing by 7. It was then that magically the Mystics Pandora's Box got opened by threes from Georgia Jones, Rehana and Liga and a courageous and commanding inside play demonstration by Verity Peets. All of a sudden, with 1' 30" to go the Mystics were leading by 5 points, to everyone's astonishment. The girls played this last 90 seconds smartly and held their own from the free throw line to walk away victorious 97-92. This Saturday, the Mystics are home at the Amaechi Basketball Centre. Their opponents are Doncaster and tip-off is at 7.30 p.m. Top Scorers: Mystics: Rehana Khalil 22, Verity Peets 21, Liga Bergvalde 18. Team 3pt Shooting 9/18 (50%) Team Free Throw Shooting 22/26 (85%) Stockport: Cinite 26, Kavaliauskite 23, Lavilla 15 24/10/05 Solent Stars 65 (11,22,47) London Heathrow Acers 53 (12,28,41) Solent came out with a vital win against London Heathrow Acers on Sunday – eventually triumphing 65-53. However the game showed both sides to their Jekyll and Hyde start to the season with a poor first half performance backed up by a sparkling second half. With Acers on 3-2 and Solent two places below them in the league on 2-3 it was an important game for Stars to win. The game started awfully for the home team, with a packed Hamble Community Sports Centre unable to believe what the Stars were doing at the offensive end. The players trying too hard to make things happen at the offensive end leading to a glut of forced passes and turnovers. At least at the defensive end Solent did not let Acers get away from them. However Solent again fell foul of the referees with players getting into early foul trouble as Solent’s intensive man to man defence was not to the liking of the referees. Before the second quarter was finished both Catherine Brownsell and Louise Gamman were on three fouls each. With Becky Lear scoring some spectacular shots inside whilst Ruth Murphy bombed away from the 3 point line it looked at half time as if the visitors were going to leave with the victory. Half time 22-28. Half time saw Coach Ball try to encourage his players to relax and enjoy the game and to keep things simple. The third quarter saw a new level of energy from the team and much better execution. Although Reydellet scored the first points for the visitors Caroline Ayres, switched to playing inside replied with a 3 point play. Abbot responded again for Acers with a lucky basket inside but Lizzy Cloke hit a big three pointer. Then following a steal from Taacha Drummond-Brown, Cloke again connected in transition. Another turnover from Acers led to Tarnai scoring inside and suddenly the scores were level at 32 point each. Coach Webb called a time-out but another fast break saw Drummond-Brown put Solent in the lead for the first time sine the beginning of the 1st quarter. Murphy hit back with a huge 3 pointer but then Ayres scored from inside and then a 3 pointer from the corner against her former club. With the scores again level at 39 points each it was Solent who finished the stronger. Louise Gamman and Catherine Brownsell came back into the game displaying much more confidence and both scored immediately tohelp take Solent to a 47-41 lead. The last quarter Acers refused to lie down and despite Becky Lear being unable to re-enter the game after an injury Dee Cloke and Murphy kept the visitors in touch with important 3 pointers after good ball movement. However first Ayres scored a 3 in transition and then Tarnai got an offensive put back and Lizzy Cloke went coast to coast. With Brownsell fouled out Jodi Jerram and Taacha Brown-Drummond handled the Acers pressure and when Jerram hit a 3 pointer it was all over. The last minute saw first Sarah Cooper score with a great fast-break and then Lizzy Cloke top off an excellent personal performance with another two points to bring Solent victory. Scorers: Gamman 14, Ayres 14, Cloke 11, Tarnai 10, Jerram 5, Brownsell 4, Cooper 3, Drummond-Brown 2, Jones 2 25/09/05 Manchester Mystics: 64 Nottingham Wildcats: 79 This was a closer League game than the final score suggests. It was only in the last quarter that the Wildcats used their height, strength and experience to draw away from a young Mystics team who had held their opponents for most of the game. Both teams were well organised in attack and defence, with some of the Mystics showing the benefits of a summer spent in hard practice. Rehana Khalil was almost unrecognisable from last season, shooting and moving the ball much more confidently. She had 8 and Georgia Jones had 7 rebounds, not bad for two guards. Newcomer Liga Bergvalde looked competent but not outstanding and Kristie Lavin had a sound game on her return to Manchester. For the Wildcats, Jessica Kemp had an excellent game, the game’s best rebounder and joint top scorer, but it was a fine team effort and the Mystics did well to give them such a tough game. On the evidence of this game, the Mystics should do well in this league, as their players grow in strength and experience. Mystics top scorers: Rehana Khalil: 15 Kristie Lavin/Liga Bergvalde: 14 Georgia Jones: 11 SOLENT STARS 104 (26,52,78) DONCASTER PANTHERS 15 ( 3, 6,11) After the team’s poor performance last weekend against Brixton it was vital that Solent got back on track with a positive performance at home to a very young Doncaster team. Solent eventually ran out convincing 104-15 winners scoring 26 points in each quarter. Solent’s defensive pressure caused problems for Doncaster throughout the game and led to many fast break baskets. The energy so lacking from the previous week's game was in evidence from the beginning with Catherine Brownsell, Taacha Brown-Drummond and Caroline Ayres attacking the hoop leading to quick points. Meanwhile Gerada answered for Doncaster with a 3 point shot. But as Solent rotated it’s bench first Katerina Syngelakis and Sarah Cooper inside then Lynn Powell and Carrie Jones from downtown added to Solent's advantage. The second quarter saw Zsuzsa Tarnai and Louise Gamman getting on the scoresheet whish was again answered with a long 3 point shot from Doncaster’s James. By the time Lizzie Cloke and Jodie Jerram had scored the entire Solent team had put points on the board. Half time score 52-6. The break did not affect Solent’s desire to move the ball quickly and although Doncaster tried to prevent Star’s scoring by putting them on the foul line Solent’s 75% shooting from the charity stripe kept the score ticking over. It was a credit to the Doncaster team that they did not drop their heads and even started to score a couple of baskets in transition in the second half. However Solent’s power was too much and they ran out 104-15 winners. “Today the players did as we asked. We stressed defensive fundamentals and transition” emphasised Coach Ball. “Now that we have all the players back in training together I think we are going to show real improvement as the new players start to understand our system of play.” Next week will see the team make the journey to Sheffield Hatters – a team they are yet to beat. Scorers: Solent: Gamman 15, Cooper 15, Tarnai 14, Syngellakis 12, Drummond-Brown 11, Ayres 10, Jerram 8, Brownsell 7, Cloke 5, Powell 4, Jones 3 Doncaster: James 4, Drake 4, Gerada 3, Turner 2, Brotherton 2
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