Stateside break away from Pumas as Olympians crush Chapman Valley in Geraldton Basketball Association

Stateside remain the only undefeated team after just two rounds in the women’s Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association. The second round began on Monday night as the defending women’s champions Stateside took on Pumas. But the champions would once again come out on top strutting their stuff in the second half to win 60-43. It was a tight affair after the first half with just seven points in it as the Pumas were battling hard against a Stateside team arguably having the better running. Mikenna Schultz led the way for the Pumas and finished as their top scorer with 15 points, the only Puma player to reach double figures. While neither side was overly efficient in their shooting which kept the margins between the sides small, the Pumas were noticeably at a height disadvantage on the court. As the game wore on it proved to be a key factor as Abbie McDonald, the tallest player on the court, marshalled her side and was constantly under the rim to grab offensive and defensive rebounds. She finished with 13 points and was powerful in the second half, but it was Charlotte Kennedy who led the scoring once again with 19 points, with Abby Maynard in support with 17. Sienna Forsyth and Emily Gee had 9 points each for the Pumas, but they had little luck in the second half with their shots not dropping and as the margin grew increasingly desperate shots were taken exacerbating the issue. It leaves the Pumas with 1-1 as Stateside become the only team yet to lose a game at 2-0. In the later fixture Olympians came up against Chapman Valley and the Octopuses were far to strong for the Warriors with a 75-39 trouncing. The early game it was clear to see the Olympians were the better side dominating possession of the ball and making more plays. But the scoreboard did not reflect that as the Olympians just could not get their shots to drop, having just seven points after the first 10 minutes. There was also plenty of fouls early on which disrupted the flow allowing the Warriors to not get punished on transition. But they were always on the backfoot and Gemma Dix was everywhere for the Olympians finishing with a game-high 22 points. Despite being down on players, having just one on the bench, five Olympians scored double figures compared with the Warriors’ three, with their bottom five players combining for just three points. It left Chapman Valley with work to do after two straight losses while Olympians moved into second thanks to a hefty percentage boost. In the second division, Pumas won 46-37 thanks to 16 points from Millie Gerreyn. Chapman Valley won a low-scoring encounter against Olympians 39-24, with Teresa Tomlinson’s 16 points proving the difference. Men’s round two action started on Tuesday night with Olympians playing Chapman Valley while Stateside battle the Hawks and Trades take on Pumas in Wednesday’s game.