DESPITE finishing on top of the ladder with a win-loss record of 11-2, St Mary’s Orange has been knocked out of the race to win the Hamilton Basketball Association Division One Men’s Championship of the by Minders White after a 22-point loss in the preliminary final last Tuesday.

Minders White have been a danger side all season and after finishing fourth, it managed to win its way through to a preliminary final and test themselves against what was arguably the best team in the competition.

Josh Miller helped see his team to victory with 26 points for the game, but it was the assistance and firepower from Angus Noske who dropped 20 points which was massive for the outcome.

St Mary’s were without the injured Jacob Hill, who could do nothing but sit on and watch, as Noske pulled down boards all night, while Deacon White didn’t play either.

Tyler Staude was another strong performer for Minders White, and has been consistent all year but has started to find a purple patch in the last three weeks.

Saints’ Charlie Alexander (24 points) and Ethan Knight (18 points) both had their best scoring games of the entire season, but the team still fell short 83-61 and will now look towards season.

Women’s Division 1

SPORTSCENE Minders obliterated St Mary’s in the Division 1 preliminary final to win, 45-21, at the final buzzer, after the Saints struggled to infiltrate the solid premiership defence of the top-placed side.

Paige Kissel was back to the form that has seen her single-handedly win games for her side throughout the season, as she dropped 17 points and was a focal point for Minders all night.

Credit to St Mary’s though for keeping Tahlia Ross and Caitlin Urquhart quiet for the entire game (seven points together).

But in a great response from the raging flag favourites, it was Indiana Ryan who stood up in the big game and delivered in spades for her side with a 15-point game – this was the first time the tall has hit double figures this season and what a time to do it.

Saints’ Pheobe Dunn was again her team’s main performer and generated plenty of scoring opportunities and despite her team being outplayed across the court, she dropped nine points in a good individual performance.

St Mary’s needed a bit more firepower on the night and needed to rely on a few players to score big, as Minders proved they are the most damaging side at the offensive end of the court.

Division 2

IN a low-scoring affair and high-pressure finals environment, Minders Blue overcame Monivae Dolphins by just nine points at the final buzzer to ensure Minders secured a spot in the Division Two grand final against St Mary’s Black next week.

No side dominated the play across the court, rather it was more of an arm-wrestle for both sides all night with Blue prevailing to win after a miserable 1-13 season record.

Minders Blue’s Amy Pepper was one of the few players in the game that managed to score freely and find space time and time again to get open shots and quick breaks, finishing with a game-high 12 points.

Monivae’s Maggie Doyle fought hard and provided some resistance at the other end with 10 points, which rounds out a consistent season for her from an individual perspective.

The Dolphins will see this game as the one that got away and would’ve backed themselves to secure a spot in the grand final if they played their best basketball.

Monivae had beaten Minders Blue in both encounters during the season and therefore went in as slight favourite in the game it eventually lost, 20-29.

Grand finals

THE HBA senior grand finals are scheduled for Wednesday night in a big night of basketball action.

Women’s Division 1 – Tigers v Sportscene Minders (court 1) at 6.30pm.

Women’s Division 2 – St Mary’s Black v Minders Blue (court 2) at 6.30pm.

Women’s Division 3 – Minders v Tigers Black (court 2) at 7.30pm.

Women’s Division 4 – College Sooty Owls v Monivae Mermaids (court 4) at 7.30pm.

Men’s Division 1 – Barber Boys v Minders White (court 1) at 8pm.

Men’s Division 2A – Barber Boys v Casterton (court 4) at 6.30pm.

Men’s Division 2B – Barber Boys v College Boobook Owls (court 3) at 7pm.

Men’s Division 3 – St Mary’s v Redbacks (court 3) at 8pm.