Pinelands take Ladies’ League crown

THE #1 Beauty Supplies and Beauty Exchange Women’s League crowned Braddies Bar and ED Signs Pinelands as 2016 ladies’ champions after they defeated Combined Schools Hoopsters in a come from behind victory, 68-55.

 

It was a team effort for Pinelands as they were made to earn their title by the Hoopsters. The Combined Schools ladies jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Winmelecia Bowen and Latifa Wood were playing well in the paint while Stephian Shepherd was giving good energy on the wing. Shepherd was playing defence on the main scorer for the Pine, Maria Cumberbatch, and did a great job early on. Cumberbatch started slow, missing buckets that she would have easily made previously in the season. The Pine caught their bearings though, and it started with Tamisha Flatts with an up and under layup through the middle to open the scoring. Her teammate Sade Clarke hit two timely free throws and Cumberbatch caught onto the scoring vibe and started to score. By the end of the first quarter whistle, Pinelands had cut the lead to five, 15-10.

 

The second period of the game saw the Pine employ a run out strategy where the long pass was tossed for Cumberbatch in the attempt to score quick easy points. The run by the Pine put pressure on the Hoopsters to try to stop the long pass or delay the layup till help arrived. Unfortunately, by the time they were able to figure out how to stop Cumberbatch, Clarke came down on the secondary break to sink a three-pointer and Pinelands took the 15-17 lead in the game midway in the second. Anicia Wood also came alive with six of her 14 points in the second quarter, which helped propel her team to a 21-8 quarter over Hoopsters and they rolled into the half-time break, 23-31.

 

After half-time, both teams stepped on the court and started the half well. Latifa Wood and Winmelecia Bowen were playing physical in the paint, which sometimes resulted in Cumberbatch of the Pine finding herself on the floor. But “Flowers”, as she is locally called, just stood up and checked for cuts and continued to play. Her focus was not going to be taken away and she attacked the ring relentlessly once the space appeared. Flatts and Anicia Wood were joined by Toni-ann Johnson and these three continued to give Flowers and Clarke support in the paint, many times grabbing rebounds between players or against bulkier players. At certain points in the game, the rebound was grabbed by the black shirt of a Pine player and when the traffic cleared, Flowers, one of the smaller players on the court, had the ball. Despite this, Pinelands were outrebounded by Combined Schools 36-52, but were unable to turn that advantage into points.

 

The problem for Combined Schools was the pressure constantly put on point guard Ashlee Daniels, who was given the burden to bring the ball and as a result, she was usually involved in the scoring for the squad. The responsibility fell to Shepherd, Wood and Rashanna Thorne to score. Shepherd and Thorne had multiple clear looks during the game, but were unable to convert their chances. Shepherd specifically shot air balls over the ring and could not seem to make the adjustment.

 

Due to this lack of scoring, the Pine never looked back and the pressure built on the young Hoopsters ladies and turnovers started to pop up in consec-utive possessions. Pinelands smartly slowed down the ball and started to milk the clock. Bench players entered the fray and despite being up at times by 20 points, were responsible with the ball and stuck with the plan of running out the clock. As the time ran out, the Pinelands supporters celebrated, but the players were more reserved and respectfully shook the hands of the Combined Schools players before the laughing and smiling started. As President of the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association, Derek Garrett, presented the 2016 Ladies’ League Championship Trophy, then the full celebrations began as the title win soaked in.

 

Cumberbatch led all scorers with 17 points on a dominant night against tight defence and she added seven rebounds and three steals as well. Anicia Wood and Clarke both finished with 14 points and six rebounds, while Tamisha Flatts was solid in the paint with 11 rebounds to go along with her nine points in a winning effort. For Hoopsters, only one player was in double figures, Latifa Wood had 15 points and snatched down 16 big rebounds. Rashanna Thorne, Winmarie Bowen, Winmelecia Bowen, Tatyana Walrond and Stephian Shepherd all scored six points each.

 

Pinelands will face Burger King Clapham Bulls in the #1 Beauty Supplies and Beauty Exchange Knockout semi-finals and the winner will go on to face the Hoopsters in the final. The best of three knockout battles could possibly be a rematch between Hoopsters and Pinelands, which will give Hoopsters a chance to win their first title in 20 years or the Pine a chance to win the double.