Mixed fortunes for Girls in play-off race
MELBOURNE, Australia (CMC) — Only one of the three sides with Jamaicans in their side won their matches last weekend in the ANZ Championships.
And only the Adelaide Thunderbirds of the three sides have advanced to the play-offs of the Championship, which start
this weekend.
Goal shooter Carla Borrego, the most prolific scorer in the Championship, and the T-birds will face the New South Wales Swifts in the major semi-final on Sunday at the Acer Arena in Sydney.
The winner qualifies for the Grand Final on July 11, and the loser heads into the Preliminary Final — the third-place play-off — on July 4.
Another weak performance from Borrego meant that the T-birds lost their final regular season game, when the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic cemented their place in the playoffs with a telling 53-44 victory in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Responding to recent criticism in the best possible fashion, the Magic saved their best to when it mattered most in the must-win clash against the well-performed T-birds.
The first period was intense, abrasive, and combative, but the defensive pressure from both sides was enormous, and getting the ball through court proved a huge mission at times.
The pressure caused cracks, and the Magic came away with a 14-11 lead.
Borrego and goal attack Kate Beveridge continued to wilt under the pressure in the second quarter.
There were glimpses of the T-birds’ prowess with their quick transition through court on the back of turnovers, but the Magic wore them down, and grabbed a 29-19 lead.
Four positional changes, including the benching of Borrego, helped steady the T-birds in the third stanza.
The Thunderbirds pulled out all the stops to get themselves back into contention, but the Magic still held a 40-33 advantage heading down the home straight.
The Magic regained their assertive attitude in the final quarter with a strong burst as the challenge of the T-birds petered out.
In Christchurch, New Zealand, defender Althea Byfield came off the bench for the Northern Mystics, who ended their campaign with a 58-47 win over a spirited challenge from the Canterbury Tactix.
Byfield ended with one rebound and five deflections.
In Perth, goal shooter Romelda Aiken and the Queensland Firebirds had their hopes of a play-off spot spoilt, when the West Coast Fever upset them with a 67-59 win.
It was another unpredicted result in a topsy-turvy final round, but ultimately cost the Firebirds a place in the play-offs for the third successive year.
Aiken finished with 36 goals from 43 attempts.