Coach Laki Lakner Looks Back and Ahead
Author: Henk Wals
Pictures: Tine Sierink
Datum: December 26, 2008
Dutch
How does coach Laki Lakner look back on the past months and what will the second half of the season bring? An interview with the ProBuild Lions´ head coach.
What do you think about the competition so far? Most teams have two or more foreign players on their roster this season. How does that affect the level of the league?
I think the level of competition has gone up. There are no easy, lopsided wins anymore. You have to earn every victory. Personally, I like that. Of course foreign players contribute to the rise of the overall-level, although I don't think it is a good idea to fill entire rosters with foreigners, like in the men's competition. My own ideal is to build an all-Dutch championship team, but that is going to take time. This year the original plan was to limit ourselves to one American player, but Gerda Heinen's pregnancy caused us to change it.
How do you look back on the first half of the competition? You said your goal was to win all three prices. You lost the Final Four tournament, however, so winning all three won't happen. Is that a disappointment to you?
When I said we are going to win all possible prices, I did not mean to brag. I just wanted to make a statement we are going to strive and fight hard for it. We are ambitious. Without that mentality you won't get far anyway. Besides, looking at the quality of our team and our organization a goal-setting like that is not unrealistic. But on the other hand, we are not invulnerable. We have a deep bench, but not every position is well filled, like the point guard position. When Molly McDowell is out with an injury we obviously have a problem. Just when it looked like she was almost back at her old MVP-level, she suffered a series of consecutive injuries. In December she was cleared to play again, but that did not mean she was in a good game-shape. That's why we scheduled the Cup Tournament game against Perik Jumpers as late as possible. That turned out to be a good strategy, as we won that game, but playing the Final Four tournament two days later proved to be a little too much for Molly. As we also lost Marie Hoogstraten and Jasmijn Overbeeke due to injuries in the Perik-game, to me it was not a big surprise that we dropped the game to Woonbron DAS in the Final Four tournament.
Is Woonbron DAS the team to be feared in this competition? We lost two games to them until now.
Woonbron DAS is a good team, but we were not with our strongest line-ups when we faced them. It will be different next time, I promise.
Is Molly McDowell going to be alright?
Yes, I believe so. She's playing without pain now, but she was out for two months and she still has to get back in game shape. René Wormhoudt, our physiotherapist, says it will take until February. He's almost always right in his medical predictions. For the first time this season we will be at full strength then, if nothing else goes wrong.
OK, but there still are some other weak points. Rebounding, for instance. A lot of people wonder why you didn't sign an American post-player this season.
A real good post-player is hard to find. Jasmijn Overbeeke starts at the center position and I personally believe she´s one of the top five players of the league, but she´s more a forward than a center, shooting treys and everything. But I don't mind playing without a traditional post-player, there are a lot of ways to compensate for it. That's why I went for a player who can shoot the 3-pointer when we had to find a replacement for Gerda Heinen. And with Chelsey Warburton I believe we found one of the best shooters available. All our players can shoot treys, including the centers, but what we are lacking is consistency. Looking at the stats this season our 3-point percentages vary from 10 to 60%. As for rebounding, it is clear we are not handling that part of the game very well. But rebounding is not only a matter of size, but also of concentration and mentality. We have to do a much better job boxing out. Next weeks we are going to spend a lot of time on that in practice.
Two years ago ProBuild was known for its smothering full court press defense. Now you hardly use that anymore. Why not?
At this moment we are the best in the league in allowed points per game, averaging 59.1 points. But our full court press defense is still not as good as it was two seasons ago. It is getting better though, and I intend to use it more in the second half of the competition.
ProBuild trails HLB by four points. You know it is very important to be in first seed at the end of the regular completion to earn home advantage in the Finals of the play-offs. Is that goal still within reach?
I believe it is. We meet our opponents three times during the regular competition and we still have to face HLB, Woonbron DAS and Perik Jumpers for the second and the third time. So we are still in control. What people can expect of us is that we are going to work very, very hard to reach our goals. Our team spirit is very much alive and we are motivated as ever to win another title.
