SPORTS SECTION E
THE RESULTS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Swim/Track, Pgs 4&5
Falcons and Suns win championship titles By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Falcons came up short in last year’s semi-finals, but Terrence McSweeney and his squad dominated the divison all season long en route to capturing the BAISS championship title. The Falcons completed the twogame sweep with a 42-15 win over the Kingsway Saints last night at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. The Falcons had an average margin of victory of 22 points per game in the series after a 39-22 win in game one. McSweeney said the programme has had a stellar three-year run, but it was fitting to claim the championship title after his team’s recommitment in the offseason.
“This is my third season and in those three years this team has lost one game in the regular season, we have been there knocking on the door for the past two seasons and this offseason they decided to dig down and really work so we can make this an historic occasion,” he said. “We want to give God thanks for this opportunity to play here. I need to thank Mr Eugene Bonaby for giving me this opportunity but most of all Hattie Moxey, who is an icon in this nation but has given me the green light to go ahead and to work and do what I needed to do to get this team at this level.” Shemique Thompson finished with a game high 12 points, Robyn Porter was again a force in the interior with eight points while Terell Cox and Amir Thompson each
scored six. Chyna Curry led the Saints with six points. The Falcons went on a key run early for the remainder of the second to put the game away for good. The lead reached as much as 26 in the fourth quarter on a Thompson jumper. The Kingsway Academy Saints finished as runners-up for the second consecutive year. McSweeney said the win validated the tradition the Falcons have continued to build. Success is not all in winning, but what you are looking at achieving,” he said. “I think we have achieved a lot so far. “Our future looks bright and we’re looking forward to coming back and we have some juniors who are moving up, so we are looking forward to doing some more
offseason work on our ball-handling and some of shooting skills. If we can get those things done, we can look forward to bringing home the ship home in both divisions.” - In the senior boys’ division, the defending champions claimed back-to-back titles while in the junior boys a new team took the division. The Jordan Prince William Falcons escaped with a 57-54 win over the SAC Big Red Machine to take game two of the series and their second consecutive title. In junior boys’ play, the Temple Christian Suns won game two 3935 to take the series clinching win over the QC Comets. • Check out full game recaps in our Friday Sports edition.
Big Red Machine sweep Comets By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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he St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine’s junior girls basketball programme returned to the top spot of the division following a two-year hiatus. The Big Red Machine closed out a two-game sweep of the defending champions Queen’s College Comets with a 37-26 win yesterday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Following the experience of a heartbreaking loss in last year’s semi-finals, Big Red Machine head coach Anastacia Sands-Moultrie said the team was determined to correct the mistakes of last year. “Last year, we should not have lost in the playoffs. We were up and rejoicing before the whistle went off and we had a girl come right there and make a last second shot to beat us by one point,” she said. “This year and all season long we preached that the whistle ends the game and we play until the whistle blows. They had a few lulls there but they corrected it before the end of the game and it was the difference down the stretch for us.” Karolyn Baptiste scored a game high 13 points while Makayla White scored eight. Baptiste scored the first six points for SAC all at the line and the first nine points of the game from both teams all came at the line as SAC took a 6-3 lead. QC made the first field goal of the game to pull within one (6-5) at end of the first. Baptiste scored the first SAC field goal, and converted a three-point play to make the score 9-5. G Murphy was the first player from
SAC other than Baptiste to score and her rebound and putback sparked a 7-0 run. The Big Red Machine held the Comets scoreless in the quarter until the 33-second mark when D Lightbourn made a baseline jumper for two of her team high 12 points. SAC led 13-7 at the half. After being held scoreless in the first half, Whyte got into the act scoring with a putback and a runner to push the lead to 10 (17-7) with 4:15 left in the third quarter. The Comets responded with a 7-0 run to pull within three but Baptiste stopped the run with a fastbreak layup to regain a two-possession advantage. Tied at 21 with 5:35 left to play, SAC would outscore QC 16-5 the rest of the way. After a Lightbourn layup gave the Comets a brief 2322 lead, SAC went ahead with scores from Whyte, Baptiste and Albury to go ahead for good. With the 2017 title in hand, Sands-Moultrie said she is looking ahead to building players for the senior level and beyond. “It’s been an up and down battle. We were fighting hard to get the girls to the skill level I wanted them at. They are almost there, but I’m not only conditioning them for the junior level, I’m also getting them ready for the senior level,” she said. “Most of them want to go off to college. So I tell them you have to be working hard. Some of them when they get to the senior level they slack off, but at least they will have the foundation from the junior level. Females are so much different than males and it’s harder to coach them. You have to get them while you can.”
