Eastern Mavericks (0-7, 10th) v Woodville Warriors (0-7, 9th)

At the end of Round 8, there will no longer be two winless teams in the competition.

That is because Eastern and Woodville will be facing off in the Hills on Saturday.

The Mavericks have lost their seven games by an average of 48 points, while the Warriors’ average losing margin is 32 points.

After an improved performance against North, Eastern fell back to square 1 again, losing to Forestville 80-37.

Tracey Beatty was the Mavs’ best player with 18 boards, 8 points and 3 blocks.

The Warriors’ were reasonably competitive in their first three matches, only copping one flogging in that span (against Forestville).

However, they have gone backwards since, losing to South by 23, Sturt by 79, and most recently, Norwood by 54.

Ursula Richards and Ashleigh White have been the team’s best players to date.

Richards is averaging 14.8 ppg and 4.7 rpg, while White is producing 11.7 ppg and 7.6 rpg.

With neither playing good basketball at the moment, this is a really difficult game to pick.

I will go with Woodville, but do not be surprised if the Mavs get off the bottom for the first time this season.

Norwood Flames (7-0, 1st) v South Adelaide Panthers (1-6, 8th)

The Norwood Flames have a great chance to pick up an eight straight win when they host the Panthers on Saturday, who have just one win to their credit.

The Flames average winning margin thus far is 31 points, including a 103-49 victory over the Warriors.

Jess Foley (22 points, 6 rebounds, 7 blocks) and Nadeen Payne (21 points, 9 rebounds) led the way in that one.

South, for a team that has just one victory, has a very respectful percentage of 92.14.

The Panthers have suffered three losses by three points or less, but were comprehensively beaten 81-55 by Sturt last weekend.

They were within four at half-time, but were outscored 30-14 in the third period.

Elizabeth Keane (16 points, 8 rebounds) and Claire Johnson (16 points, 6 assists) were the team’s best players on the night.

Although South has played well against the middle to lower tier, it has struggled against the top sides, also going down by 17 to West.

Against Norwood, I expect them to endure a similar fate.

The Flames should win comfortably.

Central District Lions (4-3, 4th) v Forestville Eagles (3-4, 6th)

Who would have thought that after seven rounds, last year’s wooden-spooners would sit two places atop the reigning premiers on the ladder?

Well, that is the situation that confronts Centrals and Forestville when the two sides meet at Starplex on Saturday.

Despite losing Head Coach Tony Moore for personal reasons, the Lions picked up their first road win of the season, defeating North 70-57 at Hillcrest.

As predicted, Centrals came out all guns blazing, piling on 22 points to 8 in the first quarter.

Jess Mahony, Desinta Cummins and Alisha Heglund were again at the forefront of the attack.

Mahony, who faces her former team for the first time as a member of the Lions, finished just one assist off yet another triple-double, also producing 13 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals.

Cummins had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, while Heglund scored 19 points to go with 3 blocks.

Mahony’s likely opponent will be Jess Fergus, which will be a high-energy matchup between two of the fiercest competitors in the competition.

Fergus is coming off 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in Forestville’s win over Eastern.

Alex Duncan added 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while Jamie-Lee Bow had 9 points, 8 assists and 7 boards and 3 steals.

The win over the Mavs broke a three-game losing streak for the Eagles, who put in a much-improved performance.

It is hard to know what to expect from Forestville right now, while the Lions are in formidable form, making this a hard one to pick.

A toss of the coin; the Eagles to win in a close one.

North Adelaide Rockets (3-4, 7th) v Southern Tigers (4-3, 5th)

Both the Rockets and Tigers will be hoping to end a run of poor recent form when they face off at Hillcrest on Saturday, at the later time of 8.15.

North has dropped four of their last five matches after a 2-0 start, while Southern is on a two game losing streak.

The Rockets showed their weakness in depth against Centrals last week, with star player Jo Hill (15.1 ppg, 11.1 rpg) limited because of early foul trouble.

Hill picked up three fouls inside the first 2 ½ minutes of last week’s loss, with the Lions scoring 21 of the game’s next 27 points until Hill returned with 6.55 remaining in the quarter.

 Hill picked up another foul only three minutes later and was forced to return to the bench.

North ended up losing 57-70, with Kirsty Williams (15 points) and Shannon McKay (13 points) the only team members to score in double figures.

Against the Bearcats, the Tigers also let their opponents get the best of them in the opening quarter, and also lost 57-70.

Southern was only outscored by one point in the last 30 minutes, but a 12 point quarter-time deficit was too much for it to overcome.

Madeline Cunningham had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, while Rosalie Cutri, returning from a stint playing College Basketball, had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, albeit 9 turnovers.

The Tigers are slightly above North on the ladder, however the Rockets are at home, making this a potentially intriguing contest.

A tough one to tip, but I will go with the Tigers to just get the points.

Sturt Sabres (6-1, 3rd) v West Adelaide Bearcats (7-0, 2nd)

In this week’s Match of the Round, Tess Madgen and the Sturt Sabres host Nikita-Lee Martin and the West Adelaide Bearcats at Pasadena on Saturday, at the special time of 8.15.

Madgen (23.9 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 3.7 spg) and Martin (19.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 3.3 apg) have each been in stellar touch, and so have their teams.

Sturt has won its last six games by an average of 42 points, while the Bearcats are undefeated with an average winning margin of 25 points.

Other key players for the Sabres include Nicole Seekamp (14.9 ppg, 6 rpg), Monique Bowley (9.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and Caroline Burgess (8.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 4 apg).

In their last match, Sturt got up 81-55, largely thanks to a 30-14 third quarter.

For West, Ashlea Vordermaier is averaging 12 pg, 5.8 rpg and 3.5 apg, Kerrin Webber is sitting on 10.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg, and Trudy Holland is producing 7 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 4.7 apg.

The Bearcats are coming off a 70-57 road win over the Tigers.

The last time these teams met was in the first round of the 2010 finals, where West pulled off a road win.

This will give the Bearcats plenty of confidence ahead of this match.

Ultimately, however, with each team evenly balanced, I think this game will come down to home court advantage.

Therefore, I believe the Sabres will just sneak home, and jump to second spot.

By James Woite