Ipswich
Basketball Club
'The Bobcats
& Tomcats'
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INDEX |
Team England - Commonwealth Games, Melbourne 2006
Back Row - Kristy Lavin (Manchester Mystics), Caroline Ayres (Solent Stars), Louise Gamman (Solent Stars), Andrea Congreaves (Rhondda Rebels), Shelly Boston (Rockingham City Flames (AUS)), Gillian D’Hondt (Rhondda Rebels), Jane Thackray (Wellington Swish (NZ))
Front Row - Rosalee Mason (Rhondda
Rebels), ©Claire
Maytham (Solent Stars),
Sally Kaznica (Rhondda Rebels),
Katie Crowley (Sheffield Hatters),
Jo Sarjant (Nottingham Wildcats) England had a nervous start making only 6 from 19 field goal attempts. Andrea Congreaves and Captain Claire Maytham finished the quarter with 6 apiece to keep England close, however England finished the first quarter down by one, 17 – 16. England went in to the second quarter determined not to be outdone and stepped up their defensive effort to keep Nigeria at bay. England’s shooting was still letting them down but Kristy Lavin posted 5 second quarter points to edge England into a half time lead, 30 – 36. Shelly Boston, scoreless going into the third quarter stepped
up her inside game with powerful plays and notched up 10 third quarter points
but then picked up her forth foul. In the forth quarter Nigeria staged a fight back and were only 2 points down with 1 minute 25 seconds to go. England fans were on the edge of their seat but England managed to hold on and come out winners 75 – 78. Congreaves showed her experience in the fourth and finished with a game high 21 points. Captain Claire Maytham, said, ‘After the disappointment of the defeat against New Zealand we regrouped and knew it was important to get a result in this game. We are all very emotional right now, but we are ecstatic to be coming home with a medal’ England’s Katie Crowley commented, ‘This is a fantastic result for the team and hopefully for women’s basketball in England.’ Nigeria 75 (16, 30, 46) England 78 (17, 36, 55) England top scorers: Congreaves 21; Boston 14; Mason 12; Maytham 9; Lavin 5; Crowley/d’Hondt/Thackray 4; Kaznica 3; Sarjant 2 Media Release - Tues March 21 - England Women To Play Bronze Medal Game England’s senior women will face Nigeria in the Commonwealth bronze medal game on Thursday after narrowly losing out in today’s semi final to New Zealand, 74-67. England put on an impressive display of defense in the fourth quarter against the Kiwis, but could not convert on their offensive possessions. Tops among head coach Brani Bazany’s concerns will undoubtedly be free throw percentage, where his team struggled on 12 of 25 shooting from the charity stripe. Despite being among the team’s leaders with 15 points, Rosie Mason could not find the net on foul shots going 1 for 6 in the game. The New Zealand lead hovered around the 10-point mark for much of the match, but England managed to cut the margin to 6 in the final quarter after some stellar defensive work. However, missed key opportunities late in the game kept the New Zealand lead intact and they held on for the win. They will face rivals, and favourites, Australia in Thursday’s gold medal game. Andrea Congreaves led the England score sheet with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Her Rhondda Rebels team mates followed as Mason scored 15, Gillian d’Hondt had 12, and Sally Kaznica finished with 10. The bronze medal game against Nigeria is scheduled for 6.00pm local time (7.00am GMT) on Thursday. England’s senior men play Australia tomorrow in their semi final at 1.45pm local time (2.45am GMT). England 67 (13, 29, 52) England Scorers: Congreaves 16; Mason 15; d’Hondt 12; Kaznica 10; Lavin 9; Boston 3; Crowley 2
England give a very spirited performance against the
World ranked No 2 nation Australia before going down 95 - 43 England secured a semi final spot after an emphatic win over India 104 - 57.Media release to follow when available. England Basketball Media Release - England Women Thrash Mozambique - 16th March 2006Ipswich native and Ex Ipswich Bobcat, Sally Kaznica hit five three point shots on seven attempts to lead England’s Commonwealth team to an 84-46 thrashing of Mozambique in their opening match of the Melbourne Games. Rosie Mason chipped in 14 points and 7 rebounds while Caroline Ayres finished with 13. England never faltered throughout the match winning every quarter by a minimum of 6 points. Head coach Brani Bazany was able to give valuable court minutes to all of his team members and they responded positively, with 10 of the available 11 players adding points to the total tally. Veteran Andrea Congreaves was a late scratch for the game after suffering from back problems. Her status for the remainder of the Commonwealth Games has not yet been confirmed. England Basketball Performance Manager, Radmila Turner, is in Melbourne with the Commonwealth teams and says how positive this first win is: “Winning the first game of any international tournament is an incredibly important first step. The nerves are settled somewhat and confidence is boosted – especially with two big wins like this!” England’s senior men defeated Barbados earlier in the day 75-59. In the other women’s pool game today, Australia demolished India 146-46 backed by 41 points by Lauren Jackson, considered by many as the world’s best female player. England 84 (22, 44, 64) Mozambique 64 (16, 22, 33) England Scorers: Sally Kaznica 15, Rosalee Mason 14, Claire Maytham 4, Kristy Lavin 8, Caroline Ayres 13, Louise Gamman 5, Jo Sarjant 4, Shelly Boston 10, Katie Crowley 7, Gillian D'Hondt 4 From Knox Basketball Web site.
