but she received this invitation from the Company she works for......
......so she wrote and said
"Mmmm - I will definitely have to get the night off for that one!!"
The Cairns Taipans have survived a final-quarter
comeback from the Townsville Crocodiles to win the North Queensland
Derby 102-96 at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday night
Martin Cattalini led all scorers with 26 points (10-of-18 field
goals) and adding seven boards, while Darnell Mee (19 points,
four rebounds, four assists) contributed with several big plays
down the stretch
Chris Burgess was also impressive for the home side, dominating
on the boards to finish with a double-double of 17 points and
17 rebounds
Brad Newley top-scored for the visitors with 24 points, exploding
with 22 points in the second half to spark Townsville's comeback,
while big man Casey Calvary turned in 23 points and nine rebounds
Cairns had led 50-39 at half-time, but were outscored 32-29 and
25-23 in the final two quarters respectively, managing to seal
the win only in the final minute
Taipans head coach Alan Black said the result was an important
one for the Taipans, who are breathing down the Wollongong Hawks'
necks for top-four finish in the playoffs
"That's a big win, to beat Townsville at home - it's a great
feeling" Black said
"I thought we did a really go job hanging on. We were playing
against a team that's playing for its life"
Black said the win was especially important confidence-wise, heading
into the Taipans' clash against the Tigers in round 20
"This was a great result for us, and really sets us up for
our meeting with Melbourne next week" he said
"It's good to go against teams like that when you feel you're
playing well too"
Anthony Stewart led all scorers with 11 points in a closely-contested
first term, giving his side a 22-18 advantage heading into the
first break
Cairns opened a gap early in second period, blitzing the Crocs
with a 7-2 run before a Taipans timeout, the visitors down 29-20
after two minutes
The home side punished the visitors' slow defensive rotations,
drawing 11 fouls while giving up only 6 at the other end, Cairns
converting 12 from 16 free throws in the half
The Taipans also went on a 9-0 run ending with 3.22 left in the
half, setting up a 50-39 lead at the main break, Nathan Crosswell
exciting a vocal home crowd with a fade-away jumper on the buzzer
Townsville's backcourt duo of Newley and Kelvin Robertson took
control of the visitors' offense in the third, scoring 10 and
11 points for the period respectively
The pair's hot streak brought the Crocs to within six points (73-67)
of the Taipans with three minutes remaining in the period, Cairns
holding on to finish the quarter up 79-71
Newley continued his hot streak in the final period, his 10 fourth-quarter
points leading Townsville's final attack
A thunderous Darnell Mee dunk with 2.40 remaining then had the
home crowd on its feet
Mee was also fouled on the play, and his conversion of the free
throw gave the Taipans a 95-89 lead
Despite late three pointers from Robertson and John Rillie, the
visitors could not finish the task, Burgess denying Larry Abney
under the basket to effectively secure the 102-96 win
Crocodiles head coach Ian Stacker said the close score line was
indicative of a "great game of basketball", refusing
to dwell on the Crocs uphill battle to reach the playoffs
"(Tonight) both teams threw every thing they could at it.
Desperation makes for a great game" Stacker said
"It's a shame we lost, but we'll walk away from the game
not too disappointed"
Stacker warned against writing the Crocodiles off with regard
to a playoff spot, noting that teams had reached the end season
with losing records in previous years
"I think it would be premature to put a headline up that
(suggests) we're out of the finals
I can't predict what's going to happen with other teams"
he said
"I know teams have made it with a losing record before
Put the headline up if you like, but I think it's premature"
The Taipans (14-11) stay in Cairns for the week before they face
the Melbourne Tigers on Saturday night, after the Crocodiles face
the Tigers at in Townsville on Friday night
Cairns Taipans - 102 (Cattalini 26, Mee 19, Burgess 17)
Townsville Crocodiles - 96 (Newley 24, Calvary 23, Robertson
19)
At The Cairns Convention Centre - 7/01/06 - Crowd 4055
