Five games into the season and North Adelaide Rockets Premier League women remain undefeated. The Rockets won an absolute nail biter of a match on Saturday night against West Adelaide Bearcats, with only 1 point separating the two teams at the final siren. 

The Rockets women started the game attacking the basket hard. Strong drives to the basket and open set shots allowed the Rockets to open their scoring for the game. Jo Hill and Jamie-Lee Peris were dominant on the boards at both the offensive and defensive end. The Rockets and Bearcats traded baskets for most of the quarter with West Adelaide entering the first break with a 1 point lead.

The Bearcats applied tough defensive pressure throughout the second quarter whilst the Rockets continued to attack the basket hard drawing fouls. The Rockets went to the foul line a number of times, but did not always convert, shooting just 65% from the foul line. At half time the Rockets had gained an 8 point lead with a score of 40 – 32.

Turnovers and lapses in defense by the Rockets resulted in a very scrappy third quarter of basketball. In the final quarter, the Rockets women upped their defensive pressure playing a trap. The Bearcats handled the pressure well and were able to score a number of transition baskets. The Rockets counteracted this by taking advantage of mis-matches inside they key way for some crucial baskets.

With 44 seconds to go the Rockets trailed by 3 points. Coach Brenton Johnston called a time out to focus the team, allowing the women to gain composure. The Rockets played out the final seconds of the game with full defensive pressure. A critical steal from club and league veteran Jo Hill resulted in a clutch basket and put the Rockets in front by 1 with just 29 seconds left on the clock. The Rockets were able to play out the remainder of the game with good defensive pressure, not allowing the Bearcats to score.

The Rockets women were second in almost every statistical category except the most important one which was the final score. They will definitely need to step up their game to continue their winning streak and have a shot at winning back to back championship titles. 

Jo Hill was the standout player with 29 points, 15 rebounds and 3 steals. Jo was backed up solidly by Jamie-Lee Peris who finished the game with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

The Rockets have a huge week this week with 2 tough games in the next 4 days!

Wednesday 22^nd April – 6:30pm at Adelaide Arena VS Woodville

Saturday 26^th April – 1:15pm at Hillcrest VS Norwood – ANZAC Day Rivalry Round!