Lightning and Tracy Village Jets will once again face off in the women’s league final

ANOTHER chapter in the ever-growing rivalry between Darwin Basketball Association women’s sides Tracy Village and Lightning will be written tonight when they face off in what is sure to be an enthralling final.

Tracy Village’s Kylie Duggan Lightning’s Claire Maree O’Bryan ahead of the 2020 Women’s Darwin Basketball Championship Final. Picture: Glenn Campbell

ANOTHER chapter in the ever-growing rivalry between Darwin Basketball Association women’s sides Tracy Village and Lightning will be written when they face off in what is sure to be an enthralling final.

Tracy Village had a massive regular season, winning all 20 games, only meeting its first stumbling block in its major semi-final loss to Lightning.

But Jets captain and league MVP Kylie Duggan believes that 63-49 defeat might have been one of the best things to happen to her side, allowing her players to refocus and assess their game plan.

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The star-studded side has put a big focus on its defence this season with Danielle Totham a linchpin to its defensive efforts.

Player-coach Tania Dhu and Erin Geer are in form, consistently sealing big shots, while the contributions of post player Michelle Ellis and a returning Sam Rioli have bolstered the team.

“We’re over the moon to have both the men and women into the final in the Championship season and hopefully we can both come away with the win,” Duggan told the NT News.

“It’s been a great season. It shook us up a bit to lose that first round of finals, but that may have been a good thing as we came out firing against Ansett and made it to the grand final.

“We are pumped to get that trophy back in our cabinet and we will do everything possible to do that as we know what we need to do to beat Lightning.

“Our defence is crucial. If we can do all our structures defensively but also our transition game which is where we score our baskets and if we continue running for four quarters we will be OK.”

Lightning are, however, the reigning premiers for a reason and their victory over Jets in the major semi-final will have the side brimming with confidence once again.

The side struggled with consistency through the season with players out through injury or commitments, but captain Claire Maree O’Bryan is excited to see her full side take to the court for the final.

April Rummery Lamb has been one of the big highlights for Lightning, rising to the big occasions and finishing the regular season with the second-highest free throw percentage (75) and leading in blocks (30).

Dom Carbone has been another highlight, while Peta Bailey, Sarah Carbone, Kirra Hill-Carter and Mikaella Desamito have all played vital roles.

“Getting to the final has been our goal since the beginning of the season and we know how competitive this game against Jets will be,” O’Bryan said.

“In the semi against them we knew exactly what we had to do and now we just have one more match to pull off to make this season a success.

“We had a few injuries down the stretch but we’ve finally come together in a good place.

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“Our defence got us through against Jets last time and it will need to again, while we will also need to stay composed on offence while shutting their big shooters down.”