Game day eight of the MAPFRE MSV Life Women League witnessed comfortable victories for the leading duo, Starlites GiG and Hibernians in their bid to keep their momentum and notch the top spot at the end of the regular season which would give them an automatic passage to the play-off finals. At the other end of the table, ARMS Depiro and Luxol vie their upcoming direct encounters in their quest for the third and final play-off spot.
ARMS Depiro 60
Starlites GIG 83
(9-28, 17-18, 9-15, 25-22)
Two double-digit streaks at the start of the game and at the start of the second quarter spearheaded Starlites GiG to a comfortable victory over ARMS Depiro.
In fact, the first five minutes of the game had Starlites notching ten straight points and their starting five players all had a share in their early 14-2 lead.
After closing off the first quarter with a hefty 28-9 lead, the Naxxar side extended further their lead to 39-9 with an 11-0 run when play restarted in the second rubber with Stephanie Demartino scoring her third trey from five on the day.
Starlites finished with ten long-distance shots in this game with a shooting percentage of over 50 per cent from this long range. Michela Zammit Cordina had three similar three balls later in the game whilst Patricia Arguello and Mikela Riolo added the other 3-pointers.
Depiro did not fare so well from long range with just a solitary three ball from over a dozen attempts. The Mtarfa side tried to limit the damage later in the game with their duo of players in the key, Hannah Johnson and Claire Ciantar sharing 37 of the side’s points, most of them in the second half when they were grabbing more offensive rebounds than their opponents.
Buoyed by their considerable lead, Starlites controlled the proceedings for the rest of the game.
These two sides will also soon face each other in the MAPFRE MSV Life Knock Out final on the February 16 and surely Depiro will be aiming to be more focused and consistent in their play on that day.
Depiro: No. Agius, N. Borg, N. Agius 10, F. Mifsud 3, D. Said Hollier 1, M. Scicluna 2, C. Ciantar 16, J. Xerri 7, N. Hili, H. Johnson 21.
Starlites: M. Zammit Cordina 17, M. Riolo 7, A. Micallef 4, S. Farrugia, M. Bonett 10, S. DeMartino 25, P. Arguello 10, M. Cutajar, S. Davis 4, A. Lupo 6.
Referees: I. Simic, V. Nikolic, A. Andaya.
Luxol 40
Hibernians 75
(6-31, 11-20, 6-12, 17-12)
Hibs dominated the first quarter of the game and literally closed off the encounter against Luxol after merely ten minutes. Two Amelia Simmons baskets, enveloped by a trey from Samantha Brincat and Jasmine Abela respectively set Hibs off to a 10-0 lead after four minutes.
Although Luxol managed to notch their first points through two free throws from Zane Neilande, incidentally her only points in the game, Hibs continued with their superior play as they moved to a substantial 31-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter with Simmons and Ashleigh van Vliet having most of the buckets.
Luxol did improve a bit in the second quarter but Hibs were always in command.
The latter had an impressive day from the free throw line as they ended with over 90 per cent accuracy with 21 converted shots from 23 attempts.
At the interval, the score was 51-17 and the level of play then dipped a bit in the second part of the game.
The score was very balanced here as Hibs just pipped their opponents 24-23 although the Paolites were fully conscious that they were in command of the game giving ample playing time also to the bench players.
Luxol, from their end, managed to close off the game with a 13-4 run led by their guard combo Sarah Pace and Monique Caruana.
Luxol: S. Pace 14, M. Caruana 1, N. Vella 4, L. Caruana Montaldo 4, No. Vella 6, S. Vella 1, K. Portelli 2, A. Borg 1, P. Ellul, C. Sollami 5, B. Zammit, Z. Neilande 2.
Hibs: I. Agius 4, Y. Bonett 1, A. Van Vliet 18, S. Brincat 3, L. Duncan 2, J. Abela 3, B. Agius 2, N. Farrugia 8, K. Calleja, K. Caruana 4, M. Buhagiar 4, A. Simmons 26.
Referees: I. Simic, V. Nikolic, S. Tafilica.
Standings
Starlites GiG, Hibernians (7-1) 15; ARMS Depiro, Luxol (1-7) 9.