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Young Tornadoes tame SBL-hardened Bulls in tight win

Headshot of Justin Fris
Justin FrisSouth Western Times
Catherine Waycott bounds down the court for the Bulls during Tuesday night’s surprise loss.
Camera IconCatherine Waycott bounds down the court for the Bulls during Tuesday night’s surprise loss. Credit: Justin Fris

Tornadoes Red managed to hold off a fast-finishing Bulls 43-41 in Tuesday night’s Bunbury Basketball Association clash at the South West Sports Centre.

After seemingly being in control of proceedings at the half, a youthful Tornadoes Red side was forced to hang tough, as the SBL-hardened Bulls made a late run to try to steal an unlikely victory.

Aside from an early 8-2 offensive run by Tornadoes Red, scoring was at a premium in the first quarter, as both sides were unable to land several quality offensive looks.

However, one variable, the inclusion of Tornadoes Red star Cian Parsons, definitely leaned the balance of power in her side’s favour, as it provided them some valuable grunt under both ends of the glass.

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Previously this season, the Bulls have used young South West Slammers ace Skye Palmer as the team’s point guard, however in this game, they elected to go with the experienced Anita Reca which allowed Palmer more freedom in the paint.

Even with the margin ballooning into double digits midway during the third term, Reca was fearless in her pursuit of pulling her team of the canvas, as she burrowed in at every opportunity to get a defensive stop.

This perseverance was infectious, as the Bulls incredibly hit the lead late in the final quarter, on the back of a cleverly taken shot inside the paint by Catherine Waycott (14 points).

Unfortunately for the Bulls, there was a sting in the tail, with Hannah Rogers bobbing up to put her side in front, which was enough to get them over the line.

Second-placed Aces Sky were also given an almighty scare during their 70-68 win over the Dunsborough Oilers. After seeing off a spirited opening, the Abbey Hall-inspired offence began to click and they led by more than 10 points but were forced to dig deep as the Oilers came back convincingly.

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