ABA 2023-24: Danielle Carne-inspired Denmark flex muscles in preliminary final victory over Valkyries

Denmark were too big and too strong for Valkyries in their 10-point preliminary final triumph on Tuesday night to advance to the Albany Basketball Association women’s A-grade grand final. Led by the league’s reigning three-time most valuable player Danielle Carne, Denmark dominated the court with aggressive rebounding and powerful drives to the basket. Carne scored a floor-high 10 points in her side’s 33-23 victory but it was her tireless rebounding at both ends of the floor that gave her side constant high-percentage looks. Emma Henderson was one of the beneficiaries of Carne’s paint dominance with seven points including one three-pointer late in the final minutes of the match which drove a dagger into Valkyries’ grand final hopes. Rebecca Goodliffe provided constant pressure on the defensive end and contributed six points going forward. Valkyries led for a large part of the first half before Denmark bullied their way around the basket to take the lead. Battling the height and strength of Carne and Summer Stirling, Valkyries were unable to generate open looks at the basket and were forced into pull-up jumpers around the field. Narelle Humphries provided one of the highlight plays of the night with a spectacular euro-step through traffic before converting a lay-up to cut the deficit to just two points late in the first half. Tayeesha and Shanaya Weeden competed hard all night for the Valkyries with six points each. Denmark will be seeking revenge when they square off with their qualifying final rivals Barking Owls in the decider on Friday at 7pm on court seven.