Eastern Mavericks (0-2, 8th) v North Adelaide Rockets (0-2, 9th)
Saturday April 21, 6.30pm at Adelaide Hills

Despite losing by 15 to the Lions last week, the Eastern Mavericks are up to eighth on the ladder, their highest ranking since 2010. They will need a win against the North Adelaide Rockets at Adelaide Hills this weekend if they are to improve or maintain their position.

Although they are still yet to win since July 24, 2010, the Mavericks have so far shown they have improved since the end of 2011, with competitive performances against two of last year’s finalists. Tess Madgen certainly deserves her share of the credit. After two rounds, she is one of only two players with consecutive games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. 

Against the Lions, Madgen had 30 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals before fouling out late. Jaimi Rock had 11 points, include three treys.

The ninth-placed Rockets shot under 26 per cent from the field and committed 25 turnovers in their 58-82 loss to the Flames. Jamie-Lee Peris was the only double-digit scorer with 18 points. She also pulled down 8 boards.

All the while Jo Hill is out of the Rockets’ line-up, it is hard to see where the Rockets points are going to come from, and therefore the Mavs are every chance of getting their first W this week.

South Adelaide Panthers (0-2, 10th) v West Adelaide Bearcats (0-2, 7th)
Saturday April 21, 6.30pm at Marion Stadium

Two struggling cats will go head-to-head at Marion on Saturday, in one of two matches where someone will pick up their first victory.

The South Adelaide Panthers underwent major change in the off-season, and after two matches they are rock bottom on the ladder. The West Adelaide Bearcats likewise lost several key players, and are languished in seventh position.

Both teams have already been victims of the Woodville Warriors, who only beat Eastern last season. It was the Bearcats’ turn last week, going down 56-65. Meg McLeod (12 points, 3 rebounds) and Kate Shierlaw (11 points, 6 rebounds) were the only Bearcats to crack the 10 point mark.

The Panthers’ offence was even worse than the Bearcats’, managing only 54 points in a 22 point defeat to Southern. The Panthers only trailed by three at half-time, but their defence was not as strong after the interval. Hajnal Nagy was their best with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while it took Jess Hansberry 15 shots to be their second highest scorer (8 points).

The Bearcats appear to have a bit stronger roster, and hence should start favourite, but this is truly one that could go either way.

Norwood Flames (2-0, 1st) v Southern Tigers (2-0, 2nd)
Saturday April 21, 6.30pm at Mars

In The Match of the Round, the unbeaten Norwood Flames and Southern Tigers go head-to-head at Mars.

The Tigers are the last club to defeat Norwood at Mars, way back in the 2010 Elimination Final, while they are also the last club besides Forestville to defeat the Flames in the regular season.

The Flames were excellent in Round 2, shooting the ball at a 43 per cent clip and winning the rebound count 43-30, en route to a 24 point win over North Adelaide. Jess Foley was on fire again with 20 points on 9/15 shooting, adding 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Amy Lewis (14 points, 5 rebounds), Cara Boothey (10 points, 4 rebounds) and Jordan Walker-Roberts (10 points) will also need to be watched by the eyes of the Tigers.

Speaking of on fire, Genna Anderson had a career-high 36 points in the Tigers’ win over Panthers. Anderson had made only 14 CABL field goals in her life before nailing 16 of 22 shots in Round 2.

She capped off an enormous night with 18 rebounds, but was amazingly outdone in this category by former Panther Simone Nelson, who had 20 boards (as well as 2 points and 3 blocks). As a team, the Tigers had 65 rebounds to 36.

Denelle Fawcett (13 points, 10 rebounds, 9 turnovers) and Alexandra Ciabattoni (13 points, 6 rebounds) also filled up the stats sheet.

The key for the Flames will be to keep the Tigers off the glass, but if the Tigers fail to take care of the ball again (23 turnovers) they will find it tough to score against the aggressive defence of the Flames.

All-in-all, the Flames have home court advantage and should continue their unbeaten run.

Sturt Sabres (1-1, 6th) v Central District Lions (1-1, 5th)
Saturday April 21, 6.30pm at Pasadena

In the only Round 3 encounter featuring two 2011 finalists, the Sturt Sabres and Central District Lions will each be playing for their second victory when they meet at Pasadena on Saturday.

The Sabres are coming off a 59-74 loss to Forestville. Level at 29 at half-time, the Sabres were unable to keep the Eagles’ offence quiet in the final 20 minutes. 21 of their points came from Amy Shaw, who also had 11 rebounds and 3 steals, while Katrina Fitzpatrick (13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals) was also prominent.

The Lions won their first game of 2012 last week, defeating Eastern 80-61; a 26-9 second period making all the difference. The Lions forced 10 of their opponents’ 27 turnovers in the second quarter, while limiting them to 18 per cent shooting. In the process, they shot over 56 per cent and committed only a single turnover.

D’Lesha Lloyde was extremely efficient with 21 points on 10/12 shooting, also adding 8 rebounds. Elizabeth Keane (18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals), Desinta Cummins (16 points, 9 rebounds) and Jess Mahony (14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) were all factors offensively, while Taya Crockford and Kimberley Olsen made significant contributions in rebounds and assists respectively.

Eight Lions played at least 10 minutes in Round 2, so it appears they have a deeper rotation than last season. The Lions have not even come close to beating the Sabres in the last seven years – their smallest defeat was 20 points in Round 13 last year.

However, the Lions have improved dramatically in recent times, and there is no reason why they cannot pull off another scalp on Saturday. 

Woodville Warriors (2-0, 4th) v Forestville Eagles (2-0, 3rd)
Saturday April 21, 6.30pm at St Clair

2012 surprise packets the Woodville Warriors will need to pull off an even bigger upset if they are to defeat the soaring Forestville Eagles.

The Warriors have actually now won three of their last four matches, dating back to Round 17 last season, after winning only one of their previous 23. They beat the Bearcats for the first time in about a decade last week, getting home 65-56. The Warriors had 11 more turnovers, but connected on five threes to zero, and made over seven per cent more of their field goals.

Ashleigh White was outstanding with 14 points on 7/11 shooting and 13 rebounds, while Katherine Perkins also had 14 points and Ursula Richards 11.

The Eagles pulled away from Sturt after half-time, and won for the 14th time in 15 matches. They connected on 50 per cent of field goals (28/56), 57 per cent of three-pointers (4/7), and 70 per cent of free throws (14/20). Jess Fergus had 19 points on 78 per cent shooting, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals, while Olivia Thompson (27 points, 13 rebounds) was also a major factor.

Former Eagles Tara Buttress and Emily Sims will face their old teammates for the first time on Saturday. The closest the Warriors have come to the Eagles in the last seven seasons is five points, back on June 5, 2010.

It is highly unlikely the Warriors will come this close again on Saturday, although it will be a good test for them to see where they are at. 

By James Woite