Fouls fly as Sapphires beat Sharks in Manjimup basketball association match-up

In a remarkable turn of events, the Manjimup Amateur Basketball Association match between Sapphires and Sharks ended with just seven players on the court — and only two in Sharks colours. The fouls starting flying early on in the game and eventually resulted in several players getting sent off the court after fouling out. The Sapphires came out on top over the Sharks by 20 points in the intense match-up on Wednesday night despite a slow start. Early on, Sapphires’ Taiya Barnsby and Sharks’ Chyenne Forrest scored two-pointers amidst several fouls accrued by teammates on both sides. However, the Sapphires were able to get in the lead with a free throw scored by Aysha Peos after a foul from Sharks’ Kiara Little, and a two-pointer by Jade Pedlar started the team’s momentum. The Sapphires finished the first half in the lead, although the Sharks were close behind with a score of 7-5, but it continued to be marred by fouls from both sides. In the second half, the Sapphires gained momentum with Peos, Jade Pedlar and Amanda Roberts taking charge. Players began to foul out in the last 10 minutes of the game, with Sharks’ Jasmine Clarke, Madison Little and a fill-in player all eventually sitting out. This left only Forrest and Kiara Little to play the court for the Sharks, while five players remained for the Sapphires, putting the Sharks on an uneven standing. The Sharks duo did their best to try narrow the lead the Sapphires had while also trying to make sure they didn’t extend it, with Agustina Mata scoring a final goal for the Sapphires in the last seconds to sweeten the team’s victory. The full-time score was 29-9. In the other women’s A-grade matches, Pink Ladies beat Aces 63-26 and Slam Drunks defeated Comets 43-38. In the women’s B-grade matches, Senators beat Aus Stars 43-15, Astrix beat Bush Chooks 25-23 and Magpies Orange beat Magpies Blue 54-26.