Up by 10 points with a little over a minute to go, Police almost let an easy win slip away but a buzzer-beater shot from Anika La Roche in overtime saved the day as the officers emerged with a one-point (64-63) victory over Brian Chase Academy in an exciting game one of the Women's Division best-in-three final in the North Zone Basketball League.
This was in the opening match of a final series double-header on Wednesday night at the Jean Pierre Complex in Mucurapo. In the later match, Detour Shak Attack drew first blood in the Men’s Second Division final against SpartansTT, beating them 93-88.
Police's narrow win against Brian Chase saw them go up 1-0 in the series after the scores were tied at 56 at the end of regulation time.
"The win was important," said an exhausted La Roche after the match. "We were basically playing with a bare seven so the win was important to us. Coming down to the end, legs went and you know when tiredness kick in you have to rely on ability and knowledge. It was a team effort even though I may have scored the last basket because if we didn't get that rebound, we would not have been able to get a shot."
Her teammate Kielle Connelly was on fire for the grey and blue, notching 37 points to have their team in a comfortable position for most of the match after it trailed 16-10 in the first quarter. The policewomen bounced back in the second quarter to take a narrow lead which they held on to at the half, 28-26.
The Police unit found its rhythm and pulled ahead in the third period, taking an 11-point lead, 44-33. Play remained in favour of the officers early on in the fourth quarter as they maintained a 10-point advantage. However, things started to get shaky for the Police team who lost the services of Connelly, who fouled out with two minutes to go in regular time.
Brian Chase, led by veteran player Allison Young (28), used the opportunity to make a run after coach Cleveland King installed a press defence, which saw the Police team repeatedly turn over the ball. Brian Chase converted those turnovers into points and levelled the score as time expired.
Without its star player Connelly, Police looked to Jellene Richardson (12), who came good to keep her team in contention but it was Brian Chase holding on to a one-point lead, 63-62 as time ticked away.
In the final play of the game, Brian Chase had possession of the ball but an incomplete pass from Alicia Joseph to Young saw it deflected, gifting Police with a shot which missed but Police got the rebound and found La Roche, who sank the winning bucket.
"All of us, we know the game of netball, we may not be verse in the basketball to be able to dribble and as much but once we started to listen to each other things came together. We were tired but we listened to each other and got our rotation on and not being afraid to put up that last shot. I am not the one to say let me shoot but all-in-all we stood up long enough to withstand and get the victory.
Tomorrow (Sunday), the both teams will be back on court to battle in game two which La Roche her team to leave everything on the court to get the win.
She said, "Go with all, hopefully for us not to have a game three. Every game we go into it wanting the win and once we stay together and communicate, I think that's the key thing communicating and trusting each other, I think we could pull it off and get that game two down and call it quits for the season."
Later, in the men's second Division final series opener, Jahiem Elder (27), Jabari Elder (20) and Orlando Mapp (18) combined to see Shak Attack to the narrow five-point victory after leading at the end of each quarter, 28-23 in the first, 47-37 at the half and 67-60 in the third.
Last night, game two of their series was set to unfold. If there is a game three, it is carded for Sunday as well.
Results
Women's Division
Police 64 (Kielle Connelly 37, Jellene Richardson 12) vs Brian Chase Academy 63 (Allison Young 28) in overtime. Quarter scores: 1st. 16-10 (Brian Chase), 2nd. 28-26 (Police), 3rd. 44-33 (Police), 4th. 56-56.
Men’s Second Division
Detour Shak Attack 93 (Jahiem Elder 27, Jabari Elder 20, Orlando Mapp 18) vs Spartans 88 (Shornelle Pompey 26, Nkosi Corbin 20, Kevin Garcia 15). Quarter scores: 1st. 28-23, 2nd. 47-37, 3rd. 67-60 (All in favour of Shak Attack)