But the question was, could the Mavericks maintain their form with power player Tess Madgen gone for another 2 weeks on national duties? The star leads the league in average rebounds, assists and three point percentage, she also sits on top of the average points with 32.9, her closest rival is Tamika Dukes of the Central District Lions more than 13 points behind.

The mavericks pulled off a 76-70 win thanks to solid all round efforts from their starting five and a helpful hand from the bench. The win puts them clear in third place for their clash with the now 9th place South Adelaide Panthers this Saturday.

In the first quarter the Mavericks built a 10 point lead with 8 points to Jemma Thacker and 6 to Megan Thomas. Thacker played the whole 10 minutes of the first, and has become the team’s key scorer in the absence of Madgen, she works hard around the ring to drag in plenty of rebounds and usually converts at a high rate from the free throw line.

The Lions bounced back and took the term by 4 with a 14 point run, Casey Banwell had 8, Demi Skinner was 1 for 1 from the field and perfect from the line while Dukes and Katrina Evitts also added 4. Both teams had high foul counts which left 4 girls including Shannon Tarran and Tenille Searl on 2 at the break and both teams made good on their chances at the free throw line, with the Mavs going 7 from 8.

The Lions stretched their lead to 11 in the early stages of the second quarter however they were collecting more fouls, Banwell took a rest with 3 unable to add to her valuable first term tally. Amanda Macdermot and Searl capitalized on Centrals sloppy ball control, Searl made multiple half-court steals and put away 7 points for the period. With 1 turnover to the Lions’ 9, Macdermot found herself with some extra shots and put away 3 from downtown on her way to 13 points. The third shot wrestled the lead back for the Mavericks as they entered the half with a 2 point margin.

Eastern held the lead throughout the second half and won by 6 despite a Centrals charge in the late minutes of the game. Tarran stepped up in the second half with 10 points, she ended the game with another double-double on 15 points, 11 rebounds. Thacker was vital in building and maintaining the lead, she scored another 13 points before she fouled out of the game, finishing with game high points at 22 to go with 9 rebounds. Macdermot and Searl recorded double figure points and each managed at least half as many assists.

Eastern welcomed back Alex Wilson who is keen to represent the Mavericks in the finals. Knowing that she must qualify by playing the required number of regular season games but mindful of the fact she leaves this week to represent Australia in the under 19 World Championships in Lithuania, Coach Nathan Jones had her on court for just over a minute, in which she managed to record 2 points an assist and a rebound. As a warm up to the World Champs the Australian team will play against Canada, the U.S. and Spain in the Canary Islands.

The Eastern Mavericks 76 (Thacker 22, Macdermot, Tarran 15, Searl 10) defeated the Central Districts Lions 70 (Dukes 15, Skinner 14, Banwell, Evitts 13).

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By Lachlan Eggers