Matrix, Ravens register victories

Women’s basketball action. — Supplied photo

Matrix dominated dnata from the word go and cruised to a 34-24 victory while Ravens used a strong third quarter to tame Panthers 61-43 in Chery-Al Habtoor Motors Women’s Basketball Cup at Zayed bin Sultan gym.
Kathi Karcher, who was awarded best player of the game, used her height advantage to dominate the inner lane and help Matrix establish a 6-0 lead in the first quarter which they increased to eight, 14-6, at the turn.

Matrix continued their dominance in the third quarter and padded their lead to 15, 28-13, at the start of the fourth quarter. But dnata did not go down easily without a fight as German player Anika Bauermeister orchestrated a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to just six, 28-22, with still four minutes left in the game.

Matrix was forced to call for a timeout. They made adjustments with their team defence to protect their lead while Yska Santiago and Karcher worked on their offence. “dnata played well down the stretch but we focused more on our defence to stop their late rally and win the game,” said Karcher, who led Matrix with 12 points.

Meanwhile, Ravens utilised a three-guard offence in the third quarter to tame Panthers 61-43 and register their second straight win in the tournament.

Ravens trailed Panthers, 22-20, at the half but coach Bart Sarabia put in guards Eli Lizondra, Batang Banawa, and Juvy Banaria to stage a 10-0 run at the start of the third quarter. They took the driver’s seat, 30-22, and never looked back. Lizondra led Ravens with 11 points while Banawa, Kaan Mirandilla, and Banaria added 10 markers each.