SPORTSCENE Minders are again the team to beat in the 2022 Autumn season of the Hamilton Basketball Association (HBA) Division 1-2 Women’s competition.
The reigning premiers have been by far the best team so far this season, dropping just the one game - a six-point loss to St Mary’s Black – in the last round before the break.
Led by Paige Kissel and Tahlia Ross, the side has scored a massive 410 points for the season at an average of more than 45 points per game, giving opposition teams no chance of winning.
The only team that has managed to be competitive against the powerhouse is Tigers and with two four-point losses, and you sense it will have confidence that it can upset Minders when the sides likely meet in finals later in the year.
Tigers sit in second position above St Mary’s and St Mary’s Black, who sit on five and four wins respectively, while Monivae Dolphins are on 17 points in fifth position.
Minders Blue has had a very tough season and sits on the bottom of the ladder, yet to win a single game.
Aside from Minders Blue on the bottom and Sportscene Minders on top, there is just one win separating the Dolphins (fifth) and Tigers (second).
All teams apart from the ladder leaders have struggled to find continuity this season, as no side has won more than two consecutive games apart from the flag favourites.
Paige Kissel leads the league points with 121 across just seven games (has missed two ames) and continues her stellar season, averaging a staggering 17.3 points per game – including a season high of 31 in round four.
Her partner in crime, Ross, has put on a three-point shooting masterclass this season, knocking down 20 shots from beyond the arc in the nine games, 14 more than any other player in the competition.
Sportscene Minders
Position: First
Season record: 8-1
Top-scorer: Paige Kissel (121 points)
SPORTSCENE Minders has one thing on its mind this season and that will be achieving the incredible feat of going back-to-back to win the Division 1-2 premiership again.
Having been undefeated up until last round, the side will take some beating and if the duo of Paige Kissel (121 points) and Tahlia Ross (114 points) play anywhere near as good in the second half of the season as they have been, you could almost give them the cup now.
Kissel gets in the paint and scores from mid-range, while Ross can do some real damage to the scoreboard if she is left open from outside – both players will likely poll very well in the season MVP calculations.
Some other younger players in Caitlin Urquhart (63 points) and Mia McGrath (47 points) have been able to make some solid contributions to ensure the side has taken home victory all but one time it has walked on the court.
Arguably the biggest strength of the side is its scoring power if any side is a chance of bringing home a win.
The result will rest on the team’s ability to infiltrate the defence and put on some real scoreboard pressure – Sportscene Minders has scored less than 40 points on just two occasions in the first nine rounds.
After its magnificent start to the season, Sportscene Minders will be disappointed if it doesn’t take home the ultimate glory in the 2022 season and will look to destroy any team in its way.
Tigers
Position: Second
Season record: 6-2
Top-scorer: Karoraina Karatau-Keightley (73 points)
TIGERS has only lost to the top side this year and there wasn’t much separating the sides when they met in round two and seven.
The second-placed team will be eyeing off an upset in the latter part of the season and is well positioned to cause some problems come finals time.
Karoraina Karatau-Keightley has been a consistent performer for Tigers, scoring 73 points for the season at an average of 9.1 points per game, and will be a key player if the side is going to upset Sportscene Minders towards the end of the season.
Despite those losses, it has been all smooth sailing for the yellow team, which will set itself for a big charge in finals and is considered the most likely side in the competition to knock off the top team.
While the side has a good mix of youth and experience, the scoring for the season has been strongly attributed to the younger brigade of Grace Cleaver (70 points), Ella Sevior (53 points) and Molly O’Brien (47 points).
This has allowed the team to find different ways to the basket throughout the season and is able to look to any one of these players to stand up in big games and lead the team to a win.
Look for Tigers to continue being a threatening side in the competition and a wildcard team when finals come around at the end of the year.
St Mary’s
Position: Third
Season record: 5-3
Top-scorer: Kate Pickford (50 points)
DESPITE an inconsistent first half of the season, St Mary’s would be happy to sit in third position at the halfway mark, considering how close the race for the top end of the ladder is.
The Saints carry a more experienced line-up into the season than most and games like the four-point win against St Mary’s Black in round five exemplified the ability to remain calm and rely on experience to close out tight games.
