BSBL: Eaton Eagles defeat defending women’s A-grade champions Aces Sky to claim first victory of season

Eaton Eagles opened their Bunbury Senior Basketball League women’s A-grade campaign in winning fashion at South West Sports Centre on Friday night, beating defending champions Aces Sky by four points. The Eagles — who have returned to the competition’s top division this season but had a bye in the first round last week — recovered from a deficit as large as nine points in the first half to claim a 49-45 win. Only one point separated the teams at the last break before a final frame which saw the Eagles restrict Sky to only eight points while adding 13 themselves, the majority of which came through Charlotte Lofgren (13 points) and Hannah Chatfield (12). Ella Edwards and Charlotte Castle scored 14 points apiece for Aces. In the night’s other contest, Tornadoes Red produced a fast finish to overcome Bulls by 10 points. Red found themselves behind by four points in the early stages of the final term but closed out the contest on a 17-3 run to come away with a 60-50 victory, their first of the new season. The winners had only six players available against their opponents’ nine but received solid contributions from each, with Sierraleone Simpson (14 points), Grace Adams (13), Alyssa Kjellgren (11) and April McLennan (10) all scoring in double figures. Recently-retired South West Slammers veteran Courtney Bayliss led the way with 19 points for Bulls, keeping herself at the top of the league’s scoring charts, having managed 36 across the two rounds to date.