Kayley the King as Trades stun Olympians to open up Geraldton basketball ladder as Stateside crush Warriors

The Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association is no longer a two-horse race after Trades stunned the Olympians to consign them to back-to-back defeats. The Trades’ outstanding defence held the Olympians to their lowest score of the season in a 69-45 win. The Olympians were coming off their first loss of the season to Stateside last round and would have been hoping to rebound and possibly retake their spot atop the ladder against Trades, who have been outstanding this season. Monday night proved Trades were one of the best around, especially with Kayley King on the court. Playing just her fourth game this season, King was deadly from the field on her way to a game and season-high 33 points. She helped Trades to a good start as the Olympians once again looked flat, not able to match Trades’ energy in the opening exchanges. King hit four first-half threes as the Trades’ better passing game allowed them to make up for their height disadvantage. The Olympians were caught in transition far too often, unable to generate attacking plays while being punished on the counter as the Trades were quick to pounce on errors. Chanelle Wennekes, back in the side for her first game since round four, was a welcome addition alongside King. Wennekes drew the fouls to grab points from the line and helped Trades to a 10-point lead at half-time. Gemma Dix hit a three with a second to go in the half to give the Olympians something to hold on to. However, Trades continued to grow their lead in the second half. They were elite from beyond on the arc with King finishing with nine three-pointers — the most for any player in a single game this season. The Trades had 15 threes in total, the best for any team this season. The Olympians continued to struggle on offence with their shots and star Gemma Dix was held to only eight points as they never threatened to challenge the lead. Along with King’s 33 points, Wennekes finished with 13 and Mikala Van Niftrik had 11. Kylie MacDonald was the best for Olympians with 12. In the later game, Chapman Valley Warriors were outclassed by Stateside in a 95-42 thrashing. The Warriors — still without a win this season — were the underdogs against the ladder leaders especially after their performance to knock over the Olympians last round. The gap in quality was evident early as the Scorpions jumped out to a 20-point lead inside the first half with Abbie McDonald spearheading both ends of the court. She had 19 first-half points and was their go-to on offence while she was the key centre in defence as the Warriors lacked the resources to compete aerially. The Warriors’ troubles were compounded after Libby Shuttlewood took a nasty head knock just before half time which saw her sit out the rest of the match with a neck complaint. The contest was effectively over at the half with the Scorpions leading 41-18. The second half was much of the same as the first as Stateside continued to streak away. McDonald posted a season-best performance with 33 points all coming inside the paint. Charlotte Kennedy finished with 15 and a game-high three three-pointers with Kealee Poland (14) and Liberty Graham (10) also posting double digits. Belle Fisher fought hard for Warriors who continued to fight out the game to the end with 15 points while Lilli Worth finished with 13 points.