North Adelaide Rockets (15-3, 2nd) v Norwood Flames (15-3, 1st)
Saturday September 1, 8.15pm at Adelaide Arena

The North Adelaide Rockets and Norwood Flames will be hoping to put years of heartache behind them when they face off in the women’s Grand Final.

The Rockets have not won a title since 2004, while the time between drinks has been even longer for the Flames, with their last premiership in 2000 (at the Rockets’ expense). In the last 11 years, the Rockets have been on the losing end of two Grand Finals, while the Flames have come second on three occasions.

Both teams have had a week off during the finals. The Flames won the Minor Premiership, earning them a bye in the first round of the postseason. They failed to take advantage, however, losing 78-83, following a poor fourth quarter.

Lauren Mansfield (22 points), Shannon McKay (19 points) and Jo Hill (17 points) were standouts for the Rockets, while Amy Lewis scored 20 for the Flames. Rachel Herrick added 15 points and 7 rebounds.

The Rockets’ victory, after winning the Qualifying Final against Forestville 74-65, meant they advanced straight through to the Grand Final. The consolation prize for the Flames was a Preliminary Final with Forestville, whom they had not beaten in four attempts.

Despite the absence of Head Coach Simon Pritchard, the Flames put their jinx to bed with a 65-64 victory. Jess Foley was the hero, making two free throws with five seconds remaining. Forestville’s Jess Fergus had a chance to win the game, but her buzzer-beater was off the mark.

Foley has had another outstanding season, and after averaging 19.5 ppg, 8 rpg and 3.8 apg, was named in the Central ABL’s All Star Five. Alongside her were Lauren Mansfield (12.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 5.7 apg) and Jamie-Lee Peris (14.6 ppg, 10 rpg, 2 apg). Each player is capable of having a major impact on the game.

They will not be the only quality players to hit the court, however. Rockets veteran Jo Hill (17.4 ppg, 8 rpg, 2.3 apg) was unlucky not to join Lauren Mansfield and Peris in the All Star Five, while Kirsty Williams (8.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.7 apg) has had some big games this season. The defensive-minded Flames are also fortunate to have Lewis (17.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.4 apg), Ireland (8.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.2 apg) and many other talents at their disposal.

The Flames bounced the Rockets twice during the regular season, so should still be full of confidence despite their Semi Final loss. The biggest difference between the Semi Final meeting and the regular season matchups was shot conversion. Over the two regular season games, the Rockets made just 46/128 field goals – a clip of just 35.9%. Yet under the pressure of a Second Semi Final, the Rockets shot 48.4% from the field.

The Flames have consistently shot the ball well against the Rockets, so will need to get back to their best defensively. Avoiding a week off may play into the Flames’ favour, as they have struggled over the last two years when devoid of their normal routine.

However, the Rockets have lost just once since Round 2, and with all aspects of the game covered they look every bit like champions.

By James Woite