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ProBuild Lions Sign Chelsey Warburton
Author: Henk Wals
Picture: Courtesy Robert Casey/Weber State
Datum: December 23, 2008
Dutch
Today the ProBuild Lions management announced the signing of Chelsey Warburton, a 5-10 shooting guard from Weber State University. Warburton, a native of Price in Utah, averaged 17.1 points per game and led the NCAA in 3's per game in her senior season, averaging 3.3 hits from behind the arc.
Warburton is signed as a replacement for the Lions' Captain Gerda Heinen, who is going on maternity leave.
Coach Laki Lakner said he expects Chelsey Warburton to play an important role in the remainder of the season. "We were looking for a shooter, but she also had to be someone who fits in our style of defense, a hard worker. Coach Dwight van West and I studied her stats, we watched the footage of some of her games, we contacted her former coaches and I had a long telephone conversation with Chelsea. We came to believe she is the kind of player we need. I think she can help us winning a championship. We are looking forward to welcome her."
Chelsea Warburton is expected to arrive on January 7th.
Watch Chelsea shoot the basketball here.
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Chelsey Warburton
Picture Courtesy: Robert Casey/Weber State
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Holidays Start One Day Earlier Than Planned
Author: Henk Wals
Pictures: Tine Sierink
Datum: December 19, 2008
| Scoreboard |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
| Woonbron DAS |
20 |
10 |
22 |
15 |
67 |
| Probuild Lions |
14 |
11 |
17 |
10 |
52 |
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The first half of the competition traditionally ends with the Final Four tournament in the weekend before Christmas. The four highest seeded teams battle each other in a two-day event. This year HLB Accountants takes on Perik Jumpers and ProBuild Lions battles Woonbron DAS. The next day the two winners meet each other in the Finals.
This year the Lions did not reach the Finals, nor did the number one seeded team, HLB Accountants.
ProBuild lost 67-52 to Woonbron DAS.
The Lions were handicapped by the absence of Marie Hoogstraten and Jasmijn Overbeeke, who both did not play due to the injuries they suffered Wednesday.
Molly McDowell led the Lions with 12 points and Anouk Biesters contributed 10 points. ProBuild shot 29.2% from the field and 14.8% from behind the arc.
"That combined with the fact we just had 19 rebounds, of which 5 offensives, made this a game hard to win", assistant-coach Dwight van West said. "We allowed them the second chances we did not create for ourselves."
The Lions trailed 35-30 at halftime, but started the third period with and 0-8 run to put up a 35-38 lead. They did not manage to hold it and trailed 52-42 at the start of the four quarter.
Not advancing to the Finals means this was Gerda Heinen's last game. She is going on maternity leave for the rest of the season.
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ProBuild Advances to Next Round Dutch Cup Tournament
Author: Henk Wals
Pictures: Tine Sierink
Datum: December 17, 2008
| Scoreboard |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
| Probuild Lions |
25 |
19 |
11 |
16 |
71 |
| Perik Jumpers |
19 |
21 |
11 |
10 |
61 |
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Ilana Vergunst and Anouk Biesters both scored 15 points as ProBuild Lions advanced to the Semi Finals of the Dutch Cup Tournament with a 71-61 win over Perik Jumpers.
Jasmijn Overbeeke fell two steals shy of a triple double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 8 steals. On top of that she put up 5 blocked shots and 4 assists, while holding her direct opponent Ashley Langen to just four points.
Molly McDowell chipped in with 13 points. She had to be carried of the court at the end of the first half with what looked like serious knee-injury, but to everyone's relief she returned in the third period to play an important role in the fourth.
Coach Laki Lakner said he was proud of his team. At intermission he urged his team to fight as hard as they could in the second half. "We are the ProBuild Lions", he said. "Playing hardnosed defense is our trade mark. With Molly out I thought that was the only way to pull out a win: fighting as hard as we could."
It was exactly what the Lions did in the second half. Leading 44-40 at halftime, they allowed just 21 points in the last two periods. As their own production went down too, the teams stayed close until the last six minutes of the game.
With Perik having cut their deficit to 60-59 Molly McDowell stole the ball and made a lay-up, followed by a trey from Ilana Vergunst, 65-59. McDowell scored again, Belinda Bos made it 69-59 and Ilana Vergunst put up a short jumper to widen the gap to 11 points with one minute to go, 71-59.
Laura Dinkins, who scored 21 points for Perik, had the last score of the game.
