Wildcats clinch WBC title
The Canterbury Wildcats overcame a slow start to reclaim the Women’s Basketball Championship with a 57-43 win over the Taranaki Thunder.
The Wildcats went into the match as favourites to claim the title, however they were made to work for it in Christchurch on Saturday.
Things got off to a good start for the Wildcats as they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead.
The Thunder collected themselves before long however, and scored 11 unanswered points to build a decent lead.
While the Wildcats struggled to sink shots, the Taranaki side had it working and held a 12-10 lead after one quarter.
The Taranaki side picked up where they left off to start the second quarter, with a 6-2 run giving them a six-point lead through the first few minutes of the quarter.
However, the Thunder went cold from the field and Canterbury came storming back, with a 12-0 run giving them a 24-18 lead at halftime.
Through the first half, Taranaki had only three scorers, while the Canterbury side were getting production across the floor.
It was clear the momentum of the match had shifted heading into halftime, and the Wildcats saw it continue as they held a seven-point lead with as many minutes to play in the quarter.
With Taranaki’s Lyndi Laborn spending much of the quarter in the locker room and Jess Tuki in foul trouble, there was a real risk the game would get away from the Thunder. However, Isabelle Cook put the team on her shoulders and picked up some important points before a head knock saw her head to the locker room.
Canterbury continued to share the load on offence, while Darcy rose was dominating on the glass.
Terai Sadler hit two crucial free throws at the end of the quarter to give the Wildcats a 38-32 lead and put them 10 minutes away from another championship.
The sway of the play never left the Wildcats from that point, as they extended their lead to 10-points with six minutes to play in the match.
Being allowed to set the tempo, Canterbury ran a fast-paced offence and attacked Tuki in the post. With the Taranaki forward one foul away from being disqualified, she was not able to defend with her usual aggression.
And, with Cook done for the evening, the Thunder had no real big presences to fill Tuki’s spot in the paint.
Canterbury forward Connie Poletti took control of the match in the final quarter, as the defending champions took a hard-fought victory.