The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the Johnson’s Lady Truckers picked up where they left off last year, the Bommer G Lady Operators are hoping that this will be the return for them to their elite status in the New Providence Women’s Basketball Association.

In the league’s 20215/16 season opener at the DW Davis Gymnasium Saturday night , the Lady Operators welcomed scoring machine Philicia Kelly in their line-up as they routed the Career Builders Lady Cheetahs 64-34 and although the Lady Truckers lost a couple of players, they still had enough weapons left as their experience prevailed down the stretch for a slim 55-53 win over last year’s runners-up Super Value Cybots Queens.

Here’s a summary of the games played:

Lady Operators 64,

Lady Cheetahs 34

Kelly, the talented swingwoman playing against her former team, made her debut in her new uniform with a game high 19 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field with four rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes and 50 seconds. Chrishanda Rahming helped out with 17 points and five rebounds in 32:50 minutes and Ruthann Simms had 10 points and eight rebounds. 

“That should put us over the top,” said Bommer George’s coach Donnie Culmer on the addition of Kelly. “That’s a 20-point scorer a night. So we can take any help we can get to get us back on top of the mountain top.”

It didn’t take Kelly long to make her presence felt as she canned a three-pointer and followed that with a pair of consecutive lay-ups to push Bommer G ahead 11-4 with three minutes and 33 seconds left in the first quarter. By the time they got to the break, thanks to two back-to-back lay-ups from Rahming, their lead had increased to 19-8. In that period, Alberta Russell came up with four blocked shots as she turned out to be an intimidator on the inside.

Not only did the Lady Cheetahs have difficulty stopping the bigger line-up of the Lady Operators, but they also got a scary moment when their pesky little point guard Latoya Silver went down with an injury to her face. After getting some medical attention, she managed to get back on the court but, by then, the Operators were working on scoring surgery as they had built a sizeable 37-20 advantage at half.

In the tale of the second half, Bommer G went on cruise control as they got a big three-pointer from Sharelle Cash at 5:52 to open a 42-22 lead and they stayed ahead 48-37 at the final break. To their credit, the Lady Cheetahs made a small run on a three-point play from Anastacia Moultrie and a three-pointer from Christine Sinclair for a 56-32 deficit in the fourth, but Sasha Ferguson was able to help keep Bommer G out front as she directed traffic from the point.

“All in all, it was a good game. We just need to go back and work on a few things. You’re only as good as your competition and tonight, we just played on our raw talent. We didn’t have to do much talent. But we have to go back and work on our man-to-man defence and on the help side, weak side, strong side, just basic basketball stuff. We’re a veteran group of girls, so it shouldn’t be that hard,” Culmer said.

Shelly Australe scored a side high 14 points with nine rebounds in 38:55 minutes to lead the Career Builders, now coached by Devon Johnson. Sands-Moultrie was the only other player in double figures with 11 points and nine rebounds. Sinclair chipped in with seven points.

“We got blown out today, but we have a whole new team with a lot of young girls,” said Sands-Moultrie, who along with Sinclair are the two seasoned players left. “As the oldest one, I’m just trying to keep the women’s league going because the older ones are not willing to give back to help out. So right now, we have to move forward and help out the younger ones or we won’t have a future.”

As for the future for the Lady Cheetahs, Sands-Moultrie said they have to get in some practice so that they can maintain their composure as they take it one game at a time.

Lady Truckers 55,

Cybots Queens 53

When it counted the most, Shantell Rolle stepped up big, hitting a jumper and adding a free throw in the final 28 seconds to ensure that the defending champions were able to pull away and preserve their season-opening win.

Rolle’s efforts came after Garcia Hanna hit a three-pointer to give Super Value a slim 53-52 advantage with 27.5 on the clock.

The featured contest was a keenly contested one with 13 lead changes. Neither team had built more than a six-point advantage, which kept it an exciting affair for the fans on hand.

The Cybots had opened a 12-10 lead after the first quarter, only to watch as Johnson’s surged back for a 24-23 margin at the half and they extended it to 40-36 at the end of the third period.

In the fourth, the Cybots Queens broke away from a 41-41 tie as they packaged three straight baskets from Celeste Pyform to control the game with a 49-45 lead. But after Tracy Lewis fouled out at 1:39, Querelle Conliffe missed completing the three-point play as the Lady Truckers started to roll back for a 49-47 deficit.

The two teams again traded baskets until Rolle took over down the stretch to seal the win.

“It was tough. We were a little short handed because some of our players were not here tonight,” said Johnson’s coach Penial Bain. “But the team showed a heart of a champion and they came out and they played tough and we were able to pull it out in the end.”

And with about four of their players now retired, Bain said they are in rebuilding mode, but don’t count them out. They intend to repeat.

“We don’t worry about the regular season. Come playoff time, that’s when the Truckers shine,” he said.

Rolle finished with 18 points, shooting 5-for-10 from the field and was 2-of-6 from the three-point arch with seven assists in playing the entire 40 minutes to lead the Lady Truckers. Latoya Rolle added 14 points with 15 rebounds for the league’s first season double-double in her 40 minutes as well. Glenda Gilcud had 12 points and Nayaka Dean helped the big three with eight points and nine rebounds.

For the Cybot Queens, Lewis finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals before she made her exit. Pyfrom and Taneil Poitier both had eight, Poitier with six rebounds and four assists, Garcia had seven points and Tanica Joseph added six points. 

Cybots Queens’ coach Wayde Watson said it was a good game they just let slip out of their grasp.

“We took the lead on our side and then we allowed Shantell to drive right inside and scored on the lay-up,” he said. “One of our goals this year is to work on our defensive strategies. These girls have to learn how to play when they are tired.”

With the team practicing three times a week, Watson said they will go back to the drawing board, but it’s going to take a little more for them to get over the hump and become champions.

“You have to want it,” he said. “Nobody is going to give us anything. So if we want to win, we have to go out there and play like we are a championship team.”