Women’s Norwood Flames vs West Adelaide Bearcats
The Norwood Flames (6-9) are taking on the West Adelaide Bearcats (5-10) in the first game of a double-header in round 14. The Norwood team is missing a key player in Eva Langton so the rest of the team will need to step up on both ends to fill her place. The women have a chance to solidify their placement over the Bearcats if they can get a win in this one.
Isabella Stratford opened the game with a quick layup off the jump ball, giving Norwood early momentum. This early score didn’t slow down the Bearcats who came out of the gates aggressive on offence. West Adelaide was able to slice to work the ball into the paint for kickout threes which boosted their offence. Even with the Bearcats rolling early, the combined effort of the Flames was able to hold them off. Isabella Stratford and Emily Saunders were standouts on the offensive end this quarter, giving the Flames a quarter-time lead, 19-17.
Caitlin Shillabeer was assertive on offence to start the second as she put up 5 quick points. The Bearcats were able to answer these scores and the lead remained stagnant. Both teams had very impressive defensive quarters, it was evident that neither team was willing to lose on that end. Emily Saunders was able to break West Adelaide’s defence and scored 6 massive points for the Flames to end the quarter. The Bearcats were almost able to match the production of Norwood, making sure the contest remained close. The half ended, Norwood up 33-30.
Both teams came out of halftime with increased aggression on both ends. This led to a faster tempo game, defence transitioning into offence, players driving to the hoop with a purpose, finding kickouts on rotations and keeping the game flowing. This fast-paced style suited the Bearcats slightly more than Norwood, keeping the game extremely close and having more overall energy. This was highlighted in a play where West Adelaide secured 4 offensive rebounds. This possession was a switching point in the momentum of the game and the Bearcats took the lead not long after. Unfortunately, the Flames weren’t able to counter this push from West Adelaide and the third came to a close, 43-49.
The Bearcats’ momentum carried into the fourth, despite a strong effort from Caitlin Shillabeer who drained two triples to start the final period. West Adelaide was unwilling to let up the tempo of the game, continuing to control the overall pace of play and keeping Norwood on the back foot. They were extremely successful with this strategy as the Flames seemed uncomfortable in stretches of the quarter. West Adelaide took advantage of these lapses and extended the lead to double digits with 2 minutes remaining. The girls tried to make a last-minute run but unfortunately, it was too little too late, and they fell 56-50.
