Strong second-half guides Crystal Blues to convincing victory as they remain clear on top in women’s A-grade

Crystal Blues remain four points clear on top of the standings after a powerful second-half performance in round 11 of the Albany Basketball Association’s women’s A-grade competition. In the first round back since their mid-season break, Crystal Blues pulled away from Sonics on Tuesday night to win by 15 points and improve their win-loss record to 9-2. After leading by just two points at half-time, Crystal Blues outscored their opponents by 13 points in the second half to run out convincing victors, 43-28. Crystal Blues dominated play to start the second half and by the midway point of the second period, the margin had ballooned beyond 10 points. Sonics got the margin back into single figures several times, but with five minutes left in the game Crystal Blues pushed the deficit out to a game-high 15 points and that was too much for their opponents. Crystal Blues dominated possession early in the game and led by 10 points before Sonics hit back and responded scoring eight of the last 10 points to reduce the margin to two by the break. Isabella De Giambattista continued her strong form this season, top-scoring for the victors with 16 points and grabbing a number of rebounds while Shianne Arthur chipped in with 11. Alyssa Ward was strong on both ends of the floor for Sonics and led the way with 10 points. Meanwhile, Valkyries were able to hang on in a thrilling one-point contest against a brave Raiders under-18s outfit. Raiders were down nine points at half-time but fought their way back into the contest in the second half, only to fall short by the narrowest of margins 37-38. The win helped Valkyries stay in touch with Crystal Blues at the top of the ladder. Narelle Humphries top-scored for Valkyries with 14 and Indi Weeden was also important with 13 points while for Raiders Abbi Gibson (15) and De Giambattista (9) led the way.