The 79-61 score-line denies the intensity of the match, Eastern had their share of the lead as the game swung 10 times and was tied up on another 12 occasions. At the final break the teams were locked at 55 all, having each held the game high lead of 6 points at one stage, however it was the Eagles who came soaring home on the back of team stars Olivia Thompson, Mia Newley and a big contribution from Megan Kermond.

The Mavericks squad that took the court on Saturday was missing competition leader in average points, rebounds, assists and three point percentage in Tess Madgen, who was once again off on national duties for the Opals, as well as co-captain Tenille Searl with knee troubles.

Madgen is expected to poll quite high in the Halls medal despite playing just 10 games for the season, as are Thompson, Newley and Jess Fergus for Forestville.

Forestville move on to the second week of finals and will travel to Hillcrest to challenge the North Adelaide Rockets in a semi final bout this coming Saturday.

For the first three quarters the game hung in the balance, with neither team able to pull away from their opponent. An early run saw the Mavericks brandishing a 6 point lead after 3 minutes of play before the Eagles went 11-0 in the following 3. At the first break they were tied at 21 all after productive quarters to Eagles Thompson and Danielle Angley with 7 and Eastern’s Alex Wilson with 8.

The second quarter saw the Eagles maintain a high shooting percentage with 8/17 while the Mavericks struggled from the field with 3/16. It was Wilson’s ability to drive the key that kept them in touch as she went 6 for 6 at the free throw line, the rest of the team backed her up, shooting 100 per cent they had 15 bonus points at the half. Newley hadn’t seen much court time in the opening term, she played the entire second stanza and tallied an effective 8 points while Angley continued her form to be team high scorer with 13 at the major break. For Eastern it was Wilson leading the way with 16 first half points and Shannon Tarran was starting to make her presence felt with 5 for the term.

After the long break Tarran came out with 8 of the Mavs first 10 as Forestville struggled to hit a basket, a mere 3 from free throws allowed Eastern to edge back into the lead. The rivals went play for play, basket for basket, as they traded the lead back and forth approaching the final break. Jess Fergus couldn’t find her shot from the field (1/12 for the night) but was steady at the free throw line with 8/8 keeping the game tight and the scores level at 55 for the last period.

The final stanza was an 18 point blowout as the Eagles tacked on 24 points at 50 percent efficiency, Fergus, Thompson, Kermond, Newley and Sarah Petrie ran out the entire quarter for Forestville as Kermond went on a 10 point spree including 2 for 2 from long range. Thompson and Newley each added another 5 points with the latter also draining one from downtown. Like the second term the Mavericks managed just 3 from 16 from the field, only they couldn’t make it to the free throw line once to cover the difference.

Eastern Mavericks 61 (Wilson 23 points 15 rebounds, Tarran 17, MacDermot 9) defeated by Forestville Eagles 79 (Thompson 19 points 13 rebounds, Newley 19, Angley, Kermond 13, Fergus 11).

Eagles coach Sharon Simons was expecting a strong showing from Eastern despite the absence of Madgen, “they gave us a good fight when they played about 3 weeks ago without Madgen, and we knew Alex Wilson was gonna be tough, and she was, especially early on” she reflected.

“We went into a zone and just tried to make sure someone stayed between her and the basket the whole time. They had 15 foul shots at half time, they ended up with 17 for the game. That was the big difference, we contained the penetration”.

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By Lachlan Eggars