Basketball New Zealand

Lisa Pardon (ImageSport NZ)

Kiwi Lisa Pardon could not get on the court and had to watch as her Bulleen Boomers were toppled 75-70 by defending champions Canberra Capitals in the Australian WNBL final.

Bulleen had lost just once on their way to the regular season title and were six points ahead with 4m 33s remaining, but could not hold off Canberra’s assault down the stretch.

Superstar Lauren Jackson was named MVP for her 18 points/13 rebounds, while the victory was a triumph of pupil over master as Australian Opals coach Carrie Graff outwitted mentor Tom Maher. Both are also former Tall Ferns coaches.

Pardon played 19 games during the season, averaging 3.5 points and shooting 35.5% (11/31) from beyond the arc.

In Europe, Kiwi Brendon Polyblank had a quiet night, but his Fribourg club defended their Swiss League Cup title with a 79-78 win over Lugano Tigers in the final.

Polyblank had only three points, but earned bragging rights over former Wellington Saints team-mate Mike Efevberha, who led all scorers with 19 points in a losing effort.

Fribourg returned to earth with a thud over the weekend, though, toppled 81-74 by Starwings in the LNB. Polyblank led his team with 21 points as his team fell to 19-6 for the season.

In US college play, Tall Ferns guard Micaela Cocks and the University of Oregon fell to their fifth consecutive loss, 53-67 away to Washington State, shooting just 26% FG.

Cocks had 10 points (4/13 FG, 2/7 3pt), three rebounds, three assists and two steals as the Ducks fell to 16-13 for the season and 7-10 in the Pac-10 Conference.

Ferns centre Rebecca Dew had six points (3/5 FG), four rebounds, an assist and a block in 12 minutes as her University of Hawaii rounded off their regular season with a 51-53 loss to Utah State.

The Rainbow Wahine finished with a 10-19 record, 4-12 in the Western Athletic Conference, and enter the conference tournament as eighth seeds.

Junior Tall Black captain Dion Prewster and San Jacinto College were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Region XIV junior college tournament, defeated 61-64 by Lee College.

SJC entered the tournament seeded third, but conceded an 11-2 late in the game as their opponents snatched a six-point lead with less than two minutes remaining.
Prewster hit a three-pointer to close the gap, but Lee hung tough from the free throw line to survive down the stretch.