Match Reports by Ray Oakley
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56 HOLBROOK TIGERS -v- EDMONTON GREEN PHOENIX 43

EBL DIVISION TWO WOMEN (SOUTH)

SATURDAY, 1ST NOVEMBER 2008

Edmonton Green Phoenix suffered double disappointment at the weekend with back-to-back away defeats in the league and cup.

On Saturday Phoenix travelled to Suffolk to face old EBL Division Two Women (South) rivals Holbrook Tigers and an under strength team could not prevent a 56-43 defeat.

With only seven players available for the match coach Kas Stuart was faced with a shortage of forwards and centres and with Patsy Imbert carrying a back injury Phoenix struggled in the early stages and slipped to an 11-2 deficit.
Imbert and Arlynne Rodriguez fought back from the free throw line but a final basket by Kirsty Clark sealed a 13-5 Holbrook lead at the end of the quarter and Tigers continued to dominate at the start of the second when baskets by Kayleigh Button, Catherine McLean and Laura Shemming to go 19-7 ahead.

Clark then committed a crucial third foul in only the third minute of the second period and Tigers coach Andrew McKnight had no option but to withdraw his experienced forward.

Phoenix seized the initiative with Erika Hamer, Su Davis, Sasha McCarthy and Imbert scoring a run of nine successive points to pull back to 19-16 and force a Holbrook time out.  McLean and Shemming then both scored to extend the lead to seven points but Phoenix maintained their momentum and baskets by Rodriguez, Hamer and Imbert completed the fight back, which saw Phoenix only trail 28-25 at the interval.

The reintroduction of Clark had immediate effect when she scored the opening basket of the third quarter and linked up well with Shemming, who score to take Holbrook 37-25 ahead.  Tigers captain Karen Cadman then extended the lead with a big three-pointer but Davis responded with a similar long range effort to keep Phoenix in touch at 28-37.  This proved brief respite as Tigers stepped up their defence to prevent Phoenix scoring for three minutes during which Button, Clark and Shemming all score to take Holbrook 42-28 ahead.

A three-pointer from Rodriguez sparked another Phoenix comeback and scores by Davis, Imbert and Hamer cut Tigers lead to 44-36 as the match went into the final quarter.

Hopes of an unlikely victory were raised when Davis and Rodriguez both score to reduce the deficit to just four points but Shemming and Clark stepped up a gear and scored successive baskets to re-establish a more comfortable eight point lead for the home side.

These were to be Holbrook’s last points for a full four minutes as Phoenix again fought back from the line to trail just 48-43 with just over two minutes remaining, but then Imbert fouled out and with the Phoenix captain on the sidelines the depleted squad could not prevent Holbrook extending the winning margin to 56-43, with Laura Shemming completing a fine display with a game high 20 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.

Edmonton Green Phoenix players and scores:
A Rodriguez 12, P Imbert 11, E Hamer 9, S Davis 8, S McCarthy 2, B Njoku 1, N Fawaz 0

Holbrook Tigers players and scores:
L Shemming 20, K Clark 12, C McLean 8, M Fernandez 6, K Button 5, K Cadman 5,
V Smith 0

77 EDMONTON GREEN PHOENIX -v- WEST HERTS WARRIORS 47

EBL DIVISION TWO WOMEN (SOUTH)

SATURDAY, 26TH OCTOBER 2008

Edmonton Green Phoenix got the new EBL Division Two Women (South) season off to a flying start with an emphatic 77-47 victory over Hertfordshire Warriors at Edmonton Leisure Centre on Saturday.

Phoenix coach Kas Stuart was without centres Bonnie Laird and Vanessa Waite for this match but her side got off to a storming start when Arlynne Rodriguez made a three-point play after drawing a foul from Aileen Pullman and Bex Njoko stepped into an unfamiliar inside role alongside Patsy Imbert to make two early scores and take Edmonton Green 8-2 ahead.
Warriors responded with baskets by captain Jenny Stenzel and Alison Nichols but with Imbert and Rodriguez dominating the scoring Phoenix surged to a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Even better was to come in the second quarter when Erika Hamer opened the Phoenix scoring and Njoko continued to dominate the boards on her way to an incredible 10 offensive boards with a powerful display inside.
Imbert scored 11 of her 22 first half points in a four minute spell and Rodriguez hit a big three-pointer to take Phoenix 37-18 ahead. Narjes Fawaz then came off the bench to score a basket and a strong inside move saw Njoko score to secure a comfortable 43-18 Phoenix lead at the interval.

