WITH less than a month until Hamilton Basketball Association finals get underway, the Women’s Division 1 games saw two teams flex their muscles with comfortable wins on Tuesday night.

St Mary’s Orange d Minders

ROUND 11 started with St Mary’s Orange and Minders taking to the court for the early game.

It was a dour and defensive struggle for Minders early on, as scoring proved hard for the third-placed side, with the Saints breaking the game open and going into the break with a 15-point advantage at half time.

Scoring opened up for Minders in the second half, but Orange continued to make the most of its opportunities in offence, as the scoreboard ticked over at both ends in a high-scoring half.

Minders added 12 points in the second half, but it still wasn’t enough to reel in the deficit, going down 14-31 to the Saints.

Caitlin Urquhart was Minders’ standout with six points, while Grace Cleaver led the way for St Mary’s Orange with 11 points.

Tigers d Barber Babes

TIGERS and Barber Babes faced off in the late game and it was Tigers who dominated from the outset to grab the early ascendency.

A 20-point opening half from Tigers put plenty of pressure on its opponent, with Barber Babes only managing two points before the main break.

The game slowly turned in the second half with a stronger focus on defence from Barber Babes restricting Tigers to 14 points after half time, and managed to add 11 points of their own, but a slow first half proved the difference in the 13-34 loss.

Molly O’Brien impressed for Tigers with a game-high 15 points, while Danielle Van Kalken was Barber Babes’ best with five points in the round 11 loss.

Men’s Division 1

Barber Boys White d St Mary’s Black

THE early game of the men’s top division saw Barber Boys White take on St Mary’s Black in a one-sided contest on Wednesday night.

It was a high-scoring first half for White, dominating the contest across the court to put up 42 points and go into the main break with a 26-point scoreboard advantage.

The second half saw a more defensive style played by both teams, with St Mary’s Black adding just seven points, while White added 27 points to its tally to go on and claim a 69-23 victory.

Nathan Hardingham led the charge for the winners with 16 points, with support from Shai Bunworth (14 points) and Nate Krause (13 points).

Zac Elliott topped the Saints’ scoring with seven points.

St Mary’s Orange d Barber Boys Black

ROUND 11 concluded with St Mary’s Orange facing off against Barber Boys Black in a more evenly balanced contest.

The first half saw 29 points scored, with 21 falling at Orange’s end, but with 13 points separating the two teams at half time, Black was still close enough to make a run for victory in the second half.

That momentum didn’t eventuate though, despite winning the second half.

A 22-point effort was a much improved effort from Black’s eight-point opening period, but still went down, 30-41, at the final buzzer.

Archie Porter shot a game-high 12 points for the winners, with Josh Hallam chipping in with 11 points of his own.

Blake Watt put up 11 points for Barber Boys Black.