IT was the penultimate week of the Hamilton Basketball Association senior season with preliminary finals setting up next week’s grand final match-ups.

St Mary’s Black and Minders Sportscene faced off in the Women’s Division 1 clash on Tuesday night with Black finishing strong to claim the win and grab the remaining spot in the season decider.

The game started with both teams generating some scoring chances, but it was Black which edged clear, taking a three-point lead into half time.

Black went on to dominate the second half, outscoring Minders 27-14 to win the game, 40-24.

Maddox Ryan topped St Mary’s Black’s scoring with 11 points, while Zoe Hill did her best to keep Minders in the contest, putting up nine points.

Men

St Mary’s Orange d Minders White

WEDNESDAY night saw St Mary’s Orange and Minders White face-off in the Men’s Division 1 preliminary final, with the first half decisive for the contest.

Orange burst out of the blocks, with Deacon White leading the way, as the team dominated the first half to go into the break with a 29-9 lead.

White bounced back in the second half, outscoring Orange by seven points, but it was not enough with Orange eventually winning through to the decider, 43-30.

Josh Miller was the standout for Minders with 15 points, while White put up a game-high 17 points for the winners.

Other grades

Tuesday

Women’s Division 2

Minders White 33 (Ashlea Stone 11) d Minders 30 (Jacqui Robinson 10)

Women’s Division 3

Minders Blue 26 (Lily Bester 12) d Sooty Owls 25 (Chloe Frost 13)

Women’s Division 4

Storm 38 (Olivia Smith 22) d Minders Blue 23 (Belinda Roden 9)

Wednesday

Men’s Division 2A

Barber Boys White 43 (Diesel Slater 15) d Barber Boys Black 33 (Caden Walter 18)

Men’s Division 2B

Boobook Owls 42 (Toby Barrie 12) d Minders Red 28 (George Clark 10)

Men’s Division 3

Coasters 38 (Haavard Christie 16) d Redbacks 33 (Lee Hatherell 15)