Harbour Celebrate Again
Tagged in: Associations, Tournaments
It was a very familiar feeling for coach Angela Perrott-Hunt and five members of their Harbour girls squad.
Just three weeks ago, Perrott-Hunt, Anna Lacey, Mikayla Blair, Natasha Hall, Milika Nathan and Petra Erceg were celebrating a BBNZ U21 national championship in Tauranga.
And on Monday they were at it again, bouncing in a team-hug after a 67-62 win over Hutt Valley in the girls final at the BBNZ U19 National Championships in Nelson.
Point guard Lacey was named most valuable player, guiding her side through the tournament unbeaten at 5-0, while Hall, who finished with a game-high 26 points in the final was selected to the tournament team, following up on her U21 selection.
Harbour never trailed after 10-8 midway through the first quarter but did have some anxious moments later in the game as Hutt Valley cut the lead, which soared to 18 points early in the third period, back to just three points with 30 seconds remaining.
The play of their two tournament team selections, Bayley Ross-Waitai and Jasmine Davis, who combined for 26 points, saw Hutt Valley bang out a 15-4 run in the third after going down 46-28.
Ross-Waitai, Davis and Shontaye Ropitini powered a 12-4 run down the stretch, which got Hutt Valley within a basket at 65-62, before a pair of free-throws from Blair iced the win.
Harbour, with a distinct height advantage with Hall, Nathan, Erceg and Ashleigh Kelman-Poto, were patient enough to work the ball into the interior, with Hall seemingly scoring momentum-killing baskets every time the Hutt closed to within single figures.
Canterbury also survived late-game palpitations as they held on for a 79-69 win over Waitakere City to capture the boys BBNZ U19 national championship at Jack Robins Stadium.
Up 18 points early in the fourth period, Canterbury looked to be cruising to a perfect 5-0 record and the winners’ medals.
A triple from Waitakere tournament team selection Jason Goodwin, his fifth of the game, started a 19-8 run that got the Aucklanders back within seven points with 90 seconds to play.
Included in the run was two big threes from big man Duane Bailey, who finished with 17 points and a tournament team nod, but it inevitably came up short as the Cantabs close the game from the foul-line.
Canterbury had built their lead on the back of their characteristically tight defence, led by tournament most valuable player Sam Evans, which held Waitakere to 50 points through three quarters.
On offence, tournament teamers Ethan Rusbatch, with a game-high 20 points, and point guard Kes Yahata, with 16 points, helped build the buffer, out-scoring Waitakere 43-24 in the middle quarters.
Waitakere, who made 13 threes in the game, were their worst enemies on the inside, missing too many close-range attempts in the second and third quarters, which allowed the Cantabs to get the winning break.
BBNZ U19 National Championships
Girls Final
Harbour 67 (Natasha Hall 26, Mikayla Blair 13, Milika Nathan 11) Hutt Valley 62 (Bayley Ross-Waitai 15, Jasmine Davis 11, Shontaye Ropitini 10)
Boys Final
Canterbury 79 (Ethan Rusbatch 20, Kes Yahata 16, David Hoekendijk 14, Sam Evans 10) Waitakere City 69 (Jason Goodwin 19, Duane Bailey 17, Christoph Fahrensohn 11)
