The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THE Johnson Lady Truckers got a big win in the opener of their best-of-three playoff series against defending champions Four J's Lady Cheetahs on Saturday night. But in the process, they may pay a cost for it in game two set for Tuesday. The Lady Truckers held off the Lady Cheetahs 76-61 after both Latoya Rolle and Glenda Gilcud got ejected with six minutes and 34 seconds remaining. Both players were tossed for "almost inciting what could have turned out to be a confrontation" after Rickiea King and Lady Cheetahs' Anastacia Moultrie came face to face in a near shoving match. The Lady Truckers were leading 71-43 at that point when both players were called in by the referees for substitutions in a break of action. Both players seemingly went over to defend their team-mate, in the case of Gilcud, her daughter, King. "We were up by a big margin. All we had to do was keep focused, relax, keep playing our game and take it to them and we will come out victorious," said Shantelle Rolle, who finished off the scoring attack for the Lady Truckers. "If they can't play on Tuesday, we will just have to come out here and play our hearts out." Rolle, who played with a lot of heart Saturday, was having a huge game with 13 of her 19 points and 10 of 13 rebounds in the first half as the Lady Truckers raced out to an impressive 47-24 margin. Gilcud also had a big first half with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. In those first two periods, the Lady Truckers shot 55.3 per cent from the field, compared to the Lady Cheetahs' 28.6 per cent. The Truckers were 50 per cent from the free throw line while the Lady Cheetahs shot just 25 per cent. The other big difference was the 47-24 rebounding edge for the Truckers. Both teams made nine turnovers. In the other half of the postseason opener, the pennant winning Bommer Gee Lady Angels had to come from behalf in the second half to hold off a stubborn Super Value Cybots Queens, who are looking for their first shot at making an appearance in the league championship. Game two in both series is expected to be played on Tuesday. In the 7:30pm opener, the Lady Truckers are slated to face the Lady Cheetahs. Then in the feature contest, the Lady Angels are all set to battle the Cybots Queens. Lady Truckers 76, Lady Cheetahs 61 With more than half of their opponents' scoring machine sidelined, Four J's made a gallant stab at cutting into Johnson's 31-point lead in the fourth quarter but they just didn't have sufficient time left. Using a 19-5 spurt that turned the game around in the final six and-a-half minutes, the Lady Cheetahs got seven points, including a three-pointer from Latoya 'Lil Thing' Thompson, while Tameka Martin added another trey to help trim their deficit. Shantell Rolle finished with a game high 24 points with eight rebounds and two assists and steals for the Lady Truckers. Latoya Rolle left with 19 points, 13 rebounds and Gilcud had 12 points and four rebounds and steals, along with two assists. Stacy Horton also contributed nine points, while Janice Williams pulled down seven rebounds in the win. For Four J's, Latoya Thompson led the way with 12 points and seven assists and Linda Pierre had 11 points and just three rebounds with two steals. Both Christine Sinclair and Tameka Martin added 10 points and Anastacia Moultrie chipped in with seven points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. "We didn't come to play basketball today. The long lay off with me being tied up with the Hugh Campbell (leading the CC Sweeting Cobras to the victory) and with just one practice that didn't have all of the players out, we were flat. "We were walking down the floor, they were quicker than us and they went after the loose balls. They wanted it more than us. Obviously, they want to try to get back to the championship and win another title." Bowleg said once his Lady Cheetahs can match the Lady Truckers' intensity in game two, they we will be all right. Lady Angels 65, Cybots Queens 54 If one half was all it took, Super Value would have been sitting in the driver's seat in their series against Bommer Gee. But the Lady Angels proved that it's not how you start but how you finish as the veteran pennant winners came back in the second half and ruined the Cybots Queens' chances of celebrating. Trailing 31-23 at the half, the Lady Angels made their first run that tied it 33-33 with 6:33 left in the third, thanks to a pair of baskets from Diasti Delancy and another from Suzette McKenzie. They went on to post a 44-40 lead at the break. In the fourth, Bommer Gee again went on a scoring spree, this time with 5:12 left in the game as they got their first 10-digit lead at 54-43 as Delancy again fueled a mini-run with back-to-back baskets. They never relinquished the lead as they held on for the win. "It was a tough one, but we came back and we showed the ball," said Delancy about their turnaround in the second half. As for game two, she noted: "We aren't expecting anything easy. If tonight was any indication, we know we have to come out focused and play hard." Suzette McKenzie paced the way with 14 points and six rebounds. Delancy ended up with 12 points, four rebounds and steals, three assists and a block shot. Malesha Peterson came off the bench with 11 points and five rebounds and Sharelle Cash had 10 points. Ashley Moss had just five points but contributed 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. For the Cybots Queens, Tracy Lewis had 16 points with four steals and three rebounds, Tiffany Wildgoose had 14 points and four rebounds, Taniel Poitier had 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals and Chiquita Ferguson chipped in with eight points and four rebounds.