Geraldton women’s basketball round 15: Olympians and Stateside come away with wins in final round

Olympians won the battle against Pumas for second place, scraping through with percentage to steal the second spot in the final round of play in women’s division one of the Geraldton Basketball Association.

The Olympians and Pumas clashed in what was a battle for the second spot on the ladder, with both sides fighting for the final spot in the qualifying final.

Coming into the match, the Pumas had the ladder point advantage despite the teams being tied in wins, due to the Olympians losing points for a forfeit earlier in the season.

The clash between the sides on Monday began with the Olympians taking a commanding lead, as the team went up 8-0 through the start of the first quarter.

The Pumas couldn’t get any shots up until Mikenna Schultz drew a foul late into the first, but they managed just four points in the first quarter.

The scoring struggles for the Pumas continued into the second, despite them scoring the first four points. The Olympians applied pressure on the offensive side of the ball and held an 11-point lead at the end of the half.

Despite a late charge from the Pumas, the early game deficit was too much to come back from and the Olympians held on for the 46-39 win.

With the win Olympians leap over Pumas taking the second spot and securing a second chance in the finals by just 0.16 per cent.

During the win, the Olympians had four players score double-digit points with Gemma Dix (14), Sophie Maines (11), Kylie MacDonald (10) and Prudence Harrison (10). The game’s top scorer was the Pumas Millie Gerreyn with 16.

In the earlier clash on Monday, Stateside got up with a convincing 43-point win over the Trades as both teams already had their spots on the ladder set heading into the round.

Trades struggled offensively, having three quarters where they failed to get above six points, while Stateside had no issue putting points up as they came away with the 69-26 win.

Abbie McDonald had a game high 30 points in the win, while Holly Baynes (10) led the Trades in scoring.

At the conclusion of the regular season, Stateside finished as the minor premiers with a 9-3 record and also had the league’s leading scorer in Abbie McDonald who finished on 253 points, averaging 21 per game.

The finals games are now set for next week, with Stateside and the Olympians clashing for a spot in the grand final, while the Trades and the Pumas go head-to-head in the elimination final.

In the women’s division two games, the Pumas got a close 38-37 win over the Olympians, Chapman Valley grabbed a 54-19 victory over the Hawks and Stateside got up 35-28 over the Trades.