Stateside heavy favourites to complete title three-peat after late charge against Olympians

Stateside Scorpions have booked another Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association grand final date after charging away late in their qualifying final against Olympians. Despite trailing at the half, Stateside tore away on the home stretch to record a comfortable 51-39 win on Tuesday night. The Scorpions have once again been the premier side in the competition this season and came into the final on the back of five straight wins. They started strongly as their two sharpshooters Abbie McDonald and Amy Williamson hit the first seven points, but repeated foul trouble let Olympians into the game with six straight points from the line. McDonald hit a second three to get the lead back but a strong finish to the quarter by the Olympians gave them a slender two-point advantage. They grew the lead out to six points with back-to-back buckets from Gemma Dix before they were given more free points from the line, but the Scorpions’ superior field shooting kept them in touch and they were trailing by five at the half. However, they still struggled on defence as Olympians burst out of the blocks in the second half to get the lead into double digits. But as she did in last year’s grand final, Shanelle Jetta got a hot hand to kickstart a big Scorpions run as they finished the quarter with 13 straight points to take a three-point lead into the final break. Olympians stemmed the bleeding as the fourth quarter saw the teams exchange free throws but crucially Dix picked up a fourth foul and with just one player on the bench, it meant she would have to tread carefully for the remaining eight minutes. With Olympians’ best defensive weapon forced to tip-toe around the court, Stateside took full advantage and were up by seven after a Williamson three. Olympians would not score another point from open play, adding only free throw points, and they were never able to close the gap, eventually falling to the 12-point defeat. McDonald was the clear standout with 22 points, while Dix did her best for Olympians with 13 points before picking up a fifth foul late in the game. More worryingly, the Olympians scored nearly half their points from the line (19) and it is hard to see how they will be able to overcome the Scorpions’ field shooting should they meet again in the decider. Olympians face Pumas in the preliminary final on Monday night.