Blitz Game Reviews - Day 1

Forestville's Harri Harvey
Sturt's Angela Marino

 

Men Round 1

Forestville v West Adelaide

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that teams were taking this tournament seriously, when in the first game, a Shane Crothers and Doug McDonald-Taylor battle under the basket resulted in a broken window. West raced to an 18-11 lead, helped by two 3 pointers from new recruit former NBL player Brendan Mann. Forestville steadied in the second and rookie Harri Harvey was instrumental in an 8 point run which included a 3 pointer, a mid-range jump shot, and an assist to Peter Hoban for a 3 point play. At half time, Forestville were up by 5.

 

West clawed back to even by 3/4 time, Forestville edged ahead in the 4th, and Brendan Mann had a 3 pointer with 5 seconds to go to win the game, which rimmed out. The final scoreline was Forestville 54, West 51.

North Adelaide v Sturt

With Dusty Rychart and Ryan Kersten still to join the group, North still had an impressive lineup on display. The Rockets came ready to play and jumped to a 14-0 lead. Sturt recovered quickly, but North's stifling defence in the 2nd quarter forced turnovers from both a shot clock violation and 8 seconds in the backcourt, and by half time, North were up 29-26.

 

With Darren Ng on restricted court-time, Sturt's young lineup was competitive in the third quarter, but never recovered from its slow start, eventually going down 60-43.

Central Districts v Woodville

This was a high paced game from the start, with both teams defending up the floor and making the most of their transition offence. Unfortunately for the Lions, Zane Reeves' tournament ended with a stress fracture to his foot 2 minutes into the game. Cam Wilson's denial defence forced a turnover early, but neither team was able to gain a clear advantage in the first quarter. Woodville went on a run in the second which included a Gary Birmingham 3, and were up 32-22 at the half.

 

Centrals were more competitive in the second half, with Rob Cameron starting the half with a 3. The Lions entered the fourth quarter down 9, made a late run, but Adam Miller scored the last 7 points for Woodville to seal the game.

Women Round 1

North Adelaide v West Adelaide

From the start of the game, signs were ominous that West will be a force to be reckoned with this year. Despite not playing Cherie Smith, Sam Woosnam, Lauren King, Laura Hurley and Jess Mahoney, West dominated the game from start to finish. Jess Keller started well for North, scoring their first 7 points, and had good help from Jenah Piwanski, but by half time, West were already out to 17 point lead, on the back of a 24-10 second quarter.

 

North made inroads via a Lauren Mansfield 3 early in the third, but West were too strong. Despite taking their foot off in the 4th, they still ran away the game, 64-41.

Southern v Sturt

Southern fielded a new-look lineup, which included recruits Fleur Holmes, Kate Hilton and Teresa Kinross. Sturt also welcomed back Angela Marino from the Perth Lynx. The first half was tight, with Sturt pulling away to a slender lead.

 

After a slow start to the game, Metro League MVP Tamara Walker exploded for 19 points in the second half. The Tigers edged ahead at 3/4 time, but a proliferation of Sturt foul shots in the fourth, including 3 steadiers from Marino iced the game for Sturt.

Eastern v Woodville

Rookie coach Brenton Johnston's Mavericks got away to a great start, with early baskets from Deb Wilcox and Jane Symons, and by quarter time had set up a commanding 9 point lead. Woodville struggled without mainstay Jodie Barrett, and were also affected by the absence of players at the SA Metro Under 18 Girls state trials. Sharna Breavington lit up the second quarter with three 3 pointers, and at half time, Woodville were still within 11.

 

The second half was all Mavericks, with good contributions from Symons, and Tess Madgen. Eastern ran away to win 59-31.

Men Round 2

North Adelaide v Forestville

North started this game like their fist, forcing an early Forestville time out after running up a 17-1 lead. Forestville started the 2nd quarter in a zone and after a successful post isolation play for Peter Hoban, Forestville reduced the deficit to 8 at half time.

 

Adelaide 36er Erik Burdon went on a tear in the third quarter, scoring 13 of North's 22 points, and despite Forestville winning the 4th, North were comfortable winners, 63-50.

Central Districts v West Adelaide

In this game, the Bearcats added rookie point guard Stefan Hoffman to its already loaded backcourt, and this freed up Rory Craddock to spend more time at shooting guard, after a year as the Bearcats' primary ball-carrier.

 

The first quarter was tight until Brendan Mann hit a 3 in the last 30 seconds to give West a 6 point lead. Centrals closed the gap on a Kyle Pavich 3 and went into the long break down 1.

 

The long range ability of Danny Phillips was on display in the second half. Phillips hit two 3s in the 3rd, and three in the 4th, and helped his team to a 19 point victory.

Woodville v Sturt

The game started with a high level of intensity, with defensive stopper Cam Wilson's efforts on Darren Ng a highlight. Despite this, both teams racked up points in the first quarter and an Adam Gavranich layup on the buzzer kept Woodville's lead to 3. A 25-10 second quarter to Sturt, including 11 points from Marcus Hakendorf, blew the game wide open, and Sturt went into half time up 44-32.

 

Woodville applied the brakes in the 3rd, keeping Sturt to 6 points for the quarter while scoring 19 itself, and by 3/4 time, had regained a 1 point lead. Gary Birmingham was cool in the clutch for Woodville, scoring their last 9 points, and Woodville held on to win by 8.

 

Women Round 2

North Adelaide v Southern

When the referees had stop the game in the first quarter after Jamie-Lee Peris and Leah Cannon clashed on a screen, you could tell that this would be a tough physical game. In the second quarter, a monster three from Tam Walker was matched by a more open one from Mansfield, who received the assist from Bec Locke, and Southern went into the half time break with a two point lead.

 

The lead stayed close throughout the third quarter, and Walker's drive for a layup put Southern up by a point going into the fourth. Neither team could forge ahead, and a three pointer from Olivia Warnes with 70 seconds left in the game was the difference in a three point win to the Tigers, 44-41.

Eastern v West Adelaide

The Mavericks and Bearcats battled out a nailbiter on court 3. Deb Wilcox finished the first quarter with a tough layup on the buzzer, and the highlight of the second was a sweet no-look pass from Amanda Williams for a layup. Eastern moved ahead to a 9 point lead at half time, the biggest of the game.

 

In the second half, an Amy Porter three pointer kept West in the game, and by 3/4 time, they had clawed back slightly, but still trailed by 7.

 




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