THE Hamilton Basketball Association winter season resumed this week after a five-week hiatus, with some close contests played out on the court in round 10.

Women’s Division 1

Tigers d St Mary’s White

IT was a thrilling clash to open proceedings on Tuesday night, with Tigers recording a one-point win against St Mary’s White to retain second spot on the ladder.

The contest opened up with both teams making the most of their scoring opportunities, with the scoreboard showing 6-6 after nearly five minutes of play.

White edged out to a five-point lead late in the first half before Tigers clawed back the deficit, with Bridget Mailes shooting truly from the foul line to give the second-placed side a one-point lead at the main break.

The second half saw both teams continue to battle, with the momentum swinging towards both sides at different times.

With a little over a minute to go, scores were locked at 27-27 before Ava Murrihy went to the line and gave Tigers the narrowest of leads, with the buzzer sounding soon after.

Zoe Vankalken-Flack shot a game-high 12 points for St Mary’s White, while Murrihy and Molly O’Brien led the way for the Tigers with eight points each.

St Mary’s Black d St Mary’s Orange

ST Mary’s Black maintained top spot after a comfortable 31-point win against St Mary’s Orange in the late game.

Black dominated the contest from the outset, getting out to a 21-6 lead at the midway point of the first half, as Maddox Ryan and Charlize Cooper created plenty of issues for the Orange defence.

By half time, Black had extended the margin out even more, holding a 23-point lead.

The second half was a much-improved defensive period for Orange, creating more pressure across the court.

Orange marginally improved in offence as well, scoring 14 points in the second half, while restricting Black to 22 points.

At the final buzzer, Black was ahead, 57-26.

Stella Grinham was outstanding for Orange, putting up 16 points for Orange, while Cooper led the way for St Mary’s Black with 21 points, supported by 17 points from Ryan.

Men’s Division 1

Barber Boys d GT Storm

BARBER Boys upset GT Storm by four points in Wednesday’s early game.

GT Storm started hot, scoring the first six points, before the fourth-placed Barber Boys got rolling through Wade Macdonald, eventually drawing level at 8-8, before Aaron Glare put up 10 points in two minutes to give his team the ascendency.

By half time, Barber Boys had moved well clear of Storm, leading 24-17.

The second half started with Shai Bunworth extending the margin out to nine points, before GT Storm grabbed the momentum back and closed the margin to six points.

Both teams had opportunities to score, before GT Storm scored eight points to three, closing to within three points with nine minutes still to play.

Barber Boys held its nerve though, eventually winning 47-43.

Glare was the different between the teams, scoring 20 points for Barber Boys, while Josh Rentsch put up 15 points for GT Storm.

Minders d St Mary’s Orange

THE late game was also an upset, as second-placed Minders drew to within a win of ladder leader, St Mary’s Orange, after a three-point win.

Orange started slowly, as Minders got out to a 6-0 lead, which grew to 15-6, then 21-13 by half time.

Minders maintained the momentum after the main break, keeping the margin around 10 minutes at the midway point of the second half, before St Mary’s Orange found some rhythm in offence, and rallied to close the deficit to two points with five minutes remaining.

Despite the effort, St Mary’s Orange was unable to grab the lead, going down 35-38.

Josh Miller led the way for the winners with 18 points, while Archie Porter added eight points for St Mary’s Orange.