April: Comets are not that great

With a three-way tie atop the table, girls Under-19 basketball is suddenly loaded with intrigue. 

Heading into this weekend, the Comets, Sparks and Monarchs sport identical 4-2 marks in the girls segment of the Appleby U19 Basketball League. The Comets were the frontrunners with an unbeaten start but have lost two out of their last three games.  

The latest defeat was a 60-56 double-overtime loss to the Monarchs last Saturday at the Cayman Islands Basketball Association court off Eastern Avenue.  

Guiding the Monarchs was April Ebanks, who produced a phenomenal double-double with 20 points and 28 rebounds. For Ebanks the victory shows that no team is above the rest. 

“We never finished (at the rim) well but I thought we would win,” Ebanks said. “We shut them down. For me they are not that great. We got the same skills as them. 

“It was tough but worth it. It’s a big deal we beat them. We came back our hardest and we intend to keep doing that.” 

Helping out Ebanks was a pair of ladies in Christina McLean, who had a double-double of her own with 26 points, 11 rebounds and Rochel Gardener, who chipped in 10 points and four steals. For the Comets, who fought hard in the fourth quarter and both overtime sessions, the biggest bright spot was Chloe Powery and her 34 points (including two three-pointers) and 11 rebounds. 

The West Bay native had some help from Shana Linwood-McLaughlin (eight points, three steals) and Ashley Ebanks (six points, eight rebounds). But Powery states all need to keep giving maximum effort to win. 

“Double overtime was not expected and it was a great game,” Powery said. “It’s incredible because I thought we were going to win. We were tired but we just got to keep pushing. We got to get going and keep pushing for the win.  

I played alright, it was not my best. I was not doing all I was supposed to do but I’m going all out next game.” 

Powery and company will face a stiff test in the Sparks on Saturday, 5 November, at 5pm.  

Behind superstar La-Torae Nixon (22 points, 27 rebounds, seven steals) the purple squad handed the Lynx their sixth straight loss 57-43.  

The Sparks also got a good performance from Imani Abdul Jabbar (14 points, five assists). 

Meanwhile the Lynx had good outings from Renita Barnes (26 points, 12 rebounds) and Sashaneil McField (10 points, seven steals).