GABA women’s round 4: Valley snuff out Pumas comeback while Stateside pull away from Olympians

Chapman Valley have held on against a Pumas comeback to hand them their first loss of the season. In round four action of women’s division 1 in the Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association, Pumas fell for the first time this year. losing 42-39 match to Chapman Valley. The match-up was tight to begin, with both teams quickly hitting the scoreboard but Valley pulled slightly ahead. Coming out of a time-out halfway through the first, Natalie Caruana put up multiple quick shots for Chapman Valley to go up 10-3 at the end of the quarter. A Pumas shot to start the second quarter was rejected by Michelle Taylor, who then got the lob at the other end for a score. Pumas managed to rally back with their passing game and a Jaimee Rich bucket got them back on the scoreboard. As the difference in scores started to shrink, Rich got a shot up to make it a two-point game. Both sides started trading buckets and Pumas couldn’t steal the lead as they went into the third quarter down 18-15. However, the side looked stronger coming out of the half and quickly grabbed the lead for the first time since the opening minutes, going on an eight-point run. The Valley’s Taylor managed to stop the bleeding and bring her side back into the game, tying the scores up. The game slowed down in scoring but Valley’s Belle Fisher scored six unanswered points to pull away from the Pumas. The final quarter saw Pumas cut it back to a one-point game but Valley never gave up the lead. Their late-game defence and Fisher getting sent to the foul line with three seconds left saw them walk away with the win. Caruana and Taylor both had 13 points in the win while Millie Gerreyn scored 15 points in the loss. Over on the other court, Stateside pulled out a 58-52 win over Olympians to move top of the ladder. Both sides were putting shots up but Stateside never let go of their lead, as Abbie McDonald had 19 points for the Scorpions, while Gemma Dix put up 24 points in the losing effort.