Olympians hold off gallant Saints in KBBA women’s division one competition

Olympians remain the form team in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association’s women’s first division with seven wins, but the flag race still appears wide open following the squad’s close call on Friday against Saints.

Saints, whose round-10 triumph against the defending premiers is Olympians’ lone blemish of the season, were highly competitive again but were on the wrong end of a 63-61 scoreline.

However, Saints’ ability to bridge the gap as the season has worn on has set the tone for an intriguing end to the qualifying series with five rounds left.

After seven rounds, Olympians appeared to be cruising towards a third consecutive flag as they brushed aside Saints by 18 points.

That result was preceded by victories for Olympians against Saints by margins of 13 points and 26 points.

But Saints stunned Olympians in round 10 by 38 points and with five wins, already have a lock on second place.

In a tight contest last weekend, Olympians’ slight edge in offensive spread was crucial when Kate Sidebottom’s 20 points were backed up by Zaleema Bourne’s 15 points, and 10 points from Talisia Bourne.

For Saints, Chloe Zorzi led the way with 17 points from Elena Scafidi (15 points).

With 203 points and 144 points respectively, Zorzi and Scafidi hold the top two positions in the division for scoring from Sidebottom (142 points).

Round 14 will be played on Friday nigh when CBC — who are still chasing their first win — take on Saints.

The association is hosting a Level 2 scoretable course on March 15, starting at 1pm.

Ladder:

Olympians 22 points; Saints 19; CBC 7.