Record Crowd Greet England - Tuesday, 14th March 2006
The women's game was a thrilling contest and went into
overtime after the scores were tied at 60-all. Much to the delight of the vocal
crowd, the Knox Ford Raiders prevailed in a tense struggle to win 67-60. TOP OF PageEngland Basketball Media release -Monday 13th March 2006 -Commonwealth Teams Complete Exhibition ScheduleThe senior men went undefeated and the women lost only once in their practice matches leading up to the Commonwealth Games that begin for both teams on Thursday, 16th March. On Saturday, the England teams played the Waverley Falcons and both were successful by similar amounts. The senior women defeated Waverley 64-43 and were led by Rosalee Mason who finished with 12 points. Andrea Congreaves and Gillian d’Hondt closely followed with 10 points apiece. Full information from the men’s game has not been received, but they also were winners by more than 20 points later in the day. On Australia’s Labour Day Monday, the Knox Raiders hosted England’s teams in front of a 2000+ capacity crowd. The day started with the women’s game in what would be a festival of fouls – at least from England’s perspective. In a 67-60 loss, England were whistled for 28 fouls compared to 10 called on Knox, sending the hosts to the free throw line 32 times. England were only awarded five free throws in the entire game, much to the dismay of head coach Brani Bazany and his team. It was again a Rhondda Rebels trio top scoring for England as Sally Kaznica topped the list with 17, while d’Hondt had 11 and Mason 9. In the men’s game, Julius Joseph scored 14 points and Andrew Sullivan finished with 13 as England defeated Knox 79-58. England outscored their opponents in all but one quarter (when Knox won 17-16 in the 3rd), to go undefeated in exhibition play. Joseph’s Scottish Rocks team mate Jermaine Forbes also had 13 points in the win. On Thursday, the men face Barbados and the
women take on Mozambique in their first taste of Commonwealth Games action. For full information on the Commonwealth Games, please log onto:
Media Release - Tuesday 7 March 2006COMMONWEALTH TEAMS WIN FIRST SET OF EXHIBITION GAMESMedia Release: England’s Commonwealth teams were both successful in their first set of exhibition games on Tuesday evening when they defeated Australian club side, Frankston Blues. The senior women began the evening with a 6pm tip off at Monash University, just outside of Melbourne. They largely dominated the game from beginning to end outscoring their opponents in each of the four quarters to eventually win 93-50. Forwards Rosie Mason (Rhondda Rebels) and Kristy Lavin (Manchester Mystics) jointly shared top-scoring honours after finishing with 17 points apiece. Shelley Boston, who currently plays in Australia with the Rockingham City Flames, closely followed with 16 points. The men also controlled their game against Frankston, but due to a later tip-off, the specific details have not yet been received. They will follow shortly. The teams arrived in Melbourne early last week and began training soon after acclimatizing to the Australian summer and to the 11-hour time difference. The next set of exhibition games for England are on 11th March when they play the Waverley Falcons and then on 13th March against Knox Raiders. Their first official Commonwealth matches are on 16th March when the men face Barbados and the women entertain Mozambique in the preliminary rounds. The full Commonwealth squads and schedules can be found below. England Senior Men
NO.
Name Position
DOB Club
Schedule England Senior Women
NO. Name Position DOB
Club Schedule
16/03/06 England v Mozambique (Preliminary Round) |
