Bearcats run over Tigers in Second Half
West Adelaide’s women took a half of basketball to shake loose of Southern, but their second half display showed why they’re likely to figure in finals calculations.
West raced to an early 8-2 lead, on the back of 6 points from centre Alana Nairn. Southern responded by injecting Stana Zecevic into the game early, and Zecevic responded by scoring immediately and rebounding at both ends within 20 seconds.
Southern reduced the deficit to 2, but it blew out to 12 very quickly, as Kate Shierlaw and Ashlea Vordermaier capitalized on some slow backcourt coverage from the Tigers.
Zecevic stopped the run, first with a no-look hook pass to Ashleigh Bidell for a 3 point play, and then with a mid range jump shot on transition. At quarter time, the Tigers were down 7 but well and truly in the hunt.
Townsville recruit Kelsie Rutland reduced the lead to 5 with a step through and it would have been less if not for a big block from Amy Porter. Sky Langenbrinck took over for West with a nice dish inside to Shierlaw for a layup, and a layup of her own created a 10 point buffer at half time.
The third quarter was all West. Alice Gee and Porter found gaps in Southern’s zone, hitting open jump shots from either corner, and a Southern time out couldn’t stem the tide. Alana Nairn made a great post seal for a layup with 3:30 left in the third, and the lead was out to 20. Desinta Cummins stole the ball in the back court for an open layup, and by ¾ time, West were up 66-38.
The teams traded baskets in the 4th and to their credit, Southern didn’t stop playing. The Tigers forced an 8 second violation with a 2-2-1 trap out of a time out, but West ran away with the game, 86-50.
Nairn was efficient for West, with 15 points at 78%. The addition of Centrals trio Mahony, Cummins and now Crockford seems to have caused little disruption, with all three contributing to the win.
Zecevic was the best for Southern, scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds in 35 minutes off the bench.
West Adelaide Bearcats 86 (Alana Nairn 15, Amy Porter 10, Jess Mahony 10)
Southern Tigers 50 (Stana Zecevic 19, Ashley Biddell 10, Kelsie Rutland 9)
Stats Webcast
By Paul Arnott
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