Women’s Norwood Flames vs Sturt Sabres
After the 0-2 start to the season, the girls are looking to right the ship with a win against the 1-1 Sturt Sabres. The Sabres loss came in their last game against the undefeated North Adelaide Rockets who the Flames also lost to in round 1. The girls have both imports on the roster now and are looking to get the first win of the year as a squad.
Sturt came out of the gates firing going on a 9-2 run to open the quarter before a big three from Eva Langton gave the Flames momentum, sparking a jump in defensive intensity leading to easy baskets and closing the deficit to 2. Mia Walker-Roberts of the Sabres came into the game and brought instant offence scoring 5 straight points for her squad. A strong drive from Mia Parkin ended the quarter 14-18.
Sturt hit a three on their first possession before Emily Saunders scored 4 straight for Norwood, offence looked like it would be coming easy in the second, but both teams emphasised their defensive efforts for the rest of the quarter. Establishing strong interior defences, forcing drawn-out possessions and difficult shot attempts from both teams. Tip-ins and turn-around mid-range shots became the only offensive scores for a long time before a few driving lanes began to open, unfortunately for the Sabres. These led to late rotations and fouls or open kick-out threes which gave Sturt a big offensive push late in the quarter, capped off by a buzzer-beating layup, ending the half 29-36 Sturt’s way.
After a disappointing end to the half, Richard Dickel rallied the troops and opened the second half with a 7-0 run tying up the game on a tough finish by Isabella Stratford. Sturt responded, with force, amounting to a 9-0 of their own, hitting a few kick-out threes after strong drives to the rim. Unfortunately, this momentum held true for the rest of the quarter, the Sabres extending this run to 2-17 and ending the quarter with a 38-53 lead.
To start the 4th Tahlia Griffiths and Paige Pedros had 4 quick points each and it looked like Sturt was continuing their momentum. Eva Langton answered, getting 4 of her own which woke up the Flames’ offence. The offensive punch wasn’t enough to win the game, losing 58-72. But did win the quarter ending the game on a somewhat positive note.
