Hibs down Luxol

Champions Hibs Medsea maintained their unbeaten record in the women's basketball league after beating Luxol to claim sole leadership in the standings.

Depiro beat Honey Athleta for their second win. In the other match, St James Hospital collected their first victory at the expense of Empire Cinema Stunners, 67-44.

Hibs, who had rebounder Maria Desira missing, had a good start to open a 11-4 lead but Luxol upped their game to share the proceedings till half-time, 28-19.

Balance prevailed after the restart but Ruth Spiteri's Luxol dominated the last minutes to narrow the gap to a single point 38-37. However, Hibs regained composure as the last ten minutes got underway to open a ten-point lead, 49-39.

Luxol were not demoralised and a 10-3 run saw them back in contention only for two consecutive three-pointers by Lucienne Bezzina to dash their hopes. Hibs won 61-53.

Depiro left their best for the last quarter to make sure of victory against Honey Athleta. With Sarah Pace and Rachael Camilleri back, Depiro only led by three points at half-time, 30-27.

Athleta forged ahead in the third quarter 33-30 and with both sides enjoying short good spells, it was Depiro who started the last ten minutes 43-41 ahead. But, any hopes Athleta had of recovering were dashed as Depiro found their range in time to secure a 73-54 victory.

Standings: Hibs 6 (3-0), Depiro 5 (2-1), Luxol 5 (2-1), Athleta 4 (1-2), St James Hospital 4 (1-2), Stunners 3 (0-3).

Top scorers: E. Moore (Luxol) 49, J. Cardona (Hibs) 39, L. Bezzina (Hibs) 38, M. Sciortino (Luxol) 37, R. Camilleri ( Depiro) 36.

Peugeot League: (Friday) 18.15 Athleta vs Hibs. (Sunday) 09.15 St James Hospital vs Depiro; 11.30 Luxol vs Stunners.