SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017
FLAG FOOTBALL
Women, Page 2
Jonquel Jones leads her team to title win in Korea
JONQUEL JONES posted 27 points, 25 rebounds and three blocks in an 8372 win for Woori Bank over the Samsung Life Blue Minx to complete a threegame sweep and claim the 2017 title, the fifth consecutive for the club. (AP)
By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN basketball star Jonquel Jones ended her time in the Korean Basketball League with one of her best games of the season and a championship title for her club. Jones posted 27 points, 25 rebounds and three blocks in an 83-72 win for Woori Bank over the Samsung Life Blue Minx to complete a three-game sweep and claim the 2017 title, the fifth consecutive for the club. Woori Bank outscored the Blue Minx 15-4 in overtime en route to the win. After taking a 41-34 lead into the half, the Blue Minx worked their way back into the game and won the next two quarters to force a 68-all tie at the end of regulation. Jones was particularly dominant in the finals where she aver-
aged 15.3 points and 23 rebounds per game. In game one, she finished with 10 points and 21 rebounds in a 72-64 win followed by nine points and 23 rebounds in a 60-49 victory. Jones averaged 15.8 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks – all team leads - in 24 minutes per game for Woori Bank in 38 games this season. She also shot 55 per cent from the field, 39 per cent from three. They finished the year 36-2 and undefeated on the road. At the league’s award ceremony, Jones earned the Foreign Most Valuable Player Award, Defensive Player of the Year award and was named “Best Five” in the league. Woori Bank led the league in nearly every statistical category scoring 73 points per game, top rebounders at 42.3 per game, dishing the most assists at 15.3 per game and defensively are allowing a league low 59.2 points. Jones was selected No. 5 overall
by Woori Bank in last July’s Draft following the completion of the WNBA season. Jones finished her rookie campaign for the Connecticut Sun averaging 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shot in just over 14 minutes per game. She shot 53 per cent from the field and 33 per cent from three-point range. She received one vote in the 2016 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year tally to finish in a 5-way tie for fifth behind winner Jantel Lavender. The Sun finished last season 14-20, 5th in Eastern Conference, just missing the postseason after a dramatic midseason turnaround. The Sun will open its 15th season by hosting a twoday preseason event involving the New York Liberty, Chicago Sky and defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks on May 2-3 at Mohegan Sun Arena. They will open the season on May 13, hosting the Atlanta Dream.
Coleby key contributor off the bench for Jayhawks By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net laying limited minutes this season due to recovery from a torn ACL, Bahamian collegiate basketball player Dwight Coleby has logged valuable minutes thus far in the NCAA Tournament and his teammates, along with the international media, have taken notice. Several Kansas players and head coach Bill Self lauded Coleby’s effort off the bench in the Jayhawks’ 90-70 win over the Michigan State Spartans in the round of 32 last Sunday at the Bank of Oklahoma Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Self told the Kansas City Star that Coleby’s perseverance made the moment satisfying for the entire team. “He deserves that because it’s been a rough go for him,” Self said. “His attitude is so good. He’s such a great kid. To see him respond like that, I just know our kids are so happy for him. I thought he was as valuable as anybody we had. I thought he was great. It wasn’t just post defence. He got a couple steals, his ball-screen defence was good.” Coleby was a key contributor in the second half and finished with three points, four rebounds and one
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steal while starting forward Landen Lucas was limited with foul trouble. “He came in and made some of the biggest plays,” Lucas said. “I thank him so much for that.” Junior guard Devonte Graham, who finished with 18 points, told a local radio station in Lawrence, Kansas prior to the game that Coleby could be a factor off the bench during the tournament run. “We told him he was the MVP of the game,” Graham said of Coleby. “He was huge getting those rebounds and on the defensive end, walling up and getting stops and rebounding on the defensive end. He played his butt off.” Coleby, a junior, averaged 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in his first season in a Jayhawks uniform after transferring from Ole Miss and sitting out last season due to transfer rules and the aforementioned injury. He told KUsports.com that he was eager to make the most of his opportunity. “It’s the brightest stage and I want to play, so I’m just ready the whole time,” he said. “I just watch Landen, and everything he does and how he defends. Whatever he does, I just try to pick up on it and ask him questions.” Kansas will now face the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 today at the Sprint Centre in Kansas City, Mis-
souri. Coleby’s contribution will be necessary to limit Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan, one of the most productive post players in the country. “It was great to be in and actually help the team. All the celebration with the bench is cool and all, but actually being on the court and doing it, it’s way much better,” he said. “Everybody was hyped and jumping up and down. It lifted us up, so that was great.” The Jayhawks finished the season at 28-4, won their 13th straight Big 12 regular season title but were upset by the TCU Horned Frogs in the conference tournament quarter-finals. This year marks the second NCAA Tournament appearance for Coleby in his career. As a sophomore at Ole Miss his team had one of the most thrilling comebacks of the opening rounds. In a matchup of 11 seeds, the Rebels scored 62 points in the second half and overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat the Brigham Young University Cougars, 94-90. Coleby came off the bench for a productive 14-minute stretch where he added three points, seven rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot. In the 2nd round the Rebels fell 76-57 to the Xavier Musketeers.
