The MAPFRE MSV Life Women’s League returned for the new calendar year last weekend.
Hibernians solidified their top spot with a win over Starlites, as Betsson Depiro and Caffe Moak Luxol kept up their pursuit with wins over Valletta Dream and Athleta respectively.
STARLITES REVIVE 60
HIBERNIANS 78
(12-22, 23-19, 13-16, 12-21)
League leaders Hibernians imposed their rhythm from the tip to claim a solid victory over Starlites on Sunday.
Hailey MacLeod led the way in scoring with 25 points with Starlites’ Georgia Haverlock just one point away at the other end of the court.
Steffi De Martino and Sasha Lecuyer followed Mcleod with 16 points and 11 respectively, while Philippa Riolo hit 14 for Starlites.
Hibs set the early tempo through fast-break scores from Maria Bonett and De Martino, capitalising on Starlites turnovers.
Haverlock responded by scoring in transition and eventually levelling the game with a three-pointer.
However, MacLeod quickly restored the Paolites’ momentum with six straight points before a Lecuyer four-point streak. Michela Zammit Cordina ran up to the hoop late on but Mcleod made sure it was a 10-point differential at the first buzzer.
Starlites showed greater composure in the second rubber. As Zammit Cordina and Riolo fired in between Haverlock efforts and Catherine Cilia triple.
Despite that, they could only bring the margin down to eight as De Martino led the Hibs offence throughout the quarter to give Hibs a 41-35 half-time lead.
A close third quarter proved instrumental as Hibs began to springboard into a dominant groove.
Although Starlites stayed within reach through free throws and a timely triple from former Hibs guard Jasmine Abela, Charles Bonnici’s Hibs consistently found answers. Josephine Diaby and MacLeod exploited the height mismatch, while De Martino knocked down a crucial three-ball to reassert control and head into the final rubber leading by nine.
Abela and Haverlock attempted to get things close at the restart but any hopes of a late comeback were quickly extinguished.
MacLeod and Diaby dominated inside, while Lecuyer’s transition scoring widened the gap. Haverlock continued to battle, but Hibs remained composed, closing out the game with a deserved victory.
STARLITES REVIVE M. Riolo 2, C. Cilia 5, P. Riolo 14, M. Zammit Cordina 7, M. Fenech, R. Naudi, G. Haverlock 24, J. Abela 8.
HIBERNIANS M. Buhagiar, L. Micallef 4, S. Lecuyer 11, A. Saliba 5, M. Bonett 2, S. De Martino 16, H. Macleod 25, J. Diaby 15.
Referees F. Ciurariu, J. Siefert.
VALLETTA DREAM 64
BETSSON DEPIRO 85
(16-21, 16-23, 13-20, 19-18)
Depiro produced a composed performance to defeat Valletta on Saturday and remain just one point from the top of the standings.
Valletta’s statistical picture revolved heavily around Shautung Yin, who made her debut as a January signing and immediately became the focal point of the offence with a 29-point finish.
Depiro, meanwhile, benefitted from a broader set of contributions, with Nicole Agius, Claire Privitera, and Lovely Sonnier leading the line with double-digits on the scoring chart.
Sophie Abela and Privitera also grabbed 11 boards, following Valletta’s Nicole Montalvo who had 15 rebounds in total on the day.
Depiro struck first through Abela before Agius quickly floated a three-point jumper.
Valletta initially struggled to find rhythm, relying on free throws to remain in touch, but Yin settled her side with drives and a second-chance triple.
Adriana Caballero followed with points at the line and a jumper, yet Depiro closed the opening quarter strongly, leading 21–16.
The second quarter saw Valletta briefly threaten by bringing the deficit to just two points but Depiro went on an 11-0 run to reclaim their momentum and finish the first half up by 12.
After the change of ends, Valletta showed resolve, with Marie Elise Pollacco and Caballero converting inside to halt the Depiro dominance.
But the Mtarfa side maintained their composure to find answers with shots in and around the paint, not only keeping their double-digit lead, but also upping it to 20 with around a minute and a half to go in the third quarter.
The final quarter was a mountain to climb for the Citizens and Claire Portelli made it even tougher as Depiro garnered their biggest lead of the game with a 24-point cushion midway through the quarter.
Nevertheless, Valletta kept pushing with Yin attempting to balance things out.
However, It was to be Depiro’s victory as Samira Deguara closed off the game with a layup just seconds away from the final buzzer.
VALLETTA DREAM S. Yin 29, M. E. Pollaco 12, M. Momcilovic, A. Caballero 13, H. Grixti 5, M. Mifsud, N. Montalvo 5.
BETSSON DEPIRO S. Abela 9, Y. Mangion 3, N. Agius 18, C. Portelli 5, J. Mallia 2, C. Privitera 16, C. Fenech 2, N. Borg 4, L. Sonnier 12, M. Borg 3, S. Deguara 2, H. Farag 6.
Referees M. De Flavia, A. Attard.
ATHLETA 73
CAFFE MOAK LUXOL 84
(18-25, 14-21, 20-18, 21-20)
Luxol delivered a controlled and efficient first-half performance to hold the fort and defeat Athleta in Saturday’s late game.
Olivia Wikstrom carried the load for the Violets and had a 27-points, 13-rebounds double-double to show for it, while Sarah Fenech Pace followed with 25 points and a 73.3% field goal percentage throughout the game.
Athleta gave debut to their new import player Macy Tyler Smith with a 40-minute outing. Smith repaid the faith with a 14-points, 10-rebounds finish.
Smith’s first basket came within 30 seconds of her debut when the American hit from deep to start the scoring.
A series of freethrows on both ends led to the next triple, this time from Luxol’s Eve Axisa, who hit another a few seconds later. Wikstrom then took over to give Luxol a 10-point lead as Sharon Vella tried to keep things close late on in the first quarter.
Luxol tightened their grip in the second period. Wikstrom continued to score efficiently in the paint, while Fenech Pace combined second-chance finishes with strong drives to stretch the margin.
Athleta responded through Vella and Kaya Calleja, but turnovers continued to feed Luxol’s transitions.
A late Athleta rally, sparked by Calleja from range, trimmed the gap slightly, yet Luxol went into the interval leading 46-32.
Wikstrom was again in the front line after the restart but midway through the rubber, Athleta sprung to life, hitting multiple threes and putting pressure on Luxol to eventually bring a 20-point deficit down to 12 ahead of the final quarter.
Athleta made one final push early in the fourth, Smith striking from beyond the arc, albeit being cancelled out by Fenech Pace and Wikstrom efforts. Julia Schembri came to the fore as Jaelle Micallef made it single digits. However, Axisa had the final say to give Luxol a comfortable finale to the game.
ATHLETA J. Schembri 13, N. Vella 6, K. Calleja 11, A. Micallef 11, K. Caruana 1, J. Micallef 3, M. T. Smith 14, S. Vella 11, L. Camilleri 3.
CAFFE MOAK LUXOL G. Carabott 5, E. Axisa 14, L. Fenech Pace 6, R. Fenech Pace 3, E. Abela 2, S. Fenech Pace 25, O. Wikstrom 27, V. Baldacchino 2, S. Sciberras.
Referees F. Ciurariu, W. Lim.
STANDINGS
Hibernians 14; Betsson Depiro 13; Caffe Moak Luxol 12; Starlites Revive 9; Valletta Dream 8; Athleta 7.
