An unbeaten match-up looms as Dunedin women’s club basketball heads into its second round.
Ajax and Varsity both claimed wins on Tuesday night to retain their perfect records on court this year. The only game either has dropped was Ajax’s Covid-19 default to Varsity on opening night.
Ajax made use of a fast start to claim a convincing enough 73-55 win over the Andy Bay Falcons Tahi.
Its trio of Samara Gallaher (20 points), Zoe Richards and Hannah Beede (both 16 points) had too much firepower early, shooting out to a 41-17 lead.
They drove to the hoop well, both in transition and out of its full-court defensive pressure, while also crashing the boards well to create second-chance opportunities.
The Falcons were able to fight back in the second half, notable contributions coming from Brittany Richards (23 points) and schoolgirl duo Ryan Dailey and Alexa Duff (12 and 11 points respectively).
Varsity retained its buffer created by the default with an 81-39 win over the Andy Bay Falcons Rua.
It led 28-10 at the end of the first quarter, before extending its lead to 40 in a devastating third quarter, which finished at 67-27.
Tyler Mitchell top-scored with 17 points for Varsity, while Petra Sparks had 14 and Grace Adams chipped in with 12.
Zoe Melville impressed with 16 points for the Falcons.
In the night’s other game, the South Pac Magic bounced back from last week’s loss to Ajax with a 104-35 win over Varsity Gold.
It was a Magic team beginning to look closer to full strength on Tuesday, having missed several key players last week.
It remains in the mix with Ajax and Varsity in what looks to be a clear-cut top three at this stage.
Letitia Mullaly led the Magic with 22 points, while Tyra Jamieson had 10 for Varsity Gold.
