Jurong West Sports Hall, Wednesday, April 1, 2009 – Coming off a disappointing 40-45 loss to Singapore Chinese Girls’ School, Jurong Secondary redeemed themselves with a well worked 74-52 win over fellow group D opponents Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary in a game they couldn’t afford to lose.

Jurong point guard Michelle Tsen (#5) made all the right moves in a match that the West Zone champions never trailed. Apparently, the earlier loss was due in part to her being ill during that match, but there was certainly no signs of it here. Michelle poured in a game-high 31 points in a composed performance, including four 3-point shots to lead her team to victory.

Ahmad Ibrahim also had difficulty coping with the aggressive man-to-man defense of the Jurong team throughout. Although slightly taller on average compared to their peers from Jurong, they failed to keep pace with Jurong’s speed and fitness, which probably explained Ahmad Ibrahim’s unique strategy of rotating five players at a time regularly.

That strategy seemed to work out late in the fourth quarter when Ahmad Ibrahim closed to within 12 points of Jurong.

However any glimmer of hope was soon snuffed out as Jurong went on a 12-0 scoring spree in the final two minutes of the game to extend their winning lead.

This win, big as it may be, may not be enough for the Jurong girls as they go into their final group game against a skilful Chung Cheng High (Main) team, who fended off Singapore Chinese Girls’ 40-21. They would need to win their last match to be assured of qualifying for the next round.

Scoring by quarters:
1st Quarter: Ahmad Ibrahim 12 Jurong 14
2nd Quarter: Ahmad Ibrahim 7 Jurong 22
3rd Quarter: Ahmad Ibrahim 12 Jurong 19
4th Quarter: Ahmad Ibrahim 21 Jurong 29

Top scorer for the match:
Jurong #5 Michelle Tsen – 31 points