The Johnson Lady Truckers led from the opening quarter on Saturday night, and went on to rout the Bommer G. Operators in the New Providence Women's Basketball Association (NPWBA). They are now just a half of a game behind the Career Builders Cheetahs, for the third spot in the standings.
Latoya Rolle came off the bench to provide the spark for the Lady Truckers in Saturday night's 63-51 win over the defending champs. She was the top scorer for the team as she led them in scoring with 18 points. Rolle added two steals and three assists. Starting guard Shantell Rolle scored 14 points for the Lady Truckers, and Ann Bullard added 12 points. The Truckers also got nine points from Glenda Gilcud, and eight from starting center Janice Williams.
Leading the way for the Operators was Diasti Delancy with 13 points. She also had three steals, five assists and four rebounds. Operators' Head Coach Donnie Culmer believes more effort needs to be put forth by his team, especially in big games.
"You can never take any team for granted and we did that tonight," said Culmer. "We played too relaxed and was under the impression that the teams are suppose to give us a win, just because we are the defending champions. For that reason alone, we are suppose to play harder. This is definitely the best team in the league. As you can see we have made some adjustments, added some new players which brings more speed to our game. We just have to work on closing, and one or two other things as the season progresses."
The Operators tried to go to their bench in the third quarter, hoping to get some points on the board. Sasha Ferguson netted eight points off the bench, and Kaylisa Laing had six. With Ferguson and Delancy in the game, the Operators were able to cut into the Truckers' lead, coming within five, but a crucial technical foul went against the team with just minutes left into the third, killing their momentum.
Off the technical, Shantell Rolle stepped to the free throw line and netted all four free shots, extending the Truckers' lead to nine points. Laing re-entered the game for the Operators, but the Truckers kept pulling away.
Williams said: "It was a good team effort tonight. We work pretty good together and we can see the pieces starting to connect. Anytime we go up against the Operators it is going to be a tough physical game, that's nothing new. All we have to do is remain focussed and calm, and stick to the game plan."
The Operators now drop to 6-2 on the season and the Lady Truckers have a 4-2 win/loss record. The pennant leader is the Super Value Cybots Queens with a blemish-free record. The Career Builders Cheetahs have a win/loss record of 4-1.

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