Maharashtra women’s team defeated Karnataka 65-53 in the Savio Cup All India basketball tournament at Don Bosco, Matunga, on Sunday. It was the first match of the competition that began with women’s home team taking on their southern neighbours.
The competition was a neck-to-neck affair in the first quarter as Karnataka took a four-point lead and kept their opponents scoreless for the first four minutes.
Karnataka lead the first quarter 13-15. However, Maharashtra came back strongly and took the lead in the second quarter. They took control of the game in the second quarter where they outscored the visiting side 20-11 in the period.
This was a result of increasing the pressure by changing their defensive strategy from half court man-to-man, to full court press. Karnataka did manage to counter that with a few fast breaks, but Maharashtra seemed to have found a weakness in the Karnataka game.
Manisha Dange scored a total of 16 points for Maharashtra, most of which came in the first half. She had a very effective jumpshot, which she used to hurt her opponents. After trailing 33-26 at half time, the Karnataka women came back within three points of the Maharashtra score at 48-51. The host team woke up and regained control of the game. The crucial push was given in the last quarter by Shireen Limaye, who top-scored with 21 points and made six points for Maharashtra. Even in defence, she made a priceless contribution by pulling 16 rebounds and marking the area under the basket effectively.
For Karnataka, senior India player LS Savita was a driving force and she scored 16 points. She was well supported by SN Rajeshwari (14pts).
Results (Women): Maharashtra 65 (Shireen Limaye 21, Manisha Dange 16) bt Karnataka 53 (LS Savitha 16, SN Rajeshwari 14)
