BSBL 2023: Experienced unit Tornadoes Black deliver reality check for Aces Navy

Tornadoes Black brought the band back together for Friday night’s Bunbury Senior Basketball League women’s clash against Aces Navy at the South West Sports Centre — and for Navy’s emerging youngsters, their return signalled an unsavoury dirge. Led by Ebony Bilcich, Tiahna Sears and Kelly Bastow, Black secured an emphatic 87-54 win over the competition’s early league leaders. Tornadoes Black have set the pace over the past five seasons in the women’s competition, primarily due to experience and stability within the starting five. Although some of these experienced stars are growing older, Friday night’s performance again provided a timely reminder of how brilliant they still can be. Bilcich, who has played a variety of roles at both club and SBL level in the past, relished her opportunity to produce offensively from deep, draining four shots from beyond the arc. New recruit Tiahna Sears again dropped solid numbers, while Bastow’s experience in directing traffic and guiding offensive sets proved too much for Navy’s youthful defence. Earlier in the evening, Tornadoes Red, despite suiting up with only one substitute on the bench, easily defeated the Eaton Eagles 100-35, with versatile athlete Jasmine Barrett impressing. In the men’s competition, Aces Sky notched up one of the first scalps of the year, knocking off Tornadoes Black 115-99. Results A-Men: Aces Sky 115 (Cooper Metcalfe 24 points, Simon Slater 22) d Tornadoes Black 99 (Callum Heap 23, Travis McNaughton 16), Bulls Maroon 108 (Travis Durnin 43, Cody Hill 29) d Tornadoes Red 92 (Devan Craig 28, Brodie Morris 17), Bulls Gold 129 (Byron Jonker 37, Jayden Crudeli 24) d Aces White 66 (Noah Inman 17, Tyson Jacob 13), Conquerors 126 (Jaikie Hastie 32, Jordan Yarran 26) d Eaton 83 (Dylan Moir 23, Lauchlan Galbraith 17) A-Women: Tornadoes Red 100 (Jasmine Barrett 27, Sophia Tomas 23) d Eaton Eagles 35 (Maddison Coyne 19, Charlotte Lofgren 6), Tornadoes Black 87 (Tiahna Sears 33, Ebony Bilcich 19) d Aces Navy 54 (Grace Adams 13, Isabella Andrew 11), Aces Sky 74 (Catherine Hough 25, Molly Wicks 13) d Conquerors 44 (Karinda Farrant 25, Emily Brough 7)