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Wednesday Quarter Finals Dutch Cup Tournament
Author: Henk Wals
Date: December 15, 2008
Dutch
Wednesday ProBuild Lions hosts Perik Jumpers in the Quarter Finals of the Dutch Cup Tournament. The loser is out, the winner advances to the Semi Finals, which are to be held in January.
Perik Jumpers have a reputation as Cup Fighters and won the Cup a few times, like the Lions did. The Lions and the Jumpers fought out some interesting battles in the past, like the finals in March 2006, which were won by ProBuild and the Finals of 2001, which ended in a victory for Perik.
The last time the Jumpers managed to pull out a win in Landsmeer was quite a while ago: January 2002, when Perik beat ProBuild 51-64.
Game starts at 8:30 PM CET.
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Saturday Amazone
Author: Henk Wals
Date: December 11 2008
Dutch
Saturday ProBuild Lions travels to Utrecht to meet AutoCAD Amazone for the second time. The first game was won 70-59 by the Lions. So far luck has not been with the Amazones, who went to Finals lst season. This year they are 4-out-of 10 at this point. American guard Lateefah Joye went home due to sad circumstances in the family. She has not been replaced yet. Three weeks ago coach Bo Melis was fired and he has not been replaced either. Assistant coach Jeanine Tjin-A-Sioe fills in on a temporary basis.
ProBuild also had some setbacks, like Molly McDowell's injury and the waiving of Chanel Ross, who did not fit in the team well. The plan was to finish the season with one foreign player, McDowell, but after Gerda Heinen announced her pregnancy in November it was decided a second American player has to be signed to replace Heinen.
"Gerda is very important to us", coach Laki Lakner said. "She's our team captain, she's leads the team on and off the court. She's not our main scorer, but she's one of the best defenders of the league and she always guards the best player of our opponents. So she will be missed."
Anouk Biesters will replace Gerda Heinen as the team's Captain. Lakner said an American player has been signed already, but that the official announcement will not be made before a working permit has been granted. "We just send out the application", he said. "If everything goes well, it will probably take a week to ten days before we can make the announcement. "
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ProBuild Routs Celeritas, 91-59
Author: Henk Wals
Pictures: Tine Sierink
Datum: December 6, 2008
| Scoreboard |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
| Probuild Lions |
25 |
24 |
18 |
24 |
91 |
| Celeritas Donar |
12 |
11 |
18 |
18 |
59 |
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Anouk Biesters hit five 3-pointers and totaled 22 points to lead ProBuild Lions to a 91-59 rout of Celeritas Donar.
Molly McDowell convincingly showed she's on the way back with 17 points and 7 steals in 26 minutes of playing time.
Marie Hoogstraten contributed 15 points, with four 3-pointers. Ilana Vergunst added 12 points and Jasmijn Overbeeke 10 points.
The Lions shot 50.7% from the field and 53,6% from behind the arc.
"I thought we played well," coach Laki Lakner said. "Our plan was to stop Andrea Verdegan and Rachel Roubehie Fissa, their leading scorers. We stuck to the plan and it worked. I think especially Belinda Bos did an admirable job on Verdegan."
She obviously did. Andrea Verdegan, one of the top guards in the league, had a quiet night, scoring 4 points. Rachel Roubehie Fissa scored 13 points.
Lakner said he also was happy with Molly McDowell's performance. "I think maybe she's on 60 percent of her full capacity in terms of game shape and explosiveness, but when she's on the floor everything runs so much smoother…", he said. "Without her we are vulnerable at the point guard spot, as our last two games showed."
The Lions turned the game into an early rout as they jumped to a 13-point lead in the first period and led by as much as 26 points at halftime.
After Rianne de Roos scored 0-2 Anouk Biesters answered with a 3-pointer. The Lions never trailed again from that moment on. Ilana Vergunst nailed two consecutive 3-pointers to put ProBuild up 4-14.
In the second quarter Jasmijn Overbeeke carried much of the scoring load before leaving the floor with a light ankle sprain. Overbeeke scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 11 minutes of playing time.
Marie Hoogstraten and Belinda Bos both drained two 3-pointers in the quarter.
