Sturt Sabres (15-3, 2nd) v West Adelaide Bearcats (12-6, 3rd), 6.30 pm @ Pasadena

The Bearcats will have the mental edge going into their Qualifying Final clash with Sturt at Pasadena on Saturday.

The two sides met only two weeks ago, where West won comfortably 66-52.

The Bearcats also defeated Sturt at Pasadena in last year’s Qualifying Final, which totally derailed the Sabres’ finals campaign.

In 2009, the boot was on the other foot, where West finished as Minor Premiers, but was upset by Sturt in the Second Semi-Final and then eliminated the following week.

Neither the 2009 Sabres or the 2010 Bearcats could go on with the job, however, with both sides losing to Forestville in the Grand Final, despite each having two weeks to prepare for their season-defining game.

Therefore, Sturt and West both have something to prove, so it is fitting they should go head-to-head in the first week of their respective 2011 finals campaigns.

Sturt has won eight of nine at home this season, including a 93-73 victory over West in Round 8.

The Bearcats are a solid 5-4 away from home, but only went 4-6 over their last 10 games after an 8-0 start.

The Sabres finished the season at 15-3, an especially impressive effort considering they were not at full strength for a lot of their games.

Superstar Tess Madgen (23.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.9 apg) played in just 11 of the 18 games, including last week’s 90-66 win over Southern.

Rookie Nicole Seekamp (16.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.4 apg) has had an outstanding season, while the injured Monique Bowley (12.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.2 apg) has also been very good, and Caroline Burgess (8.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.1 apg) and Conor Holmes (3.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3 apg) are both excellent defenders.

Amy Shaw (8.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Aneeka Smith (6.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Isabelle Daniel (5.9 ppg), Hannah Richards (5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Anna Maycock (2.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) have also made nice contributions for their team.

For West, Nikita-Lee Martin (17.1 ppg, 9 rpg, 3 apg), Kerrin Webber (12.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.3 apg), Ashlea Vordermaier (12.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.2 apg) and Trudy Holland (7.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.6 apg) have been the club’s top contributors.

Irene Sourlatzis (6.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.3 apg) and Meg McLeod (6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.8 apg) are also key players in the rotation, while Sky Landenbrinck (3.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.7 apg) and Alana Nairn (5.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg) have been in the action this season.

Both head-to-head matches have seen the home team win comfortably, but with the talent each side has to offer, it is hard to see this being anything other than a close contest.

Overall, the Sabres have been without doubt been the better team this season, and I cannot see them allowing the Bearcats to steal another finals win in their home building.

By James Woite