DROPPING three big shots from beyond the arc to help St Mary’s Black claim its fourth win against Minders was Holly Rook, as she led her team to a nail-biting three-point victory in round nine of the Hamilton Basketball Association (HBA) Division One Women’s competition on Tuesday.

It was a top of the table clash with both sides looking to bounce back from losses in the previous round before the break but only one side could achieve that as St Mary’s Black took home the win, 34-31.

The loss saw Minders drop to third spot on percentage while the Saints hold onto top spot after nine rounds.

Minders took a two-point lead into the half time break thanks to some impressive shooting from their star player in Zoe Hill.

But Rook and her St Mary’s Black teammates had a resurgence in the second half to outscore the challengers 21-16 and secure a three-point win, the fourth for the year.

Rook finished with a game-high 13 points while Ruby Cleaver was on fire with eight points – the rest of the side contributed evenly towards the important win.

An all-round team effort from Minders wasn’t enough despite Hill (nine points), Makayla Hutchins and Rhianne Lewis (seven points) all getting on the scoreboard.

St Mary’s Orange d. Tigers

GRACE Cleaver continues to make her name as the best scorer in the competition with an 18-point game to see her St Mary’s Orange side over the line against Tigers by five points at the final buzzer, 27-22.

The margin was just one point at half time and the bottom-placed Tigers were in the game up to their necks challenging the Saints.

Maddison Rhook was a key player in the Tigers’ fight, scoring eight points to lead her team’s offensive output on the night.

The win was an important one for St Mary’s Orange who on 2.25 average points a game is now sitting at a 5-3 season record and jumped Minders to second position on percentage.

Tigers will be happy with the brand of basketball it played and had Cleaver not had her second-best game of the season, the yellow team may well have come away with a win.

St Mary’s Black has proved it’s a very tough side to beat when the guns are firing and when other players in the side stand up, the formidable side doesn’t look like losing.

Men’s Division One results for round nine were not available at the time of print.