Njoko and Rodriguez continued Edmonton Green’s domination of the match at the restart as Phoenix went 49-20 ahead but Warriors refused to give in and responded well to coach Tony Marmo’s time out to score a run of three successive baskets as the height advantage of Nichols and Jo Madzelewski at last started to pay off.

Despite a relatively poor third quarter performance, Phoenix took a commanding 55-31 lead into the final period and quickly slipped back into gear when Sasha McCarthy returned from injury to find the basket three times in as many minutes as the Phoenix guards found space to drive through the Warriors’ defence.

New recruits Su Davis and Simona Lissner both scored in the closing stages and Patsy Imbert sealed another impressive performance in securing a game high 28-point tally as Phoenix ran out 77-47 victors.

Edmonton Green Phoenix players and scores:
P Imbert 28, A Rodriguez 15, B Njoku 12, E Hamer 8, S McCarthy 8, S Davis 2, N Fawaz 2,
S Lissner 2

Hertfordshire Warriors players and scores:
J Madzelewski 10, R Kowfmann 7, A Nichols 7, H Dixon 6, E Fogarty 6, J Stenzel 4,
A Pullman 3, E Byrne 2, E Miller 2, S Viedamane 0,

63 EDMONTON GREEN PHOENIX -v- LONDON WESTSIDE 46

WOMEN’S NATIONAL CUP ROUND ONE

SATURDAY, 11TH OCTOBER 2008

Edmonton Green Phoenix started the season with an assured performance in the first round of the Women’s National Cup when they overcame fellow EBL Division Two Women (South) opponents London Westside in a 63-46 victory at Edmonton Leisure Centre on Saturday.

Phoenix coach Kas Stuart had a near full strength team to pick from and gave debuts to three new signings, including American point guard Erika Hamer, Welsh forward Vanessa Waite and Su Davis, a guard with Division One experience.  
Westside made a determined start and a three-pointer by Isabella Mesterhazy was quickly followed by a basket from Van Liere and a pair of free throws by Michelle Sloane as the visitors raced to an early 7-1 lead. Davis then hit a trademark three-pointer to spark Phoenix into life and start a run of twelve unanswered points with Bex Njoku and Patsy Imbert dominating inside.   Sharon Daniels responded with a score for Westside but Imbert hit another basket and a free throw before Waite found Arlynne Rodriguez in open space to hit a big three-pointer on the buzzer to give Phoenix a 19-9 lead at the end of the quarter.

Imbert scored the opening basket of the second period but a run of baskets by Sloane and Amani Rodriguez-Thomas hauled Westside back to within just three points at 21-18.  Imbert made a three-point play after being fouled by Sheldon while scoring off a strong drive and Waite scored her first basket for Phoenix to restore a comfortable 26-18 lead. Westside responded to coach Fraser’s time out when Van Liere scored a basket and a three-pointer but further scores by Rodriguez and Imbert saw Phoenix take a 30-23 lead into the interval.

The third quarter was dominated by inside play with all fifteen Phoenix points coming from the forwards.  Imbert opened the scoring with a drive and although Sloane hit back with a pair of baskets in quick succession and a score by Bonnie Laird and another basket by Waite kept Phoenix 38-30 in front.  Van Liere was again on hand to score for Westside but Phoenix stepped up their defence and stopped the visitors scoring for a full five minutes while Imbert became rampant on offence and set up a commanding 45-32 Phoenix lead as the match went into the final quarter. The reintroduction of Michelle Sloane by Westside coach Fraser had immediate effect as the impressive centre scored 11 of her 21 point tally in the first six minutes of the quarter, but successive outside baskets by Davis kept Westside at bay as the Phoenix guard started to find her range. Erika Hamer then scored a similar long-range effort and Rodriguez ran rife against the Westside defence.  Two further baskets by Imbert saw the Phoenix captain end with a game high 29 points before Rodriguez rounded off the match with four successive free throws to secure a personal tally of 14 points and seal a 63-46 victory, which sets up a tricky away match against Division One side Solent Suns in the second round next month. 

Enfield Phoenix players and scores:
P Imbert 29, A Rodriguez 14, S Davis 7, B Njoku 5, V Waite 4, E Hamer 2, B Laird 2,
N Fawaz 0, Z Mallett 0

London Westside players and scores:
M Sloane 21, A Van Liere 12, A Rodriguez-Thomas 6, I Von Mesterhazy 3, K Cassidy 2,
S Daniels 2, K Arkal 0, A Choppen 0, S Hall 0, A Olisa 0, S Sheldon 0