Eastern Mavericks (0-13, 10th) v Central District Lions (5-7, 7th)

Central Districts will hope to revive its fading finals hopes when it faces off with the Mavs at Adelaide Hills on Saturday.

The Lions have dropped three straight, including a 62-82 road loss to Sturt in Round 13.

Alisha Heglund was good with 21 points and 8 rebounds, while Jess Mahony had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 8 turnovers.

The Mavs were back to their worst last week, going down to a depleted Norwood side 44-93, which included a 2-23 third quarter.

Tracey Beatty (10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Chloe Henderson (12 points, 7 rebounds) were the best for Eastern.

Last time they met, Centrals were victorious in a big way, 89-48, back when Tony Moore was the coach.

The Lions should win again, although their recent form suggests the margin will not be as great.

Norwood Flames (12-0, 1st) v North Adelaide Rockets (6-7, 6th)

The Flames will be playing for a 13th straight victory when they host North on Saturday.

Minus Kelsey Ireland (13.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.4 apg), Rachel Herrick (7.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and Lisa Ackroyd (2.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Norwood still blew out Eastern by 49 points.

Nadeen Payne (24 points, 8 rebounds), Jess Foley (17 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals), Chelsea Roberts (15 points) and Jordan Walker-Roberts (14 points) were at the forefront of the attack.

Meanwhile, North stunned third-placed West with a 73-55 victory at Port Adelaide.

The Rockets led by just four with one quarter to play, but outscored their opponents 23-9 the rest of the way.

Tahnee Mansfield had a season-high 17 points, while Jo Hill continued her ever-consistent production with 16 points, 14 rebounds, 7 steals and 5 assists.

The win was North’s fifth away from home in six attempts.

The Rockets’ away form has been better than any team’s home form, with the exception of Norwood.

When these teams faced off in Round 4, the Flames got up 71-46.

I give North a decent chance of upsetting the league-leaders, but ultimately, I think Norwood will be victorious yet again.

West Adelaide Bearcats (9-4, 3rd) v Woodville Warriors (1-12, 9th)

After a 7-0 start, the Bearcats have fallen down the ranks, losing four of their last six.

They will hope to get back on track when they host the Warriors on Saturday.

Last week, West was shocked by a fast-finishing North.

Trudy Holland was the best for the ’Cats with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, albeit 6 turnovers.

Ashlea Vordermaier was solid with 13 points and 8 rebounds, but Nikita-Lee Martin was well-held, finishing with 7 points on 3/14 shooting, along with 6 turnovers.

Woodville is coming off a dark day, copping a flogging at the hands of Southern.

The Warriors had 17 extra turnovers, leading to plenty of easy points for their opponents.

Ursula Richards was again the team’s top-scorer with 12, while Claire Christie had 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Ashleigh White 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Rachel Griffiths did a good job on the boards with 11 in 14 minutes.

In the teams’ previous battle, the Bearcats won 81-64.

Expect a similar scoreline this time around.

Sturt Sabres (11-2, 2nd) v Forestville Eagles (8-5, 4th)

The Eagles can prove if they are contenders or pretenders when they visit Sturt in the Match of the Round at the special time of 8.15 pm.

Forestville has as good a record as any team in the competition over the past month, winning four straight.

The Eagles knocked off a red-hot South 97-58 last weekend, running away with the match with a 35-12 third quarter.

Carla Borrego had 31 points on 14/18 shooting and 9 rebounds, while Georgia Minear scored 20 points to go with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Monica Bello had 15 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals, again doing her damage from downtown with four treys.

Bello has scored 33 of her 47 points from beyond the arc, adding eight points from the foul-line.

After a near hiccup against the Mavs, Sturt had a comfortable win over Centrals in Round 13.

Tess Madgen returned after missing three games and did not miss a beat with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.

Monique Bowley continued her excellent form with 19 points on 9/12 shooting, while Nicole Seekamp, Aneeka Smith and Hannah Richards each scored in double figures.

Last time they met, the Eagles did not have Borrego, Bello or Megan Kermond available, and fell just short of a come-from-behind victory.

Sturt had the chance to sweep Forestville last year, but failed in its home encounter.

I believe lightning will strike twice and the Eagles will get the points.

South Adelaide Panthers (5-8, 8th) v Southern Tigers (7-6, 5th)

The Tigers will look to distance themselves from their finals bound rivals when they make their shortest road trip of the year to face South at Marion on Sunday.

Southern holds a one game lead over North in the battle for fifth, with the Panthers a further game back.

Last week, the Tigers taught the Warriors a lesson with a 97-59 victory.

Madeline Cunningham (21 points on 9/12 shooting, 7 rebounds), Ashleigh Spencer (20 points, 6 rebounds), Alexandra Ciabattoni (16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) and Rosalie Cutri (11 points, 6 assists, 5 steals, 5 rebounds) were all excellent.

South held an almost identical scoreline in their clash with Forestville.

However, the Panthers were on the losing end, ending a four game winning streak.

Elizabeth Keane (14 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 blocks, 3 assists), Sarah Peddle (13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) and Simone Nelson (11 points, 9 rebounds) performed adequately, however Claire Johnson was well down on her usual output with 4 points on 1/13 shooting.

South badly needs a victory to keep its slim finals hopes alive.

In the Round 4 match between these two rivals, Southern got up 63-60.

Tough one to call, but the Panthers will be eager to prove last week’s shocker was a one-off, and may just sneak over the line.

Woodville Warriors (1-12, 9th) v Sturt Sabres (11-2, 2nd)

The Sabres will be keen to maintain their top-two spot when they head to Woodville on Sunday.

Sturt has a tough match-up with Forestville the previous night, thus frequent rotations may be in order.

The Warriors will be coming off a home fixture with West Adelaide, so this will cap off a tough weekend for Karen Winter’s young side.

If Woodville is to have any chance of an upset victory, it will need to keep Tess Madgen and Monique Bowley, who have been putting up big numbers, in check.

Madgen leads the league in scoring with 23.8 ppg, while Bowley is averaging 21 ppg over her last four matches.

The Warriors star player is Ursula Richards. The 20 year old is equal third in scoring with 18.2 ppg.

Last time these sides met, Sturt won 98-29 in one of the most lop-sided battles of the year.

The Sabres will most likely win by a large margin again, although Woodville should be more competitive this time.

 James Woite