Otago likely to play Sharks
OTAGO appears set to play the Southland Sharks in an NBL preseason match.
The Otago Daily Times understands a match between the teams has been confirmed for April 14 in Gore.
Otago will put the ILT Challenge Shield on the line, the trophy the Otago Nuggets and Southland Sharks contested before the Nuggets withdrawal from the NBL after the 2014 season.
It is believed the teams will play an annual fixture for the shield.
Attempts to revive the Nuggets have so far been unsuccessful — the primary hurdle being finding a financial backer.
However, Basketball Otago has been exploring options such as this to deliver games at a higher level for its top men’s players.
It is believed the Sharks will have a nearfull strength squad, although whether their imports will play is unknown.
The Otago team will likely be made up of the best of its local talent.
That follows a similar match between the two sides last year, in which Otago upset the Sharks 10485.
On that occasion the Sharks were missing several key players, although did have three 2017 Tall Blacks in action in Derone Raukawa, Luke Aston and James Hunter.
The Otago Goldrush will play a preseason match against the Canterbury Wildcats in Timaru on April 22.
In the United States, Otago’s Zoe Richards has been named in the Sunshine State Conference’s AllNewcomer team.
The forward has had an impressive first season at the NCAA division two level, averaging 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 59.5% from the field. Her team has advanced to its conference tournament semifinal.
Elsewhere, Sam Timmins’ University of Washington side is heading into the PAC12 tournament and is a chance of making the national tournament — otherwise known as March Madness. Joe CookGreen’s Eastern Arizona Community College and Brittany Richards’ University of Alaska Fairbanks teams have both finished for the season.
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