Eastern Mavericks (0-17, 10th) v South Adelaide Panthers (7-10, 7th)

The Mavericks have their final chance to avoid a winless season when they host the Panthers on Saturday.

Eastern should go into the game with some sort of confidence, as it only lost to South by five points when the teams last met in Round 9.

The Mavs fell 17 points short of the Warriors last week, going down 58-75.

A 21-8 third quarter put Eastern in the box seat for victory, before being blown away in the final period.

Tracey Beatty was outstanding with 17 points on 6/9 shooting and 15 rebounds, while Madison Bycroft had 14 points and Chloe Henderson 13.

The Panthers’ 51-89 home loss to Norwood in Round 17 means they are officially eliminated from the finals.

South will be bitterly disappointed at this, after recovering from a 1-7 start to improve to 7-8 at one stage.

The Panthers lost two games by one point in the first three rounds, then backed that up by losing by three in Round 4.

These early slender defeats, along with the loss to Sturt two weeks ago when the game could have gone either way, proved fatal for South.

If Eastern is to produce an upset, it will need to shut down Elizabeth Keane and Claire Johnson, who combined for 41 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals in Round 9.

Ultimately, the Panthers are the better side and should prevail here.

North Adelaide Rockets (8-9, 6th) v Forestville Eagles (11-6, 4th)

The Rockets hosts Forestville on Saturday in what is a must-win game for the home side.

If North Adelaide is to make the finals, then it needs to beat the Eagles, as well as have Woodville upset the Lions.

The Rockets have only themselves to blame if results do not go their way, as they have lost a number of games that they would have expected to win.

For a side that lost to Norwood in overtime, defeated Forestville and West on the road, and came within two points against the Bearcats at home, it goes against the trend for North to have a 2-4 record (0-3 at home) against fellow top five challengers Centrals, South and Southern.

However, the Rockets now need another two results against the tide to get in the five.

Last week, North annihilated the Tigers in the first half and went on to win 86-57.

The Rockets led 24-7 at quarter-time and 55-20 at the half.

Jo Hill starred with 33 points and 19 rebounds, Shannon McKay had 13 points and 4 rebounds, and Kirsty Williams produced 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Forestville locked up the number four seed with a 74-66 win over the Lions.

Star quartet Jess Fergus (21 points, 5 rebounds), Carla Borrego (14 points, 13 rebounds, 4 steals), Georgia Minear (12 points, 5 assists, 5 steals) and Monica Bello (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) all put up solid numbers.

As this game is a dead-rubber for the Eagles, Coach Sharon Simons may choose to give her top players, who have played a lot of minutes in the past couple of months, some extended rest, and hence hand more minutes to the second-tier players.

Last time they met, North had a big second-half and won 70-55, although neither Bello or Borrego were in the line-up for Forestville that night.

I would not be surprised if the Rockets get up, but I think their season will end on a sour note against the deeper Eagles.

Norwood Flames (16-1, 1st) v West Adelaide Bearcats (12-5, 3rd)

Normally a match between big clubs Norwood and West would be of Match of the Round quality, but with each club unable to move from its current position, this fixture has little meaning.

The Flames, who were eliminated in the first week of the finals last year, have had an incredible season, winning 16 of 17 and sitting effectively three games ahead of second-placed Sturt.

Norwood thrashed South at Marion on Saturday before cruising to a home win over Centrals.

Jess Foley had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals against the Panthers, before posting 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals against the Lions.

Jordan Walker-Roberts continued her good form with 19 points against Centrals and 14 versus South.

West has been a bit inconsistent after a 7-0 start, but two straight wins has seen it gather some momentum ahead of its Qualifying Final with Sturt.

Last week, the Bearcats produced a 34 point turnaround against the Sabres, winning 66-52, as well as holding its opponent to under 27% shooting from the field.

Kerrin Webber and Nikita-Lee Martin each registered 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Irene Sourlatzis had 13 points and Trudy Holland 12.

Last time they met, the Flames won 82-60.

Expect a closer game this time, but an undefeated home record is something all visiting opponents should be afraid of, and that’s what Norwood should accomplish this weekend.

Sturt Sabres (14-3, 2nd) v Southern Tigers (7-10, 8th)

The Tigers will be hoping to avoid finishing their disappointing season with five straight defeats when they meet Sturt at Pasadena on Saturday.

Southern has been arguably the league’s biggest disappointment, after a sensational 2010 season that ended with a heartbreaking over-time loss against this week’s opponent at this week’s venue.

It is ironic that the Tigers should close their season at the same stadium that killed their 2010 dreams.

In Round 17, Southern was a slightly better team than North Adelaide in the final 20 minutes.

However, it did not mean much after trailing by 35 points at the intermission.

Ashleigh Spencer was, not for the first time this season, the only Tiger to put up good numbers with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals.

On the other hand, this game is simply a warm-up for the Sabres ahead of their Qualifying Final against West Adelaide last week.

Sturt lost the battle for a mental edge against the Bearcats last week, falling away after half-time to lose by 14, despite the return of Monique Bowley and Caroline Burgess to the line-up.

Tess Madgen was still absent, which hurt Sturt offensively, who made just 19 of 72 field goals.

Nicole Seekamp was the best for the Sabres with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Last time they met, Sturt got home 89-77.

With the way Southern has been playing of late, the Sabres should be able to give their youngsters some extra playing time and still got home comfortably.

Central District Lions (8-9, 5th) v Woodville Warriors (2-15, 9th)

In the Match of the Round, Centrals can complete its fairytale season if it can defeat the visiting Warriors.

After losses to Forestville and Norwood last weekend, if the Lions do not win this game, they could miss out on the top five.

This makes this perhaps the most significant game in the history of women’s basketball at the club.

Although finals may be a new experience for most of her teammates, that is not the case for Halls Medal candidate Jess Mahony.

Mahony, who won premierships with the Eagles in 2010 and 2011, is averaging close to a triple-double (12.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 9.4 apg) in statistically her best season in the competition.

Expect Mahony to have a big one and see through the whole 40 minutes if the game is tight.

Alisha Heglund (15 ppg, 6 rpg), Kimberley Olsen (11 ppg) and Desinta Cummins (9.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4 apg) will also be in the thick of things.

For Woodville, this is a chance to act as the spoilers, as well as finish off a difficult season with two straight wins.

Last week, a 28-9 fourth quarter helped the Warriors overcome the Mavericks.

Ursula Richards had 33 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, while Brooke Rule and Claire Christie scored 11 apiece.

Last time they met, Centrals got up 77-63.

With so much on the line, it will be interesting to see if the Lions can hold their nerve and make their shots. If their shooting is off, then Woodville will be in with a sniff. However, Centrals will be desperate defensively and this should be enough to see them home.

By James Woite