ROUND seven of the Hamilton Basketball Association (HBA) Division One competition produced some high-scoring results during the week with teams vying for a spot at the top end of the ladder as the second half of the season begins.
Men’s Division 1
GT Storm d. St Mary’s Black
GT Storm continues to push towards the top two after an 18-point win against St Mary’s Black on Wednesday night, 57-39.
The Rentsch surname accounted for 45 of the 57 points as Wynn (19 points) and Josh (17 points) and Sam Rentsch (nine points) were making tough buckets for fun.
Cody Overton (11 points) also contributed well transitioning the ball well into attack and hitting the scoreboard.
The Saints only have one victory to their name this season but will take confidence out of the way Riley Iredell played.
The youngster caught fire from beyond the arc as he converted on three deep shots to score 14 points, Tom Waters also put up eight points in the loss.
St Mary’s Orange d. Barber Boys
DESPITE trailing by a point at half time, St Mary’s Orange held off Barber Boys in a high-scoring affair to retain top spot on the ladder and their undefeated status.
The final margin blew out to 18 points thanks to some incredible outside shooting from the Saints and despite the Barber Boys’ best efforts, they were unable to match them at the level.
St Mary’s Orange were jumped by Barber Boys in the first half as they went into the main break down 28-27 but piled on 41 points in the second half to clinch the favourable result, 68-50.
The Saints nailed 17 threes, with four of them going to Deacon White who scored a huge 19 points, with assistance from Archie Porter (13 points) and the rest of the roster.
Barber Boys’ Aaron Glare had a day out with 19 points (five threes), as he and Sam English (15 points) worked hard in the loss.
Minders had the bye.
Women’s Division 1
St Mary’s Black d. St Mary’s Orange
IT was the ladder-leader St Mary’s Black who prevailed in the clash of the Saints on Tuesday night thanks to a Charlize Cooper masterclass.
The young gun was the best player on the court as she dropped 17 points and helped her side to a 25-point win against St Mary’s Orange to retain top spot.
A strong first half from the flag favourites set up a 48-23 victory as the entire young side contributed at both ends of the court.
In reply, Jenna Loats worked hard for Orange as she scored seven points and managed to draw plenty of fouls, but it wasn’t enough – her team now sits in third spot with a 3-4 record.
Tigers d. St Mary’s White
TIGERS proved too much to handle for the fourth-placed St Mary’s White as they ran away to win 48-33 at the final buzzer.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the Saints who had just five players as they continue to battle in the second half to try and minimise the damage on the scoreboard.
The 15-point win was made more impressive by Tigers’ willingness to use all players at their offensive end with Molly O’Brien (11 points) the only player to reach double figures – other major scorers were Rhianne Lewis and Ava Murrihy (both nine points).
Danielle Vankalken provided the scoring power for the Saints dropping a game-high 13 points but the side fell short of victory.