Not the result North were looking for, but this correspondent thought that the intensity of South’s defence was the difference in the game – despite the unerring efforts of Jo Hill (24 points and 8 rebounds).

South’s players just seemed to be everywhere, which is what coach Vikki Kelson seemed to be looking for.

There is no doubt that the intense ball pressure did not let North “get going” and they failed to get quality shots away on a number of occasions. 

That showed in overall shooting percentages with South having 48% from the floor compared with 32% from North Adelaide.  The 3-point percentages also told part of the story, with North getting 6 from 24 attempts whilst South got 6 from 13.

Claire Johnson kept adding to her score unobtrusively and ended up with 27 points, and was helped a lot by Sarah Peddle (20 points) – neither of whom saw any bench time.  The other player of the trio, ex-North Lil Keane, contributed a handy 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Not quite the heights of the men’s game, but it did feature the substitution of Referee Wayne Maidment, with a hammy.  Luckily Mark Frost was there, and willing to step into the game for the last 6 minutes with Adam Gillings.

It was Wayne’s 100th women’s ABL game.  Thanks Wayne, for your contribution to the sport.

By David Durant and Barb Rowe