BSBL women’s: Aces Sky outlast Tornadoes Red in overtime thriller, Tornadoes Black win big over Conquerors

Bunbury Senior Basketball League women’s A-grade ladder leaders Aces Sky maintained their undefeated record in thrilling fashion on Friday night, outlasting Tornadoes Red in a one-point overtime win. A three-point bomb from Grace Lawler with only seconds left on the clock looked to have secured victory for Aces, but Tornadoes’ Jasmine Barrett was able to answer back with a driving layup to knot the two teams at 68-apiece. After calling a timeout, Aces could not engineer another score before a late Tornadoes heave from beyond half court fell well short, sending the game into an extra period. The two teams remained neck-and-neck through the early stages of overtime but some big late baskets from Hannah Chatfield and Lawler secured Sky a hard-fought 78-77 win, despite a late long shot from Sierraleone Simpson which again cut the margin back within a basket as the clock ticked towards zero. Aces had another showing with an even spread of contributors but Addison Edwards was particularly important on both ends, scoring a team-high 19 points and making some standout defensive plays. Grace Adams continued her strong start to the season in defeat, scoring 25 points after opening her season with the same tally, while Simpson (16 points) and Barrett (15) were both solid. In the other fixture, Tornadoes Black recorded their first victory of the season, beating Conquerors by 25 points. Having started their championship defence with a loss to Aces Sky before having a bye in round two, the powerhouse outfit got off the mark in a 77-52 result. A large margin looked to be in the offing after Tornadoes limited Conquerors to just seven points in the first quarter, quickly growing their 14-point lead at the first break beyond 20 points in the early stages of the second term. But Conquerors showed plenty of fight in the second half, being only two points in arrears across the third and fourth therms. South West Slammers star Zaya Black led all comers with 22 points in her first game of the season, receiving good support from Javene Fitch (19 points) and Ebony Bilcich (12).