BSBL women’s A-grade: Tornadoes Red keep top-two hopes alive with four-point win over Aces Navy

Tornadoes Red have staked their claim for a top-two finish in the Bunbury Senior Basketball Association women’s A-grade with a 55-51 win over Aces Navy. The two teams came into the game level on premiership points, but with Tornadoes Red’s inferior percentage meaning they needed a victory to keep their hopes of a double chance realistic. A tight tussle was tied up on multiple occasions in a tense final term, but Tornadoes Red managed to get over the line in big part due to the ice cool Sierraleone Simpson, who hit four late foul shots to seal the deal. Both team’s leading scorers — Tornadoes Red’s Brielle Krispyn and Aces Navy’s Isabella Andrew — finished with 13 points. The other fixtures saw fifth-placed Eaton go agonisingly close to stealing a shock upset over second-placed Aces Sky, suffering a heartbreaking 73-69 loss. A brilliant 19-7 third quarter run saw the Eagles take a six-point advantage into the last quarter but an Aces Sky comeback, sealed by a pair of late free throws from Isabella Wilmot, helped them come away with the win. Aces Sky star Grace Lawler hauled her side over the line with 16 points in the final quarter as part of her 28 on the night. The competition’s dominant force Tornadoes Black flexed their muscles against the sixth-placed Conquerors, running out 97-64 winners. The game belonged to dynamite Tornadoes Red scorer Tiahna Sears, who topped her 41-point showing against Eaton last week with an amazing 47-point performance.