All-Stars shine in a tough clash

ISLAND stars Nigel Govett and Liz Kerr gunned down Goldridge Estate Agents as La Fraternelle All-Stars took a grip on the Division Two title chase with victory in the top-of-the-table battle. Neither side could afford to lose if it was to remain title contenders.

As expected, the match was tough with few easy baskets given up. The All-Stars opened brightly to establish a seven-point lead, but it was not long before Chris Sims and Chris Lamb reduced the deficit.

At the half-time break, little separated the two and by the end of the third quarter, the score was tied at 50 each.

It looked as though the game would be the third in a week to go to overtime, but the All-Stars drove on the basket to cause Goldridge problems when defending.

Govett went to the line five times in the last quarter to total 21 points in all and with the 26 from the exuberant Kerr, they shut down the game with several minutes to play at 68 to 58.

Lamb tried hard to gee up Goldridge with 14 points, but Sims was their best attacking option as he slotted 23, mainly from fast breaks. The win takes the All Stars to the top of the league.

In the same division, Richmond Worriers eclipsed Brock Road by 77 points to 37. The Youth Club team had no answer to the height and strength of the Worriers.

It was a daunting task against the likes of Andy Creed, Marcus Cooper, Ken Davey and Georg Pflugradt, all towering over the younger team. Brock Road resorted unsurprisingly to outside shooting but were caught time and again on the fast break. Pflugradt ended the match with 30 points and along with Andrew Elder, who made 14, ensured their win.

Collins Stewart 3 moved ominously up the table in Division Three, not having yet been defeated, when they defeated Martel-Dunn by 64 points to 43.

It was not without a hiccup, because for three-quarters of the game there was hardly any difference between the two sides. Natalie Grainger gave way to Kate Robert at point guard for Martel-Dunn, which allowed more space for her skills as well as 17 points.

Collins Stewart struggled to find their free-flowing routine, but in the fourth quarter they increased their intensity and brought Kerry Brown into the game.

Before long they had stretched out a match-winning lead that they held until the end. Although no one dominated for Collins Stewart, their overall teamwork conspired to make them difficult to beat.

Lorna Brown scored 12 but there were 11 from Kerry Brown and Rochelle Vaudin and 10 from Simone Harris and Rachel Guille.

In the Division Three knockout final, the Eventure Hornets eventually broke the stranglehold that Collins Stewart have held on the league for the last few years when they came up with the trophy to prevent the latter winning the double.

It was somewhat of a shock that the Hornets won, but they deserved their success with a team effort that saw them triumph against the odds.

The first quarter was unbelievable from both sides as they scored 42 points and contrived to miss only a couple of attempts on the basket.

After the Lord Mayor's Show came the reality as the Hornets went from 25 points in one quarter to just two in the next. At the break, the scores were tied at 27 each and all to play for.

The slick ball-handling of the Hornets was causing problems for Collins Stewart in the third quarter, but the latter staged a more determined effort in the last to come within one basket with a minute to go.

They missed Lorna Brown, whose ability to secure the rebounds would have meant the possibility of further points.

No one player dominated the scoring on either side - Jo Savident and Tania Gibson both netting 10 points for the Hornets and Kerry Brown 13 and Vaudin 12 for Collins Stewart.

On the day it was the Hornets who celebrated, winning the trophy by 46 to 43.

Specsavers progressed to the final of the Business League knockout after a comfortable win by 50 to 22 over the Island U17 Girls.

They were never under much pressure, playing at a leisurely pace that also allowed the girls some chances to score. Phil Sweet led Specsavers to their success with 14 points along with Chris Bourgaize, who added 12, and 10 from Jeremy Wilcox.

Richmond Worriers eased their passage into the next round of the Lower Divisions Plate competition by defeating The Learning Co. by 79 to 22.

The diminutive women's side were dwarfed by their opponents but had some success under the basket as the Worriers gave TLC opportunities to score.

Pflugradt scored 41 points for the Worriers, with a whole range of skills from free throws to dunks to three-pointers.

When he was not given the ball inside, it was left to Marcus Cooper to add 12 points and several good shots from Richard Mathews bolstered their tally by 12.

In the next round they play Grammar and must now be seen as favourites.