Cougars annihilate Slammers in worrying result for NBL1 West women’s competition

Parity within the NBL1 West women’s competition continues to wane, on the back of the Cockburn Cougars’ merciless 111-22 victory over the South West Slammers at the Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday night. A result which is likely to grab the attention of Basketball WA and NBL1 West front office officials, the mostly teen Slammers were given arguably the most brutal basketball lesson of their respective careers to date. After Javene Fitch tied the game at 5 inside the opening three minutes of the first quarter, the Cougars seamlessly clicked through the gears and put the game out of reach by midway during the second term. With offensive looks not landing, the Slammers trudged to the locker room trailing 50-10, after having shot a dismal 3/26. Not content with their lead, the Cougars inflicted more misery on the home side in the second half, by jacking up an additional 30 three-point attempts. Much to the frustration of the Slammers players, when they did get their hands on the ball, they were unable to retain possession, with several poor passes punished by the visitors. Even when the visitors led by more than 80 points deep in the final quarter — in what some could view as unsporting given their opposition’s plight, the Cougars ran five three-point sets during their final nine offensive possessions of the game. The sole ray of light during this dark night for Slammernation was the way Slammers coach Peter Nalder maintained his desire to educate and support his players. Regardless of what was transpiring out on the floor, Nalder remained positive and calmly articulated ways in which his team could improve their skills and repel offensive possessions moving forward. Keeper stats Field goals (Cougars 27/51, Slammers 6/33), Three-point attempts (Cougars 13/46, Slammers 1/12), Total rebounds (Cougars 65-37 Slammers), Assists (Cougars 27-6 Slammers), Steals (Cougars 31-4 Slammers), Turnovers (Slammers 44-10 Cougars),