Stateside secure minor premiership while Pumas run down Trades

Stateside Scorpions stamped their authority on the Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association as they swept aside Olympians on Monday. It was a top-of-the-table clash with the two sides splitting results in previous meetings and Olympians needing to win to have any chance of securing the minor premiership. Instead, the Scorpions clinched top spot with two rounds to spare in the 68-41 victory. It was a tight start as the teams traded baskets before Scorpions began to edge away, Charlotte Kennedy leading the way with 11 first-half points. Allee Bartlett added eight and since playing her first division one game last round she has settled in nicely as a reliable shooter to complement Stateside’s talls. Olympians managed to at least hang on to the coat-tails thanks to Gemma Dix who was almost single-handedly trying to drag her team along with 15 points in the first half, nine from beyond the arc as they trailed by six at half-time. But it was an unsustainable game-plan unless Dix could find support from elsewhere with others having an off-night in the shooting department. Dix was shut down and so was Olympians’ scoring as they added just six points in the second half with zero from Dix. Stateside were never pressured but Abbie Mcdonald enjoyed the second half with 15 points to finish with 19 as Kennedy grabbed 17 and Bartlett 11. It puts them three games clear at the top and secures them the minor premiership as they look likely to go back-to-back this season. In the later game Pumas took on Trades, with both teams battling to see who would finish third and avoid Stateside in the first round of finals. Pumas won 49-47 to leapfrog Trades into third. But it was a dour affair to begin with as both teams struggled with shooting and plenty of fouls, each also struggling at the free throw line. After 10 minutes they both had just nine points before Trades started to edge away as they were able to find the basket with a touch more consistency. They led 22-16 at half-time, with Pumas’ Chase Joseph the top scorer with five points as players across the board were struggling. Without Kayley King, Jessica Guidice-Nairn took the reigns as the Trades’ main weapon and, after enduring a frustrating opening half struggling against Jaimee Rich, she began to work her way into the game. Pumas probably had more looks of the two sides and once they started to make their shots the tide began to turn their way. Rich looked far more comfortable from the field after struggling from the free throw line while Sienna Forsyth managed to tap into her rich vein of recent form. The two combined for 21 points in the second half as they chased down Trades who ran out of steam trying to defend as their scoring dried up. They are now locked on eight points each but Trades still have the upper hand with a game in hand over Pumas.