SAC junior girls take BAISS crown
GOING HARD: The St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine junior girls yesterday closed out a two-game sweep of the defending champions Queen’s College Comets with a 37-26 win at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
BAHAMAS BEATS US TO RETAIN GENE SCOTT TROPHY A STRONG Bahamas IC team which included its most successful Davis Cup player over the last decade, Devin Mullings, and its RUSSELL most successful Fed Cup player Larikah Russell - over the same period - beat the USA to retain The Gene Scott Trophy. This was a sweet result for The Bahamas who had lost to The USA earlier in the month to be beaten in to second place at its own Bahamas IC International Doubles Week. The event was held at the fine 21-court Wellington Tennis Centre, Palm Beach, Florida which former tennis great and IC member Dick Stockton manages. Dick was present throughout the event but unfortunately for the USA, and maybe fortunately for The Bahamas, Dick was injured and unable to play. The Bahamas team consisted of six men and four women playing in a variety of age categories, including one mixed doubles with all players in the 70s. Gene Scott, as well as an outstanding USA tennis player, was highly involved in many aspects of tennis, including his own wellknown tennis magazine and founding the Kremlin Cup. Gene was a leading personality in the IC movement and was instrumental in helping to found The Bahamas IC where he also had a home. At the event and playing was his wife Polly who told us of a major project in the New York area to build courts for poor communities that is a continuing tribute to Gene’s legacy in the tennis world. As well as some excellent tennis played in the true IC spirit of “Hands across the net, friendship across the ocean,” there were two enjoyable dinners. The last of these was held at The Wellington Equestrian Centre where the largest USA winter show jumping event was taking place. The Bahamas has already been warned by the USA that they intend to recruit a strong team for next year’s return match and Team Bahamas looks forward to that.
Carisa Brogden, 15, star of the day in horse show THE Bahamas’ newest crop of budding junior equestrian athletes were on display in two days of fierce competition at the Mariposa Winter Horse Show, held last weekend at Mariposa Stables in western New Providence. The show marked the third leg of the equestrian horse show season, and dozens of junior riders met to test their skills in varying classes of competition. Classes ranged from the very beginner “Leadline” classes, featuring competitors as young as five years old, to more technically demanding classes in the Jumper and Equitation Divisions. Saturday featured the Equitation classes, which are judged on the elegance and effectiveness of the rider over a series of ‘tests’. Carisa Brogden, aged 15, was the star of the day, riding Mrs Kim Johnson’s Sterling Silver to win the qualifying class of the Bahamas Junior Classic. The Bahamas Junior Classic is a national
event featuring the country’s best junior riders. Qualifier rounds are held throughout the horse show season, and riders must amass 10 or more points in order to qualify for the Classic Final, which this year will be held in March. On Sunday the watching crowd cheered excitedly for the Jumper events, which are based on the ability of horse and rider to clear a course of jumps in the fastest time. “Jumper events, or showjumping, is the Olympic discipline that people may be used to seeing on television,” commented Cathy Ramsingh-Pierre, president of Equestrian Bahamas. “Showjumping is easier for the spectator to follow, because the winner is the one who clears the course in the fastest time, and knocks down the fewest jumps. “In reality, however, a showjumping course is far more difficult to ride. Equitation classes, like the ones held on Saturday,
CARISA BROGDEN and Sterling Silver in the Bahamas Junior Classic. serve as the technical preparation needed for young riders to compete in the Jumper ring. Equestrian Bahamas is committed not only to providing competitive opportunities through horse shows,
but to developing technical excellence in the sport so that our riders can successfully compete abroad.” In Sunday’s Jumper classes, top honours were shared by Carisa
Brogden, on Sterling Silver, and Siena Holowesko, riding Erika Adderley’s Gandolfe. Brogden and Holowesko were co-champions in the Hopeful Jumpers Division. The guest judge of the event was Jill MacRae of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. MacRae is an accomplished rider, coach and judge, having trained horses and riders for many years. She was the team manager and leader for the Canadian Equestrian Team at major international competitions, including past Olympic, Pan Am and World Equestrian Games. MacRae was impressed by the level of riding on display, and at the close of the show encouraged all riders and their trainers to continue their efforts to excellence. The next competition on the Equestrian Bahamas calendar will be held at Camperdown Equestrian Centre February 1112. Admission is free and all are invited.