Geraldton women’s basketball round 12: Abbie McDonald takes over for Stateside in win over top side Pumas

Abbie McDonald took over against the Pumas to jet Stateside into first on the ladder while Trades pulled away in the fourth over Chapman Valley in women’s division one basketball on Monday. In a clash between the top-of-the-ladder Pumas and second-placed Stateside, the game went heavily in the Scorpions’ favour. A quick 12 points from McDonald to start the game had Stateside up by 10 points at quarter time as the Pumas struggled to get a bucket late in the first. Coming out of the break, Lucy Yowke hit a jump shot for a Pumas score, but McDonald responded with back-to-back scores, increasing Stateside’s lead. As the Scorpions began to build up a big lead, Pumas’ Mikenna Schultz tipped out a ball from the opposition’s hand and drove it to the other end for a score. McDonald came back and hit a shot at the buzzer, putting her at 25 first half points and Stateside up by 12 heading into the half. As the second half kicked off, Millie Gerreyn sunk a three for the Pumas, and the side was getting more opportunities but missing the open shots that could have seen them back in the game. Meanwhile at the other end, Stateside’s offence was looking fluid, with a passing passage from Madi Broadhurst, to McDonald finding an open Amy Williamson, who hit the shot. The Pumas continued a heavy pass offence as well, but were not able to capitalise as Stateside started to run away with the lead, getting up to 20 points in front. The fourth is where the game started going in the Pumas’ favour, with the team playing much more aggressively, but their run came too late and Stateside walked away with the 55-45 win. McDonald dealt the majority of the damage with her 35 points, while Kahlia Morgan had 14 in the loss. With the win, Stateside now jump over Pumas to claim top of the ladder, while Pumas who went 6-1 to start the season, have now lost three straight and drop down to second. The other match-up saw a slow start between Chapman Valley and Trades, with each team trading quarters in the low scoring affair. The Trades side, who were hot off their big win against the Pumas last week, got the job done again against a Valley side who have been up and down. Chapman Valley managed to keep it competitive but couldn’t keep up with Trades in the fourth quarter and fell 44-38. Kayley King (13) and Holly Baynes (10) helped their team come out with the victory, while Belle Fisher had 11 points for the Valley.