The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With another blowout victory, the Johnson’s Lady Truckers put the finishing touches on their fifth New Providence Women’s Basketball Association championship crown at the DW Davis Gymnasium last night.

Behind the 1-2 punch from Latoya Rolle and Shantell Rolle, the Lady Truckers rolled past the Super Value Cybot Queens with a 94-77 rout to complete the best-of-five series with a 3-1 advantage.

And as they hoisted the trophy that they received from league president Mynez Cargill-Sherman, sponsor Sherman Johnson said they just came back to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.

“I gave everybody a chance, now I came back to take what was mine,” Johnson said. “The girls were hungry for it. We were overdue. Now it’s back with us again.”

Lady Truckers’ coach Penial Bain said after losing out last year, he made a promise to the players that they will bounce back and take it this year.

“Our mission all year was to win the championship,” he said.

“We won the pre-season tournament and I told them I’m not concerned about the regular season. When it comes down to the playoffs, then we will shine. Last year we didn’t have Ann (Bullard) in the playoffs and I told them once she’s here and with the addition of Suzette (McKenzie), I know we will do it this year.”

The Lady Truckers had too many weapons to go and their experience paid big dividends as they managed to take the youthful Cybot Queens out of their game.

After a slow start that saw the Lady Truckers open a 15-11 lead at the first break, the Cybot Queens watched as the margin increased and they eventually found themselves trying to catch up. With about six minutes left, the Lady Truckers were up by 10 (27-17) thanks to McKenzie’s three-pointer.

By the end of the first half, the Lady Truckers were in full control with an 11-point lead (43-32).

Throughout the third quarter, the Cybot Queens were able to get back into the game, trimming the deficit to 62-54 at the final break.

But the combo of Latoya Rolle, Suzette McKenzie and Shantell Rolle started to shoot the lights out and they pushed their lead to 20 (76-56)å before Tracey Lewis scored on a lay-up to stop the Cybot Queens’ scoring drought.

The Cybot Queens, who decided to take the ball inside, slowly cut the deficit to about 10 over the next four minutes.

But the last two minutes belonged to the Lady Truckers, who worked the ball around and milked the time off the clock as they held on for the win.

“It feels good. I came over to play with this team because they have a lot of veterans and I know I could fit right in,” said McKenzie, who last celebrated the thrill of victory three years ago with the Bommer Gee Lady Operators.

“It feels brand new. Every championship is brand new. I really like this team.”

Nobody was more thrilled about the victory than Latoya Rolle. After the game, she climbed up on the rim and cut the net down.

“I felt great. I just want to give God thanks for allowing us to come together as a team and get this victory,” she said. “I feel great about myself because I played very well. I didn’t allow the referees or the opposing players to get into my head. I scored my points and went to the basket. I had a lot of faith. It feels great to be a champion again.”

Latoya Rolle scored 25 points with 15 points to lead the potent Lady Truckers’ offensive attack.

Shantell Rolle had 23 points with five rebounds and three steals, while Janice Williams powered her way inside for 17 points. McKenzie contributed 12 points with seven rebounds and four assists and Glenda Gilcud added seven points with seven assists. Bullard only had five points, but she had nine rebounds and a block shot.

For the Cybot Queens, Melisha Peterson, who helped to fuel their late rally, had 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and as many steals.

Vernisha Moss stepped up down the stretch to score 20 points with 14 rebounds and Tracey Lewis added 18 points and six rebounds.

When asked about what went wrong with his team, Cybot Queens’ coach Wayde Watson answered with his own question: “You didn’t watch the game?”

After he contained his composure, he said: “It is what it is. We got beat.”

Watson, however, didn’t mince words on exactly how he felt about the series.

“I think I need to hold a referee’s clinic so that they can call the game objectively,” he said.

“The first quarter, they put our leading scorer in foul trouble. It is what it is. There was no way that we could have played with them. The girls tried, but they just beat us tonight.”

The season is now done and Cargill-Sherman, who returned to office after being the initial president of the league, said it was a lot of hard work with a lot of challenges, especially with regard to finances.

But she said that because of the lack of funding, the Lady Truckers will not have a chance to go to Bimini next week for the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s National Round Robin.