PLAYING limited minutes this season due to recovery from a torn ACL, Bahamian collegiate basketball player Dwight Coleby has logged valuable minutes for the Kansas Jayhawks in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. Here, he celebrates late in the second half of a second-round game in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Nashad named Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net HIS final season at the Junior College fell short of his ultimate team goal of a national championship, but Nashad Mackey’s stellar individual numbers continue to garner postseason awards. Mackey, the 6’6” guard/forward for the Daytona State College Falcons, was named the Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year and was also named First team All-State in the conference. Mackey played in over 850 minutes for the Falcons this season, leading his team in time on the court. For the Falcons he averaged 15.1 points per game on the season, and 18.8 points in conference play. Mackey also averaged three times as many boards as his next teammate statistically, averaging 14.4 rebounds per game in conference contests. Falcons assistant coach Ian
Gibson lauded Mackey’s effort this season. “Probably the best rebounder in the state. Great kid, great person, does everything right on and off the floor every single day. You can always depend on him to do everything that we ask,” Gibson said. Mackey is expected to continue his basketball career at the NCAA Division II level after he signed with the Embry-Riddle Eagles in November. He said the educational opportunities at Embry-Riddle was at the forefront of his decision process. “I always valued my education. Being an engineering major, Embry-Riddle is one of the best programmes nationwide. The university and campus is growing rapidly. Also Embry-Riddle is a winning programme under the leadership of Steve Ridder, who is father of the head coach at Daytona State. I also developed a great relationship with the entire
NASHAD MACKEY coaching staff through this recruiting process and I believe they had my best interest at heart,” he said. In his freshman season with the
Falcons, he averaged 9.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while shooting 47 per cent from the field and 26 per cent from three-point range. He led the team in double doubles with several standout performances, including 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 105-78 win over South Georgia Technical College and 18 points and 15 rebounds in a 77-74 loss to Florida Southwestern. “My time here at Daytona has been a blast, I’ve spent countless amounts of hours working on my game and making a body transition. It paid off quite fine. I became more athletic and agile, making the game a whole lot better for myself,” he said. “I think I’ll fit into the programme effectively. My skill set is sufficient to make immediate impact and, who knows, maybe an all conference player. At this level division two and with this programme I can play anywhere on the court from 1-5.”
This season is ERAU’s third and final year of the NCAA II transition process after spending its entire history in NAIA. Mackey was a former standout for the CR Walker Knights with head coach Trevor Grant. He relocated to the US and the Champagnat Catholic School Lions programme in Hialeah, Florida, along with fellow Bahamians Jaron Cornish and Oswald Parker. Mackey was named to the Miami Herald’s All-Dade first-team for 4A-2A schools in Dade County, Florida, and also named to the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches (FABC) and Source Hoops 2014-2015 Boys Class 2A All-State Teams. He posted averages of 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per game. This offseason his attempt to make the men’s senior national team was seen as a learning experience and motivation to get better.