By Joseph Lee/Red Sports
Cheryl Ong (Unity #10) driving to the basket as Dang Jia Ning (Kranji #5) tries to get in front of her to stop her. Cheryl had a game-high 19 points. (Photo 1 © Joseph Lee/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Wednesday, March 6, 2013 — Unity Secondary easily beat Kranji Secondary 71-53 to book themselves a place in the final of the West Zone B Division Girls’ Basketball Championship.
Cheryl Ong (#10) of Unity had a game-high point of 19 points while Isabel Yeo (#14) of Kranji had a team-high of 12 points.
Unity came into this semi-final match as favourites after finishing second behind Nanyang Girls’ High in last year’s West Zone final. Kranji were fourth in 2012.
The game started with Unity grabbing a quick two point from a shot to draw first blood. Unity’s strategy from the start was obvious as they played a man-to-man full court press on Kranji. Kranji responded well initially as they managed to break Unity’s defence a few times to have some quick baskets. But Unity were not to be outdone as they found their pace in the game and started intercepting Kranji’s passes to break away and have easy layups. After six minutes, the score was 12-4 in favour of Unity.,
However, Unity went over the limit in team fouls to send Kranji to the line on many occasions but Kranji were just unable to convert on the free throws. The quarter ended with Unity having a commanding 19-point, 24-5 lead over Kranji.
In the second quarter, Unity continued with their full court man-to-man press which created many chances to get them more points. At the half, Unity look to have put the game out of Kranji’s reach with a 30-point, 42-12 lead.
Although Kranji was too far behind to mount a comeback, they did not give up. As Unity retreated into their backcourt, they played zone defence instead of a full court man-to-man press. This opened a chance for Kranji to score some points. Kranji stepped up both offensively and defensively, matching Unity point for point during the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Isabel Yeo (Kranji #14) in the early minutes set the momentum for Kranji for the rest of the quarter.
Kranji had some foul trouble throughout the third quarter as they constantly sent the Unity players to the line. Unity converted on these chances as they scored seven points from the line out of 17 in the quarter. The quarter ended with Kranji outscoring Unity 21-17, but they still trailed by 34 points.
Even though the hope for Kranji looked dim, they did not back down. They kept on shooting and closing Unity down. Eventually Kranji went down to Unity, but they did it gracefully as they outscored Unity 20-12, to lose eventually by 26 points.
Unity face New Town Secondary in the girls’ final which will be played on Tuesday, March 12th, at Jurong East Sports Hall.
While Kranji will play Jurong Secondary for third on Monday, March 11th, at the Clementi Sports Hall.
Score by Quarter
Unity vs Kranji
1st Q: 24-5
2nd Q: 18-7 (42-12)
3rd Q: 17-21 (59-33)
4th Q: 12-20 (71-53)
Top Scorers
Unity
Cheryl Ong (#10) — 19 points
Kranji
Isabel Yeo (#14) — 12 points
Unity Roster
Yeo Ci Yuan Rachel (#4), Priscilla Wong Ting Hui (#5), Lee Jia Yi (#6), Maisarah Bte Mohammad Sauki (#7), Eliya Sabrina Bte Suhaimi (#8), Au Zi Yu (#9), Cheryl Ong Ying Qi (#10), Chia Siu Wei (#11), Musrifah Fadzlia Bte Masiran (#12), Lim Xiang Xuan (#13), Ng Xin Yi (#14), Torralba Jessah Marie Rara (#15)
Kranji Roster
Delvine Tan Hui Tien (#4), Dang Jia Ning (#5), Teo Wei Xin (#6), Toh Hui Ying (#7), Nabilah Bte Alfian (#8), Chia Pei Jun (#9), Tey Qi Xuan Carin (#10), Balanon Rhey Gina (#11), Kang Pei Ling (#12), Solehatul Aini Bte Kamsani (#13), Yeo Yu Yan Isabel (#14), Mariah Frahzciel V Nalzaro (#15)
2013 West Zone B Division Girls’ Basketball Championship — fixtures and results
More photos next page
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