Australian School Championships: Day 2 Wrap

The Men’s Championships match between Don Campus and Brisbane State High School provided the highlight of Day 2 games at the 2009 Australian Schools Championships in Newcastle.

After leading in the first half Brisbane SHS relinquished the lead in the third quarter before storming back in the final term to take the match by two points, 67-65.

For the full schedule and results go to the official website Australian Schools Championships.

Championship Division Match Reports – Tuesday

Box Hill Senior Secondary College 79 def John Paul College 57– Championship Women
To start off the second day of competition, both teams came out with a fresh and keen start. Play appeared to be aggressive and close during the first quarter, before Box Hill started to step up with Olivia Simmons and Emily Schill attacking strong to go into the second quarter with an 11 point lead. Box Hill claimed a massive 57 rebounds, with the majority of points in the paint. Box Hill’s aggressive defence forced John Paul to shoot from a wider range, although with the help from Madelyn Willey, claiming 23 points enabled them to keep their heads up. Starting the second half with a 16 point lead, Box Hill continued to maintain a comfortable lead. Again their strong bench performed, claiming 36 points, together with a stable 29 offensive rebounds. John Paul fought to the end, with Karina Dawson strong on the defensive boards. However, the dominate Box Hill enabled them to claim a solid 22 point victory.

Xavier High School 66 def Rosny College 51– Championship Women
Both teams came out with an eager start, with a tight hustle to separate the teams by 1 point at the end of the first quarter. Rosny’s Ashton Eaton and Alex Finlayson dominate the offence, claiming 24 and 14 points respectively. Although defending champions, Xavier appeared to be stronger, both offensively and defensively, to head into the main break with a 10 point lead. Xavier continued to control the play, with fast and attacking plays. Emma Mahady continued to impress, claiming 23 points, 9 rebounds and shooting 100% from the free throw line. Rosny continued to fight back, although Xavier became destructive in the paint area, where they claimed several baskets, together with a massive 54 rebounds. This aggressive and fast pace game resulted in Xavier claiming a steady 15 point triumph.

Brisbane State High School 67 def Don Campus 65- Championship Men
It was a nervous start in this second round clash before Brisbane got the ball rolling to take a 3 point lead into the quarter time. Cade Towers and the Horomia brothers were strong in the paint for Brisbane contributing to the 34 points scored inside. Don came out pumped from the main break, with some fast break plays and good offensive boards taking a 10 point lead late in the third. Joel Beveridge took control of his team’s tempo with impressive outside shooting, while Lucas Simpson had some nice inside looks and lead the game in rebounds (17). It was a high intensity last quarter with Nick Chia’s fast pace and Agon Hafuzi’s sharp shooting for Brisbane. With 0.4 seconds left on the clock Andy Chen took to the free throw line winning Brisbane the game 67—65.

Newington College 52 def Concordia College 41- Championship Men
Concordia started promising in the opening quarter taking an early lead going into the first break 15-12. Newington fought back in the second quarter with Nic Kay continuing his dominance, finishing with a game high 17 points and 4 assists. Max Calligeros was a strong presence for Concordia with 14 points while Brad Pfitner brought in 7 defensive boards and 2 steals. Newington were too strong defensively coming out from the main break keeping Concordia to 14 points in the second half finishing the game 52-41.

Caulfield Grammar 68 def Unley High School 49- Championship Women
With both teams coming off impressive wins in round one, this was set out to be a top of the pool clash. Georgi Lovelace and Emma Gilsenan were good defensively with quick hands and pin-point timing while Stephanie Waite put some points on the board from some hard work inside to set up an early lead for Caulfield. Amy Shaw kept Unley in the game early with strong penetration and dishes. Caulfield used Lauren Mckenzie’s height to their advantage, executing from the inside giving them a 9 point lead into the first break. Caulfield grabbed a hold of the game taking a 13 point lead into half time. Unley came back firing with solid inside moves and a thundering cheer squad, drawing the game back to within 3 points in the last. Georgia Evreniadis hit some crucial shots evening the scores and Amy Shaw converting from the free-throw line. The Caulfield girls held their game with strong defensive pressure and sharp shooting from Marena Whittle. Caulfield were too strong, dominating the offensive end, winning by a convincing margin 68-49.

