UP girl cagers in quarters, boys fumble before Haryana

LUCKNOW: Hosts Uttar Pradesh girls on Friday stormed into the quarterfinals of the 68th Junior National Basketball Championship, outplaying Rajasthan 86-66 at Noida.

Buoyed by home support, UP girls came out firing against Rajasthan. Led by star performer, Vaishnavi Yadav’s 33 points, UP had a strong first quarter, outscoring Rajasthan by 10 points at the end.

After scoring 22-12 in the first quarter, UP girls could gain just two points lead in the second quarter 19-17. In the third quarter, Rajasthan girls pocketed the session at 23-21, but a fascinating display in the final quarter 24-14 helped UP come out victorious.

UP girls, who had a bronze medal in the past, now play against Chhattisgarh.

The UP boys, however, fell to Haryana 60-84. Haryana got off to a slow start, but dominated the rest of the three quarters. Rinku poured in 40 points for Haryana, facilitating the blowout win. Even after losing the first quarter by 15-17, Haryana cagers came back strongly to manage 21-12 in the second quarter. They continued their good run even in the third one, winning it by 20-11 before outplaying UP 28-20 in the fourth quarter.

In other pre-quarterfinal games, MP girls won an overtime thriller against Gujarat (79-70), dominating the overtime period 11 to 2. MP have now set up a quarterfinal clash against the undefeated Tamil Nadu girls. The Delhi boys have also made it to the quarters, beating MP boys 82-73.

Earlier, the quarterfinal games began with the Kerala girls knocking out Maharashtra with a 86-71 win. Kerala’s Sreekala, who is an up-and-coming star, scorched Maharashtra for 42 points, single-handedly carrying her team’s offense. It was cruise control for Kerala after the first quarter, leading the rest of the way and cementing a spot in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Defending champions Tamil Nadu boys have also booked a semi-final berth, with a 83-66 win over Maharashtra. Sheldin’s 25 points for Tamil Nadu coupled with Arvind’s 16 points pushed Tamil Nadu past an undersized Maharashtra squad. The defending champs will be hoping to find their form in the final four stages after a tumultuous league stage in the tournament.

THE UP BOYS, HOWEVER, FELL TO HARYANA 6084. HARYANA GOT OFF TO A SLOW START, BUT DOMINATED THE REST OF THE THREE QUARTERS. RINKU POURED IN 40 POINTS FOR HARYANA, FACILITATING THE BLOWOUT WIN