In the third period ProBuild slowed down a little, just not allowing Celeritas to narrow the gap, leaving the 26-point margin intact, 67-41.
In the first minutes of the last quarter the Lions' game became a little too relaxed. ProBuild allowed Celeritas to cut their deficit to 75-57 before Laki Lakner stepped on the gas, calling Molly McDowell, Marie Hoogstraten and Anouk Biesters of the bench to fuel a 16-2 last run. Anouk Biesters sparked it with two 3-pointers and 8 straight points.
>> Pictures.
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Second Round Starts: Celeritas Donar
Author: Henk Wals
Date: December 4, 2008
Dutch
Saturday ProBuild Lions host Celeritas Donar for the first game of the second round of the competition. After yesterday's unexpected 89-88 loss of Woonbron DAS to Challenge Sports Binnenland the Lions share the second seed with DAS after the first round.
In the first round Celeritas just won 3-out-of-9 games. In Groningen ProBuild came out victorious, 62-80.
Molly McDowell, who practiced with the team this week, is expected to make some minutes again. Physiotherapist and condition trainer René Wormhoudt said he wants McDowell back in game shape for the Final Four tournament just before Christmas.
Game start at 9:30 PM CET.
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ProBuild Drops Thriller to HLB
Author: Henk Wals
Pictures: Tine Sierink
Datum: November 29, 2008
| Scoreboard |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
| HLB Accountants |
17 |
16 |
16 |
18 |
67 |
| Probuild Lions |
16 |
16 |
12 |
18 |
62 |
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ProBuild Lions overcame a 14 point deficit after a 16-2 start, but came up short in the end, losing 67-62 to HLB accountants.
Anouk Biesters scored 16 points and Marie Hoogstraten contributed 15. Ilana Vergunst chipped in with 11 points.
Molly McDowell returned in the line-up after a five-week absence due to several injuries. McDowell played short stretches to relieve Gerda Heinen, who started at point guard. Molly McDowell scored 4 points, showing flashes of her impressive skills at times.
Coach Laki Lakner said his team showed a lot of improvement since last week's performance. "We clearly had an off-night then. Of course I don't like dropping this game here, but we gave HLB a hard time on their own court, with an all Dutch line-up most of the game. So I'm not pessimistic about the second half of the season, when we have regained our full strength."
ProBuild shot 19-out-of -50 from the floor and 5-out-of-15 from the 3-point line. From the free-throw-line the Lions shot an almost perfect 19-out-of-21. But they did a less good job on the boards, grabbing just 19 rebounds, with just one on the offensive end.
"That was definitely not good", coach Lakner admitted. "Rebounding still is not our strongest point, I am afraid. We have to go on working on that. If we just had allowed them a few second changes less and we would have some more ourselves, we could have come out with a win."
After seven minutes in the game the Lions looked at a 16-2 deficit. It seemed it was going to be a long night for the ProBuild fans who travelled to Den Helder, but three minutes later things looked much brighter. After Ilana Vergunst and Molly McDowell made it 16-6, Anouk Biesters and Marie Hoogstraten both drained a 3-pointer to pull the Lions to 16-12.
Two free throws by Belinda Bos and another score form Hoogstraten pulled ProBuild alongside HLB, 16-16. Kim Hartman made a free throw for HLB to end the period, 17-16.
After that the game stayed close. With one minute to go before intermission Anna Vicencetto nailed a 3-pointer for Den Helder, but Gerda Heinen hit a floater in the buzzer to make it 33-32.
After the break HLB extended its lead to 42-44 behind baskets from Anna Vicenzetto and Marloes Roetgerink, but Ilana Vergunst responded with a 3-pointer to spark an offensive surge which brought ProBuild within a margin of five points at the start of the last period, 49-44.
Gerda Heinen's basket in the 5th minute cut the deficit to 57-55, but Kim Hartman ensured ProBuild would not get closer, scoring six points on HLB's next three trips, 65-57. Jasmijn Overbeeke and Marie Hoogstraten made baskets to pull the Lions to 65-62 with one minute to go, but next Overbeeke fouled out, as did Anouk Biesters.
To regain possession in the last seconds ProBuild made a foul on Marloes Roetgerink, but the veteran center did not fail from the free throw line, 67-62.
