Women’s Norwood Flames vs West Adelaide Bearcats
The Norwood Flames (1-5) take on the West Adelaide Bearcats (1-5) in the second game of round 6. The Flames are trying to get some momentum in the season and starting with a win against the struggling Bearcats would go a big way for them. The Bearcats haven’t seen a win since the first round and are looking to end their prolonged 5 game-losing streak.
The game began with West Adelaide finding early offence, eight quick points to only 3 from Polly Turner and the flames. This run was broken as an and-1 from Isabella Stratford ignited the Flames, as they ended up tying up the score and taking the lead. The Bearcats weren’t going down without a fight, they kept the score within 4 for most of the quarter, doing their best to answer any scores from the Flames as their offence continued to roll. Norwood was able to break away at the very end of the quarter, Eva Langton scoring 5 points in the last minute to put the Flames up 7 going into quarter time, 16-23.
The Bearcats refused to go away, as they quickly brought the game back within 4 points. The Flames had to fight every possession to keep the lead but the team remained level-headed, finding good looks on most possessions and capitalising on any mistakes West Adelaide’s defence made. This consistent offence was able to slowly overwhelm the Bearcats who could not match the offensive production, falling further and further behind. Emily Winter hit two free throws extending the lead to 9 before the Bearcats finally went on their own run, slicing their deficit to only 2 points. A timeout from Richard Dickel was able to halt the Bearcats’ momentum and resettle the Norwood troops. By the end of the half, the Flames had almost entirely negated the Bearcats run, leading by 8, 36-44.
The third quarter started with two quick threes for the Norwood Flames before both teams tightened their defences. This defensive focus limited scoring for both teams, neither team was able to find a field goal for over 3 minutes. Over this stretch, the Bearcats reached the charity stripe and narrowed the Flames’ lead. Emily Saunders reopened scoring for Norwood, scoring 4 straight, matching the Bearcats’ production. A defensive adjustment stumped the Flames for the rest of the quarter and the offence pulled to a stop, using this drought to their advantage West Adelaide went on an 11-0 run to tie up the game heading into the fourth, 55-55.
A quick score for West Adelaide made it seem like the third-quarter run was continuing into the fourth. Thankfully, a tip-in from Emily Winter took the lid off the basket and the Norwood offence began to flow freely again. This newfound offence brought some much-needed energy to the team, helping the Flames lock in on the defensive end. This step-up on both ends sparked a massive run to end the game, going 3-15 after the Winter tip-in. This massive run brought the girls a well-deserved win, 60-72.
