ABA 2023-24: Profound impact of Rebecca Benson on display as Barking Owls prove too strong for Valkyries

The profound impact of former Women’s National Basketball League player Rebecca Benson was again on display as Barking Owls chalked up a fourth win on Tuesday night. Benson has been a star addition to the Albany Basketball Association women’s A-grade competition in the past couple of seasons and she led from the front in the Owls’ eight-point win over Valkyries in round 10. It wasn’t just the 18 points in offence, rather the leadership in defence and creativity up the floor, that allowed the likes of Keely Berry and Dakota Bremner to play significant roles. In one of the best women’s A-grade games of the season, Valkyries came to play and were early leaders until a Benson triple. Both sides scored freely for much of the opening half but Owls took control after a couple of poor offensive sets from Valkyries. Owls led by five and that became eight when Benson nailed her second triple but Valkyries kept coming as three pointers to Tayeesha Weeden and then Shanaya Weeden had them back in it. Shanaya Weeden missed a three-point play opportunity but tied the scores with a contested jump shot before Owls took a slender lead into the break as Berry scored off the glass. However the decisive period in the game came after the break, as Valkyries were left to rue a sloppy few minutes. Owls had the first two baskets of the last half and quickly led by 10 points, a margin that proved too much for the tiring Valkyries. A number of times Valkyries trimmed the deficit to seven or eight points but Owls kept finding answers as Benson came up clutch on more than one occasion. Indianna Weeden got the deficit back to six points inside the final two minutes but Bremner, who had been solid all night, sealed the 50-42 triumph. Benson hit four triples in her 18-point haul as Owls won a ninth game of the season to remain on top of the standings. Berry pushed up the court well in transition and was strong in the keyway to score 18 points, her biggest haul of the season, while Bremner and Casey Gabriel played their part with seven points each. Valkyries would lament several ball handling errors and easy missed shots. Angelina De Giambattista contributed 11 points while guards Tayeesha Weeden (nine points) and Shanaya Weeden (eight) worked hard. Sonics 2 scored an important win in their bid to play finals, securing a nine-point win over the Raiders under-18 development squad in round 10. Phoenix Woods hit 15 points and was well supported by Aleesha Narkle (12) as Sonics 2 recorded a fourth win of the season. Bremner (11) and Tatum Whalley (seven) led the way for Raiders in the 34-43 loss. With just five players Denmark escaped with an 11-point win over Sonics 3. Jayde McHenry top scored with 11 points and Emma Henderson finished with eight as Denmark prevailed 33-22, the result keeping their side well clear in second spot.