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Saturday HLB Accountants
Author: Henk Wals
Date: November 27, 2008
Dutch
Saturday ProBuild Lions travel to the city of Den Helder, home of the Royal Dutch Navy and of HLB Accountants, since last week the first seeded team in the League.
In the pre-season ProBuild and HLB met once. In Landsmeer the Lions beat HLB 75-60.
The last team ProBuild was victorious in Den Helder was January 20th 2007, when Amy Taylor scored 27 points to lead her team to a 56070 win. Since that time the Lions lost 4 consecutive games in Den Helder.
ProBuild will battle HLB with an all-Dutch line-up. Molly McDowell is making good progress recovering from her back injury and resumed practicing on Wednesday, but is not in game-condition yet.
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Gerda Heinen Pregnant
Author: Henk Wals
Date: November 24, 2008
Dutch
Gerda Heinen announced she's pregnant with her first child. She will go on maternity leave after Christmas. ProBuild's Captain and defensive specialist will be out for at least the rest of the season. On behalf of the board, the team and the staff we congratulate Gerda and her partner René on the prospect of becoming parents!
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Lions Take First Loss
Author: Henk Wals
Pictures: Tine Sierink
Datum: November 22, 2008
| Scoreboard |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
| Probuild Lions |
13 |
11 |
14 |
12 |
50 |
| Woonbron DAS |
13 |
14 |
17 |
23 |
67 |
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ProBuild Lions wasted a 22-point and 9-rebound effort from Jasmijn Overbeeke and lost 50-67 to Woonbron DAS. It was an historical night: the first time ever DAS took a win over ProBuild.
Molly McDowell missed the game due to a back-injury. Coach Laki Lakner again had to use an all-Dutch line-up to battle the number-3 seeded team, which is led by American veteran Theresa LeCuyer and her fellow-American Reggie Maddox.
LeCuyer scored 21 points and Maddox contributed 11.
Coach Laki Lakner did not appear too upset by his first loss. "We still have a long competition ahead", he said. "We obviously had an off-night. Defensively we made too many mistakes, but offensively we really struggled, not getting in a flow, shooting without confidence and not going to the basket as hard as I would have liked to see. "
ProBuild had a cold shooting night, hitting no more than 19-out-of-68 shots from the floor. From 3-point range the Lions were 6-out-of-24.
Lotte Nijenhuis started at point guard. She hit an early 3-pointer to make it 5-3, but Reggie Maddox answered and the rest of the first period ProBuild and DAS changed leads to end it in a tie, 13-13.
At intermission the Lions trailed 24-27.
Coach Lakner's plan to re-enter the court sharply to decide the game in the first minutes of the third period failed dramatically. The Lions went without a score for five minutes, allowing DAS to take a 14-point lead, 24-38. Jasmijn Overbeeke made ProBuild's first basket of the quarter to spark a late run with 3-pointers from Gerda Heinen and Ilana Vergunst, closing the gap to 38-44 at the start of the fourth period.
It was former Lion Theresa LeCuyer who decided the game by making 7 points in a 2-9 surge, putting DAS up 40-55 with 5 minutes to go. The last minutes of the game ProBuild and DAS just exchanged baskets, leaving the margin intact.
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Saturday Woonbron DAS
Author: Henk Wals
Date: November 22, 2008
Dutch
Saturday ProBuild Lions host Woonbron DAS, the third seeded team at the moment. DAS just lost one game until now, to HLB Accountants, who share the first position with ProBuild.
That means tonight's game is an important one. If ProBuild drops the game coach Laki Lakner and his team fall back to the third position.
The Lions will face DAS with an all-Dutch line-up. Molly McDowell is still injured due to back-pains. This week she underwent a series of medical tests in order to determine what's exactly wrong with her back.
Coach Laki Lakner said the emphasis will be on defense again. "We are a talented and deep team, but with Molly out we don't have a real playmaker and we have no player who can dominate the game on her own offensively. So we all have to contribute, work hard, play smart and stay concentrated for 40 minutes. If we manage to do that, we can beat every team in this competition."
