The Forestville Eagles are back in the top five, after defeating the Central District Lions 72-57 at Starplex on Saturday night.

The Eagles got the job done inside, outrebounding the Lions 50-34, rejecting nine shot attempts, and registering 14 second chance points to 7.

This was largely due to the efforts of Centre Tara Robinson, who had 13 rebounds and 6 blocked shots, to go with 11 points and 5 steals.

She also restricted her opponent, the taller Alisha Heglund, to 14 points on just 6-22 field goal shooting, with 6 of her 16 misses coming as a result of a blocked shot. Heglund added 13 rebounds.

Georgia Minear top-scored for Forestville with 18 points on 7-13 shooting, while Jess Fergus had 10 points and 10 boards, and came out victorious on several crucial battles.

Alex Duncan and Jamie-Lee Bow had 11 and 10 points respectively, while new recruit Monica Bello had 9 points and 6 assists in her first CABL game this season.

For Centrals, Kimberley Olsen led the way with 13 points, including four treys.

Jess Mahony, in her first game against her 2009 and 2010 teammates, had 15 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. However, she missed 13 shots, 9 from downtown, and turned the ball over 5 times.

As a team, Centrals shot just 26% from the field, compared to their opponent’s 39%, although they committed five less turnovers.

The Eagles established their lead with a 19-10 second period.

Forestville led 20-15 at quarter-time, with both teams prepared to fire away from distance.

Despite her 20 point effort against Eastern, Duncan was relegated to the bench in place of Bello.

Both teams played a lot of zone in the first quarter, and it stayed that way throughout the game.

The Lions conceded the first six points, before fighting back with 15 of the next 18, and then giving away the last 11.

The Eagles’ 11-0 run included trifectas from Bello, Bow and Robinson.

In the second quarter, Forestville did a much better job of getting to the foul-line, drawing multiple fouls on Desinta Cummins, who had been in great form recently, Olsen and Mahony.

Mahony managed to suck Bello into an offensive foul off the ball, but other than that, the Eagles were well on top.

Forestville clogged the lane, forcing eight perimeter shots from Centrals, all of which failed to find the bottom of the net.

The Eagles also put up eight three-point shots, with two of them finding the net (both from Bello), as they opened up a 39-25 lead by the long break.

The Lions bench got vocal in the third, and the crowd showed their support, but Forestville had all the answers, maintaining its 14 point lead by the end of the quarter.

Both teams found it hard to score early in the period, before a flurry of baskets closed the quarter.

The Eagles maintained their double digit advantage throughout the fourth.

The Lions closed to within 11 off an Olsen trey with 6.56 to go, but that was immediately answered by Fergus at the other end.

The margin was back to 10 with 6.31 left, after a conventional three-point play from Olsen, but that was answered by a bomb from Minear.

Centrals would not give in, and trailed 54-65 with 3.24 to go, following Cummins’ only field goal of the night.

They forced a miss on the next play, only for Fergus to score off a putback, and from there, Forestville cruised home for a 15 point win.

 

Defining moment(s): It has often been said that it is important to know your teammates, but sometimes it is even more crucial to know your ex-teammates. There were two occasions in the second half where Mahony attempted a risky across the keyway pass, which more often than not comes off for the star Point Guard. However, on two occasions, a Forestville player stepped into the passing lane, forcing a turnover. These possessions showed the Eagles knew what was ahead of them and were up for the task at hand.

Forestville verdict: Forestville has now won two straight after dropping its previous three. The inclusions of Bello and Megan Kermond in the last two weeks have proved valuable, giving the team more depth. The Lions had been in good form, but even after surrendering an early lead, the Eagles maintained their composure and never looked like losing. Forestville’s defence and rebounding efforts were outstanding. Next up is North at Wayville.

Centrals verdict: Other than the second quarter, the improving Lions matched their opponents for most of the night, despite their poor shooting and large rebounding differential. Knocking down some shots and gathering the loose balls should be big focuses for them over the coming week. The positive things were that they forced 20 turnovers, and moved the ball efficiently (18 assists on 20 baskets). They may have lost, but this was another decent performance. Centrals’ next match is against the 1-7 Warriors.

By James Woite