Story By Zachary Foo/Red Sports. Photos by Joseph Lee/Red Sports
Tan Seow Hwee (NTU #15) squeezing past the defence of Vanessa Tan (NUS #1) and Nur Shuhadah (NUS #17) to go for the layup. Seow Hwee had a game-high 24 points. (Photo 1 © Joseph Lee/Red Sports)
NUS University Town, Monday, September 23, 2013 — Nanyang Technological University (NTU) sealed their second straight Singapore University Games (SUniG) Basketball Championship with an emphatic 74–51 victory over National University of Singapore (NUS).
With their male counterparts in the stands cheering them on, NTU put on a dominant display, holding the lead from start to finish. Tan Seow Hwee (NTU #15) led all scorers with 24 points, while Clara Chua (#3) poured in 16 to lead NUS.
This loss means that NUS finished in third place for SUniG, but still qualifying them for the upcoming Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic Games (IVP) Basketball Championship.
Lim Jia Min (NTU #6) was red hot in the first quarter, scoring 15 points to fuel her team’s fast start. She did not miss a shot until late in the second quarter. NTU rotated the ball around the perimeter extremely well, finding open looks for their guards to drain their shots. They also established their interior presence, with Tan Seow Hwee (NTU #15) using her strength advantage to find a deep position in the post.
NUS were hampered by their sloppy ball-handling, leading to costly turnovers that NTU capitalised on. They were able to regroup near the end of the quarter though, as Alanna Lim (NUS #10) and Clara Chua (NUS #3) scored consecutive baskets to leave them down just 14–19 at the end of the first quarter.
NTU were in imperious form on defence in the third quarter. Rotations from their guards were on the mark and they contested every NUS shot that came their way. They were able to hold NUS scoreless for nine minutes while going on an 18–0 run of their own. NUS had multiple free-throw opportunities during the run, but inexplicably failed to convert any of them.
In the final quarter, NTU showed no signs of exhaustion, playing at the same pace as if they had just started the game. This was too much for NUS, as their defensive rotations showed signs of slowing down. NTU were able to rest its starters at the end of the game, bringing in their reserves to finish the game off. In the end, NTU won with a 74–51 margin, making it two titles in a row.
Wei Yi (NTU #2), captain of NTU, said: “It feels good to win SUniG, but we are looking forward to IVP even more. Since it will be a tougher competition, so we are going to train harder for it. The polytechnics generally field very strong teams and SUniG cannot be compared to it.”
Commenting on what they will be focusing on in training, she said: “We will be looking to improve on our defence and team chemistry, as those two will be our keys to victory in IVPs.”
In the upcoming IVP Women’s Basketball Championship, the top three teams of SUniG will face the top three teams of the Polytechnic-Institute of Technical Education (POL-ITE) Basketball Championship in a round-robin format. The teams from SUniG that qualified are NTU, NUS and Singapore Institute of Management (SIM).
Scoring by Quarter
NUS vs NTU
1st Quarter: 14–19
2nd Quarter: 15–21 (29–40)
3rd Quarter: 6–18 (35–58)
4th Quarter: 16–16 (51–74)
Top Scorers
NUS
Clara Chua (#3) – 16 points
Tan Yi Lin (#14) – 8 points
NTU
Tan Seow Hwee (#15) – 24 points
Lim Jia Min (#6) – 23 points (3 x 3-pointers)
NUS Roster
Vanessa Tan (#1), Tan Yen Yi (#2), Clara Chua (#3), Tan Hsiang Yi (#4), Law Wei Ning (#5), Toh Sherlin (#6), Eva Seah (#7), Rachel Ho (#8), Tammy Wong (#9), Alanna Lim (#10), Ong Jia Min (#13), Tan Yi Lin (#14), Oon Zi Gui (#15), Nur Shuhadah (#17), Umi Amirah (#19)
NTU Roster
Ong Xue Li (#1), Tsang Wei Yi (#2), Khong Yuen Mun Faith Gloria (#5), Lim Jia Min (#6), He Ran (#7), Constance Ng Kai Ling (#9), Lee Yilin Amanda (#10), Ramona Wong Wei Xuan (#11), Lee Pei Jing (#12), Yoshida Yukie (#13), Anthea Chan (#14), Tan Seow Hwee (#15), Chua Cunfang (#21)
SUniG Women’s Final Standings
1st NTU – 3 wins 0 losses (3–0)
2nd SIM – 2–1
3rd NUS – 1–2
4th SMU – 0–3
More photos next page
[…] NTU Sports and Recreation Centre, Tuesday, January 14, 2014 — After a close fight throughout the first three quarters, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) pulled away in the final quarter win to beat the National University of Singapore (NUS) 60–51. This was the first match for both teams in the Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic (IVP) Basketball Championship. Clara Chua (NUS #3) led all scorers with 14 points, while Tan Seow Hwee (NTU #15) led her team with 13 points. The teams last met in the Singapore University Games (SUniG) Basketball Championship, with NTU coming out 74–51 winners. […]