Hoop Addict
Years ago
Sturt & Forestville split games at Dome
Forestville started the night well, taking out the women's match73-61.
A tight first half saw the two teams head to the main break deadlocked at 28-28. It was shaping as a tough, tight affair, with neither team having held any lead of significance at any stage.
The 3rd term belonged to Forestville, as the experience of Lindsay & Ranford helped them build a double figure lead. Sturt came out blazing in the final term, hitting successive threes to reduce the margin to 6. Forestville were able to maintain their composure down the stretch, extending the lead towards the end of the match, as the Sabres had no choice but to blaze away from beyond the arc.
Ranford was easily Forestville's MVP, continually nailing mid-rang jump shots on her way to 25 points while also managing 7 rebounds & 4 assists. Neither she nor Lindsay (20 points) had a break throughout the game, as the Eagles ran with a 6 player rotation. Forestville's role players all stepped up at various stages, Fergus hitting important jumpers down the stretch, Gardner scoring 10 points & hauling 9 rebounds & Robinson snaring 9 boards, 4 blocks & 3 steals.
For Sturt, I think it was a case of things just not quite clicking all night. They fought hard & played tough D, but struggled to find the hole until the final term. Monique Bowley was a monster on the boards, grabbing 21, but missed lots of open shots, shooting 5/21 overall. Brigid found her stroke in the last Q, hitting a couple of 3s and finishing with 18 points.
Forestville were deserved winners in the end, but if these two teams happen to clash in the GF, expect a tight contest!
The men's game started in similar fashion, with neither team able to break free in the 1st half. Ng was doing his best as a 1 man show for Sturt, as he hit 27 points in the 1st half including 10/10 FTs.
Forestville threatened to pull away in the 3rd, as their girls had done, but a vital 3-4 minute period from Todd Gower helped Sturt stay within striking distance. The final term was a classic, with the lead see-sawing many times. In the final few minutes, Ng was able to shake free from the D to hit an open 18 footer, then with around 30 seconds remaining, hit an off-balance leaning 3 ball to tie the game. Sturt got a stop & Shepherd nailed 1 FT with 3 seconds remaining to win the game.
Sturt notes :
Gower was invaluable tonight. Not only were his 17 points in 25 minutes vital, his tough nosed D was superb all night. Probably the best game he's had all season.
Dodman was the 3rd cog in offense, and was Sturt's only consistent target outside of Gower & Ng. Dodman played 36 minutes, and scored 14 points to go with 8 rebounds.
Offensively, Sturt's role players struggled (Shepherd, Palmer, Smyth & Hakendorf were 6/32 combined form the field) but all contributed in other areas. Palmer was thrown onto Dix and did a good job, not allowing Dix any easy baskets, and also gathered an equal team high 8 boards. Hakendorf was solid, making good decisions, Smyth nailed a valuable 3 & ran the point in his time while Shepherd was valuable just for hitting the game winning FT!
Ng was simply awesome. 49 points total, two tough, clutch buckets down the stretch & an all-round contribution of 8 boards & 4 assists. Again showed how tough a cover he is by continually shaking free from Arnold & Sutton to get good looks in the 1st half. Took advantage of Forestville switching screens by attacking the rim against their bigs, or creating space & shooting over them. Even had a 4 point play in the 2nd Q. Looked to fatigue in the 3rd term, but found a way to hit 16 last Q points to get his Sabres over the line.
Defensively, I thought Sturt did a good job of clogging the paint, making it difficult for Dix to operate in space. This lead to guys like Wood, MacDonald-Taylor & Arnold getting some easy baskets & open driving lanes on occasion, but I guess that's the lesser of two evils.
Forestville notes :
First & foremost I have no doubt that their persistence in switching all on-ball screens cost them dearly tonight. Ng managed to get to the line for 20 FTs, and many of those were due to guys like Dix, DMT & Hoban trying to guard him on the perimeter. I really think they need to make an adjustment when playing a guy like Ng.
Dix was quietly efficient, finishing with 26 points (10/12 FGs), 7 boards & 5 assists. I still think Sturt did a good job of restricting his output, though his stats are still impressive. Was great as an inside receiver, but didn't manage to create too many shots for himself.
Sullivan was hot & cold on his was to 18 points. Scott Arnold had a great 2nd half, finishing with 17 points on 7/9 FGs. Did a good job of getting to the hole & finishing on the other side of the rim.
Cam Wood & Doug MacDonald-Taylor were both efficient, Wood hitting some mid-range Js & DMT fighting hard on the boards.
Brenton Campbell hurt his ankle in the 2nd term & was restricted to just 15 minutes. Sutton was relatively quiet, but controlled the game from the PG position.
All up probably one of the better ABL games I've seen. Certainly would top the charts for this year. Sturt really had to guts out a win, and everyone played their role to achieve it. Obviously Ng was outstanding, but it was a team effort, and I think their defense deserves a lot of credit. Forestville will face the winner of Norwood & Eastern tomorrow to get a shot at Sturt in the GF. If the remaining finals games are anything like tonight's, we're in for some great hoops.
