Sturt Stun Panthers Early
The Sturt Women took a hold of outright second on Saturday night after dominating South Adelaide early at Marion stadium, holding off the Panthers 53-76 to chalk up their ninth win of the season.
The Sabres stunned the home team early with a 10-0 run from the tip. Isabelle Daniel (11 points) took no time to warm up after nailing an early triple to set up a 16 point advantage at quarter time. Molly Lewis (20 points) also got involved despite two quick fouls which forced her to the bench early.
South got going offensively in the second quarter with recently acquired Alex Ciabattoni drilling 8 of her 12 points in quick succession to kick-start the Panthers offence and ignite some excitement from the crowd. But the home team were unable to slow Sturt’s offensive barrage, as the Sabres’ outstanding ball movement enabled them to extend their lead to 25 points at the half.
The significant leading margin proved to be insurmountable for the South Adelaide Panthers in the second half and Sturt extended their lead to 30 mid-way through the third quarter. Hannah Richards continued to exert her dominance down low on 5/7 shooting from inside the paint. Not to be left out, Molly Lewis showcased her versatility by backing up her 7/7 shooting from the line by knocking down a pretty-looking three, followed by a steal and full court layup to take the wind completely out of the Panthers sails with a quarter and a half still left to play.
However Lauren Gibbons (16 points) seemed determined not to go down without a fight, single-handedly reeling the lead back to 23 after scoring 8 points for the Panthers and dishing out an assist for a Danielle Greaves jumper in the space of three minutes to give the home squad some semblance of hope heading into the final term.
The Sabres again managed to push the margin out to 32 with five minutes left on the clock before Sturt coach Marcus Wong cleared his bench, conceding a greater percentage-boosting win in favour of getting game-time into his younger players in the dying minutes.
The Sabres will be looking to back up the commanding performance next week when they take on North in a second versus third blockbuster at Pasadena stadium, whilst the Panthers will continue their quest for their first win when they visit the Eagles at Wayville stadium next Saturday night.
By Lachlan Sellar
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