Saturday April 17, 6:30pm at Adelaide Hills

Eastern has undergone a generational change this year, with Tess Madgen returning home to take the reins of one of the youngest teams in Central ABL history. Madgen is the latest in a string of SA juniors that had early success in the Central ABL after returning from the AIS (that lists includes Cayla Francis, Mia Newley and Nikita-Lee Martin), but none have had the immediate impact of Madgen. At 19 years old, she currently leads the league in both scoring (28.0 ppg) and rebounds (14.0 rpg), and her 4.0 assists per game ranks her at 4th in that category. She thrives in the role of a leader, and her determination to succeed will help the Mavericks reach greater heights than in recent years.

Amber Land is the focal point for Centrals, and as a result, is also the focus of all opponents. At 6'2", the Mavericks will find her dificult to contain, especially without a standout centre in their lineup. Adding to the challenge, Eastern is without Steph Talbot and Alex Wilson, whose duties with the Under 18 SA Country state team end on the day of this game.

Veteran point guard Jo Robbertsen, now in her 12th season, has been one of the most consistent performers of this league, averaging between 7-9 points per game, 3-5 rebounds per game and 1-3 assists per game in each of the last 5 seasons.

17 year old point guard Elizabeth Oermann is likely to have the matchup on Robbertsen. Oermann, in her third year in the league, started the season with a 16 point haul against Norwood at 45%, and gets to the foul line more than anyone in the league apart from Madgen. In this game, she'll need to do both, to help take the load off Land.

If there's any doubt as to how much Madgen and Land are relied upon by their respective teams, they rank 1 and 2 in the league in field goal attempts. The team that can best shut down the opposition star will go a long way towards winning the game.