South West Slammers women’s side sink to bottom of NBL1 West ladder with 84-64 loss to Goldfields Giants

The South West Slammers women’s side sank back to the bottom of the NBL1 West ladder with a 20-point loss to Goldfields Giants at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium on Saturday night. The road-trip game shaped as a massive opportunity for the Slammers to break a losing streak spanning 35 games, with both teams coming in without a win this season, but the hosts were well on top from the outset, running out 84-64 winners. Turnovers have plagued the Slammers over their last few seasons of struggle, but they did manage to take care of the basketball, giving it away only 12 times during the course of the night. But a new source of frustration emerged for coach Jason Chalk, with his side unable to capitalise on their opportunities to score free points, missing 17 of their 33 attempts from the foul line. A road trip of more than 750km looked to have taken a toll on the lethargic Slammers in the early stages of the contest as they gave up 27 points in the early stages of the contest to trail by 13 points at quarter-time. The Giants’ advantage extended to 18 points at the half, and ballooned as high as 30 points in the third term, but the Slammers did manage to win the final quarter 18-12 to come home with some pride. On her return from a back issue, Bree Chalk was a bright spot for the Slammers, leading the game in scoring with 18 points and grabbing five rebounds, while Zaya Black (14 points, eight rebounds) continued her strong season. The visitors had no match for German Giants import Anne Zipser, who pulled down a massive 20 rebounds, while American guard Lauren Fech led her side with 18 points and Alex Clinch Hoycard hit four three-pointers in a 17-point outing.