Game starts at 8:30 PM CET>
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Lions Advance to Next Round Dutch Cup Tournament
Author: Henk Wals
Pictures: Tine Sierink
Datum: November 15, 2008
| Scoreboard |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
| Probuild Lions |
16 |
9 |
18 |
20 |
63 |
| AutoCAD Amazone |
9 |
17 |
11 |
19 |
56 |
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ProBuild Lions beat AutoCAD Amazone 63-56 to reach the quarter finals of the Dutch Cup tournament.
Anouk Biesters scored 18 points and Ilana Vergunst contributed 13. With Amazone Sigrid van der Toorn with 17 points was the only player in double figures.
Molly McDowell did not play due to a wrist injury, so forward Gerda Heinen was called on point guard duty again. ProBuild's captain kept the ball safe and committed zero turnovers, in spite of Amazone's constant press defense.
Still coach Laki Lakner missed McDowell. "Our offense does not run as smoothly as I would like it to", he said. "We gained this victory simply because we let them score less points than we did. This is a good way to win games, actually, so I am not complaining, but I really hope Molly will recover soon. We have some tough games coming up in the next weeks."
The game was watched by a crowd of about 500 people, which gave the gym a nice atmosphere.
ProBuild had a cold start, trailing 1-9 after six minutes. But Ilana Vergunst and Anouk Biesters both drained 3-pointers, sparking a 16-1 run to pull the Lions to a 16-9 lead at the start of the second period.
Sigrid van der Toorn and Maaike van den Bovenkamp both nailed a trey to fuel a comeback for Amazone. At intermission the Lions faced a 25-26 deficit.
ProBuild's emphasis in the third quarter was to come out and regain the lead for good. And so it happened. After splitting a pair of free throws Gerda Heinen stole the ball, crossed the court and had a lay-up. Anouk Biesters made it 30-26 with a base-line drive and Heinen capped the run to give the Lions a 32-26 lead.
The rest of the period the Lions and Amazone exchanged baskets and entered the fourth quarter with the six-point margin intact, 43-37.
A 3-pointer by Ilana Vergunst and 3-out-of-4 free throws by Nadine Boesaart gave the Lions a 57-45 lead with 5 minutes remaining, but Amazone used three consecutive baskets to cut their deficit to 61-56 with one minute on the clock.
After a time-out by coach Laki Lakner Ilana Vergunst sealed ProBuild's victory by converting two free throws.
More pictures.
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Saturday: Dutch Cup Tournament
Author: Henk Wals
Date: November 13, 2008
Dutch
Saturday ProBuild Lions hosts AutoCAD Amazone for a battle in the Dutch Cup Competition. The winner advances to the next round, the loser is out. In March two teams will be left to meet in the Finals.
Last season Amazone and ProBuild battled each other in the Finals. ProBuild took the Cup, after a lopsided 39-64 victory over Amazone.
This season coach Bo Melis and his team are having a bad start, with just two victories out of six games. Two weeks ago HLB Accountants, with ProBuild Lions the only team which is still unbeaten, had a hard time squeezing out a 65-67 victory over Amazone in Utrecht, but next weekend AutoCAD surprisingly took a 61-60 loss to Grasshoppers, who were winless until that game.
Amazone and ProBuild both parted with one of their foreign players last week. In Utrecht Lateefah Joye went home due to sad circumstances in her family.
With ProBuild it is uncertain if Molly McDowell will play on Saturday. McDowell has almost recovered from a shoulder injury, but now suffers pain in her wrist and experiences back-pains.
On the upside it looks like Jasmijn Overbeeke, who sprained her ankle in the game versus Lely last Saturday, will be recovered sufficiently to play.
Game starts at 8:30 PM CET.
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Lions Top Lely, 57-58
Author: Henk Wals
Pictures: Tine Sierink
Datum: November 8, 2008
| Scoreboard |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
| BV Lely |
15 |
5 |
21 |
16 |
57 |
| Probuild Lions |
16 |
20 |
10 |
21 |
68 |
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Marie Hoogstraten scored 16 points to lead ProBuild Lions to a 57-68 win over Lely Amsterdam. Ilana Vergunst contributed 15 points and Jasmijn Overbeeke added 13.
Molly McDowell came off the bench to score 7 points. McDowell, who rarely practiced in the last three weeks due to a shoulder injury, had 19 minutes of playing time.
The Lions struggled on both ends of the floor in parts of the game, but never trailed after the first period.
