Operators sweep Cheetahs for third straight NPWBA title - Jun 1, 2018
The Bommer G. Operators completed a three-game sweep of the Cheetahs in the New Providence Women's Basketball Association (NPWBA) Championship on Tuesday night at the D.W. Davis Gym, and in the process, three-peated as champions. The Operators won 80-73 after playing from behind in the first half. Chrishanda Rahming led all scorers as she dropped 23 points for the Operators. Season Most Valuable Player (MVP) Britenique Harrison (193-C-94) added 17 points. The Cheetahs' Shantell Rolle had 23 points in a losing effort. At the half, the Cheetahs were ahead 34-32, and looking to extend the series as they made the Operators work for every bucket. Their offense was fluid as they scored at ease. Rolle had 12 of her 23 points in the first half, and the Operators looked timid. The second half was more physical as the Operators refused to let the Cheetahs get back in the series. Their defense was more aggressive, and they limited scoring in the paint for the Cheetahs. With 5:17 to go in the third, the Operators took a 44-41 lead. Antenique Young extended that lead as she pulled up for a jump shot with 3:15 remaining. The Cheetahs' Briontae Riley (C-00) drove through the defense to draw a hard foul as the Operators showed their physicality. The Cheetahs took the lead as Tanae Bowleg hit a three-pointer with 2:30 left in the third quarter. After an empty possession for both teams, Harrison went to work in the post and was fouled as she scored a lay-up. She converted the and-one play to give her team a 49-47 lead. The scored was tied 49-49 with 50 seconds to go after Riley scored a lay-up. At the end of the third, the Operators led 55-50, as they outscored the Cheetahs 23-16 in the quarter. Operators' veteran guard Sharelle Cash came out in the fourth quarter firing. She hit a three-pointer to push the lead to eight. Rolle then put three Operators' defenders on skates as she dribbled her way through the lane to score a difficult lay-up. That play cut the Operators lead to six points, 66-60. The Cheetahs' Latondra Brown drove through the lane and was fouled as she scored a tough lay-up. Brown did not squander her chance to complete the and-one. Eventually, the score was tied at 66 with 3:29 remaining in the game. Chelly Australe fouled Rahming off the ball with 2:50 remaining, and the Operators were in the bonus. Rahming sunk one of two free throws to give her team the lead for good. They went ahead 67-66. Later, Harrison made the shot to give her team a 71-68 lead. Cash later made two free throws to give them an 80-73 lead with just seconds left on the clock. They completed the sweep and sealed the three-peat. It was a valiant effort by the Cheetahs but a physical Operators team was too much for them in the second half. The Cheetahs also missed some lay-ups in the fourth quarter. Operators' Head Coach Donny Culmer said he will be seeking to win a fourth straight title next year. 'We will celebrate this one and go in the off-season and come back and look at new additions we will add to this team and let the chips fall where they may,' said Culmer. 'Last year was much harder than this year. This year we had a good group of girls who listened and executed, and because of that, we won three games to none.' Harrison said her team struggled early defensively but picked it up later in the game. 'We picked up the defense a lot. We were struggling a little bit on the defensive end but we picked it up. We got stops and we came out with the win,' she said. Harrison also said the Cheetahs got physical down the stretch. 'We had to get physical back with them. We can't just sit there and get pushed around. We got to play basketball. We got to get aggressive on the boards. We got to play defense,' she said. The Operators celebrated another title while the Cheetahs got the runner-up trophies. The sportswoman of the year award went to Cash, and the league MVP was Harrison. Courtesy of: thenassauguardian.com
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