At the business end . . .

LOOKING TO THE BASKET: Petra Sparks in action during last year’s women’s club basketball final against Lytton High School. Sparks led Campion College’s scorers with 16 points in their 42-31 victory over Paikea Nation on Tuesday night. Campion play Lytton in the semifinals. Picture by Paul Rickard

BASKETBALL

They didn’t lift a finger . . . they didn’t have to. Defending women’s club basketball champions Lytton High School beat eighth-placed Gisborne Girls’ High School by default in Game 1 of the club quarterfinals at the John McFarlane Memorial Sports Centre on Tuesday night.

For Girls’ High and Uawa, the season is over. Uawa finish 2018 in seventh position, Girls’ High eighth.

At 5.45pm on Tuesday, Lytton play Campion College in the 1 v 6 semifinal, and at 6.45pm, second-placed Rebels play team No.4 Ngati Porou.

Paikea Nation, who were placed third going into the quarterfinals, will play off against Revolution Fitness New Zealand for fifth spot.

Campion did what they had to do on Tuesday night in a low-scoring game: they beat Paikea Nation 42-31.

Campion captain Petra Sparks (16pts) led her team’s scorers with intensity. She scored their first two field goals, made three-point plays in the second and third quarters, and hit a three-point shot to close the College’s account.

With the score tied 8-8 at the end of the first period, Sparks, Jayda Banks (8pts) and Anna Spring (6pts) took control for Campion. The College were ahead 21-14 at the break and 33-22 at three-quartertime.

For Paikea, Amoe Wharehinga (15pts) breathed fire. She scored all of their points in the third period and completed four tough plays under the rim on the night.

Melissa Mackey-Huriwai (13pts) hit two long jump shots for Paikea’s only second-quarter points.

“That was a really good win for us, because we played our game, at pace,” Sparks said.

“We stepped up and everyone fired, right from the start.”

Meri Rauna was outstanding.

The Rebels forward scored 21 points in her team’s 64-32 win against Uawa.

Te Uarangi Olsen (19pts) and sister Kaipo Olsen-Baker (10pts) are very different players: the former takes more jumpers, whereas the latter takes the ball hard to the hoop. Both feature prominently on club basketball scoresheets most weeks.

The tireless, uncomplaining effort of a player like Rauna is too often overlooked, but Tuesday was her night. The Rebels led a feisty Uawa crew 13-8, 27-18 and 47-24.

Hamo Tihema (21pts) excelled for the Tolaga Bay-based team, with Mal Ratapu (4pts) also working non-stop at both ends of the court.

Uawa, a great-hearted team, have introduced a promising players and fought hard for 10 weeks.

The last game of Week 10 in club ball was feisty-plus.

Ngati Porou beat Revolution Fitness New Zealand 58-39, the victors’ Tiara Weir leading all scorers league-wide on the night. She scored 32 points.

Ngati Porou captain Bronya McMenamin scored 14. Her phenomenal strength was at the fore at both the offensive and defensive ends. On defence, she twice wrenched the ball from RFNZ’s Renee Stewart. McMenamin made three-point plays against Stewart for 43-31 and Liana Akroyd, for 48-35.

The quartertime score was 14-all but Ngati Porou were 30-21 up at the break and 45-35 ahead going into the fourth period.

RFNZ rallied down the home stretch, but couldn’t reduce the deficit. Courtney Stubbins (19pts), Stewart and Phoebe Riddell (6pts each) were plucky for RFNZ.

The contest, though physical, had its lighter moments, such as Lauryn Matenga-Houia’s hilarious second-quarter foul (her fourth personal foul) against former Wellington guard Stubbins, who then completed a three-point play to close it to 27-19.

“We’ve enjoyed the league more as time’s gone on,” McMenamin said.

“Now, we’re at the business end.”