The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Academy Stars wished that their junior girls’ game against the Big Red Machine at St Augustine’s College yesterday was over quicker than the regulation time.

The hapless Stars, making their return to the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools after a brief hiatus, suffered a lopsided 59-3 decision to the undefeated defending champions Big Red Machine.

Keisha Tinker, the head coach for the Stars, admitted that while this is a rebuilding year for Bahamas Academy, they have a whole lot of things to improve on.

“It’s pretty good,” said Tinker about their return to the league.

But when asked what they need to work on, Tinker simply stated: “Everything.”

If there was any consolation, coach Anastacia Moultrie said their aim was not to embarrass Bahamas Academy, but rather to get her players fully involved in the game.

“It was a little slow because we didn’t want to score on them because we know what we were expecting from that team,” said Moultrie, who is being assisted by veteran John Todd.

“We tried to sub our players in and out and not really score.”

Moultrie said they didn’t take Bahamas Academy for granted, but instead worked on the basic fundamentals so they can be better prepared when they take on a more experienced team in the league.

The Big Red Machine, substituting five players at intervals, saw 12 of their 15 players score at least two points or more in what has been their biggest offensive production for the year. Antonia Moultrie, in a limited role, still led the Big Red Machine’s attack with a game-high 10 points. Camry Russell followed with eight. A’Jani Culmer, Kai Sweeting, and Shakinah Clarke all chipped in with six apiece, while Kayden Carey, Taejah Johnson, Orielle Johnson, and Sammeka Hepburn all contributed four points. Payrae Thurston helped out with three.

In a losing effort, MiKaela Rollins scored two points and Adriana Clarke scored the only other point for Bahamas Academy.

The game started slowly with SAC taking an early 6-0 lead as Antonia Moultrie got the job done on both ends of the court before Mikaela Rollins put Bahamas Academy on the scoreboard with a jumper off the backboard.

A’Jani Culmer came off the bench with the first five subs and got two consecutive steals that she converted on fast breaks on both sides of the rim, laying up with her left and right hands respectively to extend the Big Red Machine’s margin to 19-2 just before the first break.

In the second quarter, SAC went deep to their bench and Camryn Russell and Christian Smith got two straight baskets as they tightened their defence with a full-court press that the Stars had difficulty breaking.

But Bahamas Academy managed to score again, thanks to a technical call on SAC. Adriana Clarke went to the charity stripe and converted the free throw.

After coach Moultrie pulled in her team, the Big Red Machine went back to the court and went to work on the fundamentals of the game and they turned the heat up the rest of the way as they held the Stars scoreless the rest of the game.

In the third quarter, SAC extended their margin to 27-3 before they went on to post a 43-3 rout going into the final break, thanks to a 12-0 spurt, as Shakinah Clarke paced the way with six points, much to the delight of their cheerleaders on the sideline.

From there, it was simply a matter of what the final score would be in the fourth quarter when they went on a 16-0 rally, including six each from Camryn Russell and Kai Sweeting.