Pumas hand Stateside a loss to start their season in the women's division 1 of the GABA while Trades get a win

Reigning premiers Stateside went down in their first game of women’s division 1 in the Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association. The champions had the bye in round one and came into round two going up against Pumas, but after losing just one game all of last season, Stateside fell 44-43 in their opening match on Monday, October 16. The match-up was tight early, as Pumas scored first, but the game was quickly tied up and stayed even before Charlotte Kennedy sunk a three for Stateside. Just before the end of the first, Jaimee Rich was fouled for the Pumas and sent to the line but missed her free throws, Lucy Yokwe followed up with the rebound and found Kahlia Morgan for two. Stateside came out in the second scoring, as Kealee Poland and Charlotte Kennedy got back to back baskets. The Pumas stopped the bleeding with a fast-break score from Mikenna Schultz, but Stateside Kalirra Tesling helped quickly build their lead back to 19-13 at the half. In a bizarre play to start the second half, Yokwe was fouled and sent to the line for Pumas, but after missing her second, Stateside’s Kelsie Crowe grabbed the rebound and shot it into the Pumas’ basket, giving them two points. Pumas started to gain momentum with consecutive scoring, and tied the game up at the end of the third quarter. Rich sunk a three to start the quarter and gave the Pumas a lead for the first time since the beginning of the game. The sides went back and forth before Yowke made a tough lay-up, then blocked the Stateside’s shot at the other end. Kennedy managed to make it a two-point game, but the Pumas still had the lead and Morgan was fouled and sent to the line with four seconds left, ending the game as Pumas pull off the 44-43 come back. Morgan and Rich led the Pumas in scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Kennedy dropped 22 points for Stateside. In the other match, Trades secured their first win with a 55-47 victory over Chapman Valley. Trades led the entire match, outscoring the Valley in the first three quarters to pull out the win. Georgia Farley led the winning side in scoring with 20 points to her name, while teammate Holly Baynes had 12, and Natalie Caruana scored 16 points for the Valley. In the women’s division 2 competition, Trades held on to get a 32-31 win against Pumas, while Stateside dominated over the Hawks in the 50-19 blowout, and Chapman Valley got up 38-28 over Olympians. Round two for the men’s division 1 started on Tuesday, October 17 as Olympians took on Chapman Valley.