The Mandurah Magic women suffered their second straight loss when they went down to Kalamunda at the Ray Owen Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Regina Palusna impressed with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double but it wasn’t enough to will Mandurah to a win as Kalamunda rode the game out for a comfortable 83-60 win.
But unlike the scoreboard suggests, it was Mandurah that started with the hot hand as strong defence helped them escape to an early lead.
Unfortunately for the Magic, they slumped in the second quarter as Kalamunda took control of the game to lead by five points at half time.
Mandurah continued to fight in the third period, but a lack of scoring hurt their chances as the dropped to a 10-point deficit at the final break.
The visitors needed to muster a big final term to come away with a win, but it wasn’t to be as Kalamunda blew the game open in the fourth to cruise to victory.
Palusna’s big night highlighted the stat sheet for Mandurah, while Anita Brown led the way scoring for the team with a game-high 22 points to go with her eight rebounds.
Emma Klasztorny was also productive in the stats columns, flirting with a triple-double as she compiled nine points, seven rebounds and seven steals.
But the trio found it hard to match Kalamunda’s team effort, as Jorjah Smith led the way with 22 points, four rebounds.
The Magic will look to get back to their winning ways when they take on Joondalup next week.