Westfields Sports High 61 def Willeton Senior High 39- Championship Women
With both teams coming off a first round loss both went into the game eager to play their way into the winner’s circle.  Westfields dominated the first quarter sharing the scoring. The second half started with high intensity as both teamed rallied defensively. Westfields used their speed as well as some impressive post moves against the much taller Willeton, containing Willeton to a mere 4 points in the third. Casey Samual’s was strong for Westfields with a well-rounded game at both ends of the court- 13 points, 2 blocks and 5 rebounds. Gemma Fouweather got her team some much needed points and boards in the death but Westfields were too athletic, taking out the game 61-39.

Caulfield Grammar 69 def John Paul College 61- Championship Men

The game started with loud cheering from both benches but it was John Paul’s Taylor Barry that opened the scoring with a sweet three. Caulfield replied and the ball was rolling for this high intensity second-round clash. Jared Dettmann worked hard under the basket with offensive boards and successful put-backs for Caulfield going into the first break 17-11. John Paul came out strong in the second from some sharp shooting from Jim Wallis and tough inside play by Joshua Ogunmokun to gain the lead 21-20. Continuing from yesterday, Caulfield- led by Sean Stewart- dominated from the outside hitting some impressive threes. John Paul couldn’t match the tempo or flash shooting in the third going into the third break down 62-47. Again, John Paul pulled their way back into the game in the fourth with Taylor Barry hitting a game high 22 points and Jim Wallis bringing in 12 rebounds but Caulfield had bridged to wide a gap taking the game out 69-61.

Willeton Senior High 82 def Lake Ginniderra 67 - Championship Men
After a tough game yesterday Willeton were pumped for another against Lake Ginniderra who were looking to continue on from their strong fourth quarter yesterday against John Paul College. Jackson Hussey took control for Willeton, allowing them to set up an early lead. The team from WA never looked back, dominating at both ends with Mitch Clarke hitting some good shots from the perimeter and Josh Johnson working hard in the paint. After Willeton shot out to a 20 point lead early in the last quarter, Lake Ginniderra slightly narrowed the gap but Willeton were too strong, with the crowd behind them, finishing with a convincing win 82-67.

John Paul College 58 def Xavier High School 41 –Championship Women
Both teams went into the match with a win and loss and were looking to take at least second spot on the ladder heading into the finals. Both teams appeared very nervous and made plenty of errors, handling mistakes and poor shot choice, and unbelievably after 5 minutes of play, the score was only 1-0 to John Paul College. A big 3 pointer to Aleisha Myers opened the flood gates for John Paul who then went on a 17 -0 run to leave current Champions Xavier College scoreless after the first quarter. After quarter time the game finally awoke as both teams traded baskets but John Paul’s lead never looked threatened as they maintained a comfortable buffer to see off Xavier 58-41. Emma Mahady did her best for Xavier with a game high 20 points and 10 rebounds. Aleisha Myers was top scorer for John Paul with a big rebounding effort from Karina Dawson (14 rebounds) laid a great foundation for the win.

Box Hill Senior Secondary 80 def Rosny College 52 – Championship Women
Going into the game with a massive percentage lead over the rest of the group, only a major upset would have not given Box Hill top billing in the group heading into the finals. Rosny were yet to win a game but came out hard and shot to a 10 point lead deep into the first quarter. They took the first quarter against a stunned Box Hill 24-20. Box Hill resumed usual transmission in the second quarter with a dominant display outscoring Rosny 14-2 and lead at the main break 34-26. It was a great team display by Box Hill who were sharing the ball well with plenty of scorers for the team. Box Hill’s Olivia Simmons was leading the charge for Box Hill in both rebounds and point scoring, and was a real handful for Rosny. But Rosny had their own go to girl in Alex Finlayson who ended up shooting a game high 23 points and pulling in a game high 14 rebounds. The second half was all Box Hill as they stamped their authority not only on the game, but on the Championship with a 80 – 52 win. The win gave the girls from Box Hill top spot in Pool A going through undefeated.

