Pinelands brush aside Cougars

Maria Cumberbatch

Make that back-to-backfor the champs. Preferred Insurance Brokers Pinelands are still very much the queens of local basketball, having capped their memorable series comeback via Wednesday's 80-58 title-clinching victory over Lady Cougars in the No.1 Beauty Supplies and Beauty Exchange finals. The Pine actually never trailed in the decisive Game 3, literally running out to a 14-2 lead at the Barbados Community College before closing out the contest by scoring 24 of the game's last 34 points. It marked a huge turnaround from last week's tragic finals opener, where the defending champs were surprisingly kept out of transition en route to a shocking 14-point Game 1 upset. Reigning MVP Maria Cumberbatch (163-SG) also bounced back, rebounding from a previously miserable series average of 10.5 points to erupt for a game-high 33. And she got going early and often too, scoring on a jumper and fast-break layup to go along with two free throws that sandwiched triples from Sade Clarke (G-89) and Toni-Ann Johnson (G) in that 14-2 opening surge. 'We came into the series a bit too overconfident and we just put ourselves in a hole but I don't think they stopped us,' said Clarke. 'So we stuck to the game plan after coming back from the loss in Game 1. We're a running team and we just need to run the floor because they can't stay with us in the open court.'
Courtesy of: nationnews.com