You can Banks on it - Zoe Banks proved again to be a tough cover for the afternoon for the Waatu - Photo provided by Uni Sports/UTAS
Petra and Pratt can’t prevent UTAS takeover
The Waatu Women pushed hard for a half but eventually a couple of “Chargers” rammed them out of Sorell as UTAS triumphed 89-49. Zoe Banks and Josie Pinkerton caused problems all afternoon as they took Anthony Stewart’s UTAS to a third quarter score of 33-9 which eventually pushed off the spirited Waatu.
A fast start from UTAS led by Banks and Pinkerton saw timeout early to the Waatu – particularly to deal with the up court pressure of the team missing two of last week’s heroes Alice Sabine and Jemima Whitton. The response came from Georgia Winter with and1 but then the Waatu ran into Maddie Straatsma who gave the home side a commanding 23-6 lead at the first break.
Winter opened the second with a triple then backed it up with another to show some fight. Defensively the Waatu got to work through Petra Rychtarikova who had a solid quarter. Bobbing up for some key baskets too was Erin Pratt as the Waatu through some consistent possessions brought it back to 38-23 at the half.
Winter tried to answer an early barrage from UTAS but the likes of Pinkerton, Banks and Ruby Erin were proving the challenge – 33-9 in the quarter taking the game right away from the aways side.
Pratt produced a highlight in the final term with a block then coast to coast finish, Rychtarikova finished some of her good work and even Sophie Hampel managed to hit the scoreboard.
The experience would’ve been valuable for many who hadn’t received much court-time including Hampel, Pratt and Jasmin Francis. The Women next take on Latrobe University (LTU) who sit third on the ladder currently and while a challenge – the Women are 1-0 at home in 2024 in need of a big crowd Wednesday at the State Basketball Centre.
RD 4 Women UTAS 89 (Pinkerton 22, Banks 19, Erin 14, Bartlett 8) defeated AU Waatu 48 (Winter 20, Rychtarikova 13, Pratt 10, Hampel 5) – *Player Scores calculated but not finalised
Waatu first five gone in three quarters to UTAS
The Waatu Men got the great start against UTAS but were unable to sustain their pressure – falling convincingly to a polished home side 82-58 at Sorell in Tasmania.
Minus Harry Bruce – Waatu’s Bailey Nathan burst out of the blocks with a turnaround hook off the window to lead UTAS to a timeout 2-10 – Mark Nash clearly not happy with the defensive effort early. It seemed to shake the home side into gear as Zach Collins and Jordan Walker along with son of a gun Brooklyn Bruton lifted UTAS back into the lead 17-16 by quarter time.
That continued in the second with Archie Stewart draining a triple and Walker a couple of easy looks in a row. The 7-0 run was enough for coach Scott Freer to burn timeout and try to address the chaos. Jordan Straatsma proved to be the dominant force with multiple plays but Ayual Garang and Bailey Nathan with a spin drive through the gap cut the margin back to 40-28 at the half.
Garang became the potential game-breaker in the third with some key baskets hurting UTAS in transition – but he needed help and struggled to find it. Straatsma and Bruton found ways to keep the gap big enough, taking it to 60-43 with one to play.
Bruton and Stewart closed it out early for UTAS but there were some last quarter highlights from debutant Rupert Males and even Mitch Cretin put on the spin move for a nice finish. The team struggled for continuity in this one and to string consistent possessions together – a big improvement looms this coming Wednesday. The Men next take on Latrobe University (LTU) who sit fifth on the ladder currently. At 3-2 for the season sitting seventh it’s a must win game at home for the Waatu to make the finals.
RD 4 Men UTAS 82 (Bruton 15, Straatsma 12, Stewart 11, Walker 10, Collins 9) defeated AU Waatu 58 (Garang 14, Kourani 10, Nathan 8) – *Player Scores calculated but not finalised
Catch the Waatu’s fifth round games this week against Latrobe University (LTU) on Wednesday on Uni Sports TV from 11:00am or watch live at the State Basketball Centre at Wayville Showgrounds.
NEW – PITCH TO THE PUBLIC 
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CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 