It has been an even contribution on the scoreboard from the side with Kate Pickford leading the way with 50 points, closely followed by Jenna Loats (44 points), Leesa Iredell (40 points) and Amy Knight (38 points), who have all played solid roles.
Just four three-pointers have been scored by the Saints up until this point with three of those coming from Ellie Jennings; this stat shows that the team executes well inside the paint with some taller bodies.
St Mary’s boasts a very healthy percentage 110.81 and trails Tigers by percentage, but the side needs to lift its scoring if it is to boost its percentage – this may come into play later in the season.
While the team has a long way to go if it wants to compete against Sportscene Minders and Tigers, it is expected to continue beating sides below it and will look to put in a lot of offensive work against some of the better sides.
St Mary’s Black
Position: Fourth
Season record: 4-4
Top-scorer: Saskia Gould (82 points)
IT has been a bit of a mixed bag for St Mary’s Black this season, struggling to find continuity on the win-loss record losing a few games and then winning a few.
The team ticked off its biggest win of the season most recently when it upset the undefeated Sportscene Minders to win 50-44 in round nine – the last game before the break.
This was a morale-boosting win for the team which will take confidence knowing it has what it takes to beat the best side in the competition.
Saskia Gould has been a standout, ensuring her team fights hard to get the favoured result every single week and at an average of over 10 points per game, she is very reliable and a key cog in her team.
Gould started the season with a bang, scoring 12, 13, 11, 11 to make her name known as one of the stronger scorers in the league.
The only other real contributor to the scoreboard at the halfway point of the season has been Saint, Holly Rook (61 points), who has also led her team in three-pointers made, hitting multiple threes in separate games.
Spirits will be high among the group as it prepares to take on its rivals, St Mary’s when the HBA resumes next week – this is an important game for both sides and essentially a battle for a spot in the top three.
Monivae Dolphins
Position: Fifth
Season record: 3-3
Top-scorer: Maggie Doyle (40 points)
AFTER a draw, a bye and a draw, Monivae Dolphins has played just six games this season and has split even in its win-loss record with 3-3 to sit in fifth position on the ladder.
The Dolphins are the lowest scoring side in the competition making easy wins hard to come by, but Maggie Doyle has done everything in her power to achieve success for her team, leading the way with 40 points.
Doyle is the only player on her team to have scored double figures more than once, putting up 10-point games against Minders Blue and Sportscene Minders.
Maddison Rhook (37 points) and Abbey Hill (30 points) are the next best scorers scoring and it is clear the side requires some bigger bodies and experience if it is to move the ball well and give some of the stronger sides a shake.
Having lost three out of its last four games, Monivae needs to turn the ship around soon if it is any chance of jumping up a couple spots on the ladder.
The side is set for tough games upon resumption, facing Tigers and Sportscene Minders which will likely both give them some trouble, but it will be about how the side rebounds after these, as the end of the season fast approaches.
The goal for the team will be to win as many of its final six games and compete hard, even if it is unable to get over the line in particular games.
Minders Blue
Position: Sixth
Season record: 0-9
Top-scorer: Maddison Cotten (61 points)
IT has been a long and tough season for Minders Blue, as the side is yet to record a win after nine games this season in a disappointing first half of the season for the team.
The team has been without its full squad for almost every game this season, which has made gelling together and getting accustomed to the way each person plays really difficult.
Maddison Cotten has been the shining light despite the winless start, with the 14-year-old scoring 61 points for the year, including an impressive outing in round five where she dropped three shots from beyond the arc to finish with 17 points for the night.
Amy Pepper (51 points) has been the only other player that has been able to make any sort of impact on the scoreboard this season.
Minders Blue came tantalisingly close to posting its first and only win back in the round five clash against Monivae Dolphins, falling short by a single point.
The task is simple for the bottom-placed side with finals off the table, as the focus shifts towards being competitive and working to stay in games for longer.
If the players can manage to play a good half or three quarters of a game as opposed to maybe 10 minutes, they will find they are a greater chance of upsetting some of the middle-positioned sides.
