ST. JOHN’S, Antigua-TEAM St. Kitts were runner-up last year in the Gillian Brazier Basketball Shoot-Out, but began this year’s tournament on December 26 with a narrow loss to the United States-based Chase Collegiate team.
Though the match was close for the first three quarters, the more physical St. Kitts team was tactically outdone in the final minutes by the girls from Connecticut.
The final score for the game ended at 55-47, which was largely due to a massive 26 points from Chase’s Onyesonam Nolisa. The star forward also ended the game with nine rebounds, six steals and five blocks that defensively prevented St. Kitts from gaining much needed ground in the second half.
Savannah Holness also proved indomitable for Chase during the encounter, adding 13 points to the final score.
St. Kitts had a much more diverse attack with Diana Palmer leading the way with 12 points. Assistance to Palmer came from Shacama Warner’s 10 points on offense and Alicia Wigley’s six steals on defence.
Antigua’s JSC Sports Complex was also host to a massive upset over the weekend as the Wadadli Wildcats routed two-time defending champion Lady Vipers 55-33.
Wildcats dominated the action thanks to the uniting force of senior player Dahlia Clark. Top scorer for Wildcats was Talisha Keran with 16 points, while Quiannie Charles also made a significant contribution with 12 points.
The third Antigua-based team competing in the tournament, Big Banana Lady Express, received a bye in the first round after St. Vincent and the Grenadines made a last minute announcement that they would not be able to attend the tournament.
St. Kitts received a bye in the second round of the tournament, which was held yesterday morning (Dec. 27), while Chase defeated Vipers in overtime and Wildcats remained undefeated with a last second 52-50 win over Lady Express.
The 10th annual tournament will continue until the final round is held on Wednesday (Dec. 30).