Anouk Biesters, ProBuild's leading scorer, finished the game with zero points in ten minutes of playing time due to foul trouble. She was taken out of the game in the second period after her third foul. Two attempts to re-enter the game immediately resulted in her fourth and fifth foul.
Coach Dwight van West looked back on what he called an ugly game. "We did not play well, but we took the two points to Landsmeer and that's what counts in the end. It is not realistic to expect we play brilliantly in every game."
Coach Laki Lakner said he is looking forward to Molly McDowell being healthy and in shape again. "We managed without her so far, but now we have three important games coming up and we need a point guard who can lead the team then. Gerda Heinen, who took turns with Molly at the point tonight, does an admirable job, but is a natural forward and plays out of position at point guard."
ProBuild had a false start, trailing 4-0, but Jasmijn Overbeeke scored 9 straight points to take the Lions to a 8-9 lead. After the first period the Lions led with a minimal margin, 15-16.
In the second quarter ProBuild turned up the defensive heat a little, holding Lely to just 5 points. On the offensive end Ilana Vergunst hit two 3-pointers and Nadine Boesaart drained one to help the Lions pulling to a 20-36 lead at halftime.
In the third period Judy Wright scored 15 of her 21 points, sparking a 21-10 run by Lely to cut the margin to 41-46 at the start of the 4th period, but Jasmijn Overbeeke nailed a trey and Ilana Vergunst had two driving lay-ups to widen the gap to 41-53 in the second minute. After Molly McDowell made it 44-59 the Lions had sealed the win.
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Saturday Lely Amsterdam
Author: Henk Wals
Date: November 6, 2008
Dutch
Saturday the Lions don't have to travel far, as they battle Lely Amsterdam in the Apollohal. Most Lions players live within a 10 minute walk from there.
Lely has won 2-out-of-5 games so far. Not a very good record, considering they signed one of the most productive players in the Dutch competition of the last three years: Judy Wright. On the other hand they lost Dutch star center Naomi Halman, who signed a lucrative contract in Spain.
In the meantime the ProBuild Lions management announced the waiving of American guard Chanel Ross. Coach Laki Lakner is not planning to replace her with another foreign player in the near future, thus creating more room for the young Dutch talents on the team.
Molly McDowell is making good progress recovering from her shoulder injury and is expected to play on Saturday. McDowell will return to the gym where she played for Lely five years ago, and was named MVP of the league at the end of the season. Undoubtedly the Amsterdam audience will give her a warm welcome.
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Lions Rout Binnenland, 80-48
Author: Henk Wals
Picture's: Anneke Wals
Datum: November 2, 2008
Jasmijn Overbeeke posted 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals to lead the Lions to their 6th straight win. ProBuild beat Challenge Sport-Renes Binnenland 80-48 at home.
Anouk Biesters scored 13 points, Belinda Bos contributed 12 and Ilana Vergunst and Marie Hoogstraten both had 10 points.
Molly McDowell returned from a shoulder injury and spent 9 minutes on the floor. Chanel Ross sat on the bench but did not play.
The Lions had a slow start, building a 14-6 lead in the 8th minute, but allowed Binnenland to close the gap to 14-12 at the end of the first period. ProBuild had trouble stopping Jeanette Woodberry, who delivered a strong performance with 22 points in the game.
Woodberry was the only player of Binnenland who posted double figures.
In the second quarter of the game ProBuild held a minimal lead until the 9th minute, 24-23. But Nadine Boesaart and Kris Biesters both drilled a 3-pointer and Gerda Heinen had a steal and a lay-up to extend the lead to 34-23. Jeanette Woodberry made the last basket before the break, 34-25.
In the third quarter ProBuild took complete control. Ilana Vergunst and Belinda Bos both nailed two 3-pointers to spark a 17-2 burst, 51-27.
A trey by Jasmijn Overbeeke and a driving lay-up from Lotte Nijenhuis gave the Lions a 60-31 lead.
In the last quarter ProBuild steadily pulled away, to post a lopsided 80-48 victory.
Coach Laki Lakner said he made some defensive adjustments at intermission. "We were struggling in the first half, giving away some easy baskets. In the second half we did a much better job on defense, and as a result offensively we started to play better too."
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