Don Campus 72 def Concordia College 55 – Championship Men
Concordia were looking for a win and a favourable result in the other pool game to see if they could sneak into top spot of their pool heading into the finals. Don Campus were 0-2 from their pool games thus far and seemed all but gone for the tournament unless they could turn around their form, and it didn’t take long. A brilliant opening quarter by Don Campus saw them charge to a 20 – 0 lead over a stunned looking Concordia College outfit. The quarter finished 26 -9 to Don Campus, and they continued the pain for Concordia throughout the rest of the half, leading 38-20. Lucas Simpson starred for Don Campus and was supported well by a team who still believe they have a lot left to say in this year’s Championship. During the second half Concordia were doing their best to contain Don Campus in hope to not let the score blow out and possibly see themselves propping up the table due to percentages. Concordia’s William Crouch (12 points) and Max Calligeros (13 points) tried hard, as did Brad Pfitzner (12 rebounds) but will need the rest of their teammates to refocus for the finals. Lucas Simpson lead all scorers with 21 points and all rebounders with 15 to lay down a great performance. Don Campus cruised to an unexpected and overall impressive 72-55 victory.

Newington College 72 def Brisbane State High School 55- Championship Men
With 2 solid performances and 2 wins, Newington went into the game favourites to win again and go through the pool rounds undefeated. Brisbane State have been consistent and would feel they can mix it with the best with their only loss by 4 points. The early contests were tough and both teams gave up nothing easily, with Brisbane State taken the early advantage and leading at the first break 18-12. The second quarter was a cracker and a great early snap shot of the type of basketball spectators have come to expect from the Championships. Baskets were traded, shot’s blocked, steals galore and big fouls all featured as the teams hit the half time break 34-28, Newington’s advantage. Whatever the Newington coaching staff said at half time worked, as the boys in black rode out and took control of the game in the third quarter. Big Nic Kay was playing well, pulling in rebounds everywhere and scoring well. Brisbane State never gave up the intensity and despite the score creeping away from them never looked like they were out of the contest. Agon Hafuzi drained 22 points for Brisbane State as they eventually succumbed to a clinical Newington side 75-64 at the final siren. Newington’s Lachlan Urwin did the job on the scoreboard for his team hitting 22 points for the match. Newington take top spot and many would say favouritism going into the business  end of the week.

Unley High 66 def Willetton Senior High 60 - Championship Women
These two teams would be looking to improve their form so far this week and grab a vital win to springboard their finals campaigns. From the start both teams had vocal crowd support looking to lift them to a win, and it was close affair throughout the first and second quarters with the lead changes several times, and never more than a few points in it either way and at half time Unley took the slightest of margins into the break, 30-29. Hannah Hull had a huge half in the first and continued the good form into the second as she made her way to a game high 22 points for Unley. But through great team work Willetton kept on the pressure despite the scoreboard reflecting their hard work. By the end of the third quarter, Unley had crept to a 10 point lead, 57-47. Willetton keep the team work coming and ended up with 4 players in double figures, but at the final siren, Unley had battled to a courageous 6 point victory, 66-60, and gave themselves a great confidence booster before the final, but only a fool would right off Willetton to make a impact, given their performance tonight.

Caulfield Grammar 67 def Westfields Sports High 56- Championship Women
Battle for top spot in Pool B was on in the last game of the round and it was Caulfield who took the early initiative shooting to a 14-7 first quarter lead. The second quarter however was all Westfields as they dominated possession and showed great endeavour to steal back a 25-20 lead going into the main break. In what was turning into a classic, the Caulfield coaching staff must have given pearls of wisdom to their team as Caulfield outshoot Westfield by 7 points for the quarter and went into the final term 46-44 on the back of a buzzer beater by Eliza Wellington. Westfields Casey Samuels (19) and Kimberley Elter (17) were the driving force behind the New South Wales team, shooting 36 points between them as they made another charge at Caulfield. Cool heads for Caulfield prevailed with Marena Whittle’s game high 20 points vital to Caulfields success as they ran out 11 point winners, 67-56. Like their men counterpart’s, the Caulfield women have shown they have what it takes to be crowned Australian Champions, going through undefeated so far this tournament.