Women’s Norwood Flames vs Eastern Mavericks
Coming off another disappointing loss in game 4, starting the season off 0-4, the Flames women are looking to come out of this game with their first win. The Eastern Mavericks have won 2 straight games, 2-2 overall, they want to extend their winning streak and send a message to the league that they are in playoff contention this season.
The first quarter opened with a bang, a 7-0 run to begin the game for the Flames. This kind of instant offence put them in a position to hound the Mavericks on defence and force mistake after mistake. This led to a huge quarter for Norwood, a hot shooting stroke from 3 helped them establish a big early lead. The suffocating defence being put on display was just as dominant, only allowing the Mavericks 3 made shots in the quarter whilst forcing 5 turnovers. One of the best defensive quarters so far in the season led the girls to a big 20-8 lead going into quarter time.
The second half opened with another big run, 9-0. The sheer dominance on both ends of the court was clear as the scoring came easily, with open threes, easy driving lanes and effective dump-off passes to cutters. Leading the way early in this quarter was Eva Langton whose hot shooting ignited a lot of energy from the Flames. The Mavericks tried to stifle the run but couldn’t create any meaningful results on their offences, the rotations and adjustments from the Flames defence was too overbearing resulting in drawn-out offences or rushed possessions. The end of the quarter brought a first-half lead, 36-18.
The third quarter in this game was one of, if not the, most dominant quarters of the entire NBL1 season. Emily Saunders and the Flames brought impactful offensive motions and tireless defensive intensity to blow the Mavericks out of the water. The free-flowing motion-based offence allowed open looks for shooters, created exploitable mismatches and forced difficult rotations for the Mavericks’ defence. Using these advantages the Flames picked said defence apart leading to an absolute demolishing quarter, the lead going into the final period stood at 61-23.
The final period started with the Mavericks shoring up on defence, giving the Flames some trouble early in the quarter. These troubles didn’t last forever as the Flames again caught fire, going on a massive 14-point run. The team stepped up massively and every single player contributed to not only breaking down the improved Mavericks’ defence but also enforcing their will on the Mavericks’ offence, allowing no easy scores and getting nothing but good looks on their end. The girls looked unstoppable again in this quarter, blowing out the Mavericks 86-36 in an amazing win.
