The Forestville Eagles are now assured of finishing as minor premiers after defeating the South Adelaide Panthers 105-46 at Marion on Saturday night. Jess Fergus had 5 rebounds and 6 assists to go with her game-high 30 points, whilst Jess Mahony and Mia Newley produced signature performances en route to a combined 38 points, 26 rebounds and 10 assists, as the Eagles posted their eighth win from as many encounters. Alex Duncan scored a season high 16 points on 100% shooting, to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, whilst Jamie-Lee Bow continued her break-out season with 15 points and 7 rebounds. The only downside to the Eagles night was an ankle injury to Katherine Harrison in the final 2.40 of the game. Claire Johnson was the best for South with 14 points and 5 assists, whilst Ursula Richards was the only Panther to join her in double figures with 10 points. The loss was the Panthers’ fourth in a row, cementing their position in the bottom three, and leaving them in danger of dropping to ninth position with one round to go.

The beginning of the match saw Megan Kermond and Kelsey Ireland return to the Eagles’ line-up, after missing last week’s win over Centrals. The early going saw Forestville burst out of the blocks, building a 21-5 lead after seven minutes behind some great play from all five starters. Mia Newley, as usual, was a force on the boards, Jess Mahony was doing her thing at both ends of the court, Jess Fergus was prominent from inside the arc, and Alex Duncan and Jamie-Lee Bow were lethal from the three-point line, as South had no answer for the Eagles’ dominance. Forestville then continued to surge over the remaining three minutes, with Bow’s buzzer-beater giving the Eagles a 32-10 advantage at quarter-time.

Forestville showed no signs of letting up during the first half of the second quarter, blowing the lead out to as much as 38 with 3.42 to go in the half, thanks to two free throws from Jess Mahony. However, the Eagles would be held without a field goal in the final 4.14, as the Panthers scored nine of the last ten points of the quarter behind their best play of the match. However, their down first quarter and a half left them still trailing 22-52 at half-time.

The third quarter saw Forestville re-establish their offensive onslaught, scoring 33 points to South’s 9. Their upcourt pressure forced several Panther turnovers, and then when South did get a shot up, it was always a contested jump shot. At the other end, Forestville was getting lay-up after lay-up, with Jess Fergus and Jamie-Lee Bow the beneficiaries, combining for 20 points for the quarter. Jess Mahony was the maestro as always, causing turnovers, grabbing rebounds, and finding her teammates with pin-point passes, as the Eagles built an 85-31 three-quarter time lead.

South stemmed the tide somewhat in the final quarter, but despite resting their stars for the bulk of the quarter, Forestville still outscored the Panthers 20-15. The lead blew out to as much as 66, before South scored the final seven points of the game for a final score of 105-46. The Eagles, on the back of an eight game winning streak, are at home to Norwood next week, who were the last team to beat Forestville way back on May 22. The Flames are currently sitting fourth after a tough victory over Eastern, and have a home final to play for following Southern’s stunning come-from-behind double over-time victory over Woodville. South are away to Centrals, where they will be looking to end their season with a victory.