Eastern Mavericks v Norwood Flames
Saturday, April 16, 6:30pm at Adelaide Hills Recreation Centre
Two teams with contrasting ambitions will meet in the first match played in the hills this week.

The Eastern Mavericks have been outscored 219-66 over their first two matches against Sturt and West, while the Norwood Flames are soaring high after a two great wins over Sturt and Southern.

The Flames smashed the Tigers at Morphett Vale 89-51 last week, easily accounting for the side that knocked them out of last year’s finals series.

Norwood outscored their opponents 23-4 in the fourth quarter, won the rebound count 55-31, won the points in the paint count 46-16, gave up just 17 baskets at 25 per cent shooting, and forced 24 turnovers.

Four players scored in double figures for the Flames, including Nadine Payne (18), Rachel Herrick (17), Phoebe Custance (14) and Jess Foley (13). This quartet also combined for 30 rebounds.

Eastern were outscored 52-5 in the first half, and 78-14 over the first three quarters. The only quarter where they were remotely competitive was the fourth, which they lost by 8. The Mavs will be hoping to have Tracey Beatty available for this one; the WNBL player has not played for her Central ABL side in either of the two games.

After torching a quality side for a blowout victory, expect a mammoth win for Norwood.

Eastern have already suffered their worse less ever this season; things could be even worse on Saturday.

North Adelaide Rockets v West Adelaide Bearcats
Saturday, April 16, 6:30pm at Hillcrest Stadium
The North Adelaide Rockets will host the Bearcats in this weekend’s only matchup between two undefeated sides.

The two teams combined have defeated last season’s bottom four sides. The Rockets have beaten Woodville by 8 and South by 11, while West has got up against Eastern by 81 and a much-improved Centrals by 12.

Last year’s Central ABL All-Star-Five member Nikita-Lee Martin has been in outstanding form, averaging 23 points on 61 per cent shooting, 6.5 rebounds and 5 assists over the first two games.

Trudy Holland, Ashlea Vordermaier, Meg McLeod, Kerrin Webber and Alana Nairn have also been putting up good numbers. Overall, only three Bearcats are shooting below 50 per cent.

The area of weakness for West has been their turnovers, coughing the ball up 60 times over the season’s first 80 minutes.

Jo Hill has provided North with excellent production, averaging 17.5 points and 14 rebounds. No other Rocket is averaging more than Shannon McKay’s 8 points, with the team relying on different players outside of Hill in each game.

West’s hot shooting has to slow down at some stage, and against a Rockets team that has given up just 118 points over their first two outings, this could be the night.

North have done a much better job taking care of the ball than the Bearcats, giving it up 18 less times across the two games, giving them an advantage in this area.

This will be a close one, and could go either way. In the end, I think West will pull off a tight victory.

Southern Tigers v Woodville Warriors
Saturday, April 16, 6:30pm at Morphett Vale Stadium
The Southern Tigers will be hoping to bounce back from their disappointing Round 2 shellacking from Norwood when they face the Woodville Warriors on Saturday.

On their home court and against the team they comprehensively beat in last year’s Elimination Final, the Tigers were walloped 89-51, including a 23-4 fourth quarter.

Madeline Cunningham and Ashleigh Spencer each scored 14 points, but were well down on their usual output.

Gilly Hendrie had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Southern upset Forestville at Wayville in Round 1, with Cunningham and Spencer again leading the way.

The Warriors have also faced Forestville, but their result was a different story to the Tigers’. Woodville were swamped in the opening stanza, trailing by 15 at quarter-time. They played a bit better thereafter, but only managed to win the third quarter.

The Warriors were much more competitive in their opening game, where they went down to the Rockets at Hillcrest by 8.

Ursula Richards missed Round 2 after a 13 point, 8 rebound game in Round 1. Only Vida Bojanic is shooting the ball over 50 per cent.

Southern look much better on paper, but will have a point to prove after last week’s capitulation.

Look for Southern to be revved up and burst out of the blocks, and put Round 2 behind them with a big win here.

Central District Lions v Sturt Sabres
Saturday, April 16, 6:30pm at Starplex
Central Districts have put up a good showing over the first two rounds of Season 2011, but have a tough one Saturday when they take on 2009 runner-up Sturt at Starplex this week.

The Lions had a resounding win in Round 1, before fighting their way back from a 19 point half-time deficit to lose by a respectable scoreline of 61-49.

They displayed good spirit, giving up just 18 points after half-time.

Jess Mahony had 14 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 steals for her new club. She also had 11 turnovers.

After being the team’s leading scorer in Round 1, Kimberley Olsen put up a duck against the Bearcats.

The Sabres bounced back from their Round 1 loss to Norwood with a huge 97-25 win over Eastern.

Centrals know all about big losses, having hovered around the bottom for many years.

Former Maverick Tess Madgen had a game-high 32 points in just 23 minutes, along with 5 rebounds and 5 steals.

Nicole Seekamp was the only other double-digit scorer, as every Sabre featured on the scoresheet.

This will be a massive test for Centrals. I believe they will be very competitive, but do not think they have what it takes to match up to Sturt. Hence, the Sabres will win reasonably comfortably.

Forestville Eagles v South Adelaide Panthers
Saturday, April 16, 6:30pm at Wayville Sports Centre
The South Adelaide Panthers will face a near-impossible task of getting themselves their first win of the season when they face Forestville on Saturday.

The last time the two sides met, South were trounced on their home court 105-46.

This match will be at Wayville, where the Panthers were also thrashed last season.

The away side began the season as the first side to lose to Centrals since July 2009, before dropping one at home to North.

Forestville bounced back from their Round 1 defeat to Southern with an impressive 95-59 victory over Woodville.

Georgia Minear has been sensational for the Eagles, averaging 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists, while shooting over 54 per cent from beyond the arc.

The remainder of Forestville’s starting line-up, Jess Fergus, Alex Duncan, Jamie-Lee Bow and Tara Robinson are all averaging in double-figures.

Fergus, Duncan and Bow have been pesky defensively, whilst Robinson has been strong in the paint.

Elizabeth Keane has been the shining light for South over the first two games, averaging 16 points at 61 per cent, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

It is hard to see South getting even remotely close here; expect Forestville to win easily.

Eastern Mavericks v Southern Tigers
Sunday, April 17, 1:15pm at Adelaide Hills Recreation Centre
The Mavericks play their second of two straight at home this weekend when they face the Tigers on Sunday.

Both teams were horrendous last week, so each will have a point to prove in this one.

Eastern is rock bottom, having scored only 66 points in two games, while Southern are percentage out the top five with a 1-1 record.

Stamina should not be an important factor, even though both teams play the night before, as Southern have an overwhelming advantage in terms of talent.

Whether or not the Mavericks’ recruit Tracey Beatty is in the line-up will only be academic, with Southern going on to score a comfortable win.

Central District Lions v Norwood Flames
Sunday, April 17, 1:15pm at Starplex
Centrals will complete their tough homestand when they face Norwood on Sunday.

The Flames should have it easy against the Mavs the night before, while Centrals will be fighting for their lives trying to compete with Sturt.

Therefore, Centrals’ fatigue should give Norwood an added advantage against a team which they look far better than on paper.

The Flames have plenty of good options at their disposal, including Jess Foley, Rachel Herrick and Kelsey Ireland.

For Centrals, superstar Jess Mahony will have her hands full.

The Lions have shown promise over their first two games, but on the back of this tough double-header, it is hard to see them repeating their early efforts against Norwood.

Look for the Flames to secure another big win and kick-start their season with a 4-0 record.