Hoop Addict
Years ago
Funny ABL Women: Sturt vs Southern preview
This weeks women's Central ABL knock out final involves the in-form Southern Tigers taking on the regular season champions, Sturt Sabres.
Southern have defeated both North Adelaide and West Adelaide in the first two weeks of finals and appear to be playing their best basketball at the right time of the season. Meanwhile, Sturt got a first round bye due to finishing the regular season in first position and succumbed to an experienced Eagles side in last week's semi final.
Sturt struggled to find the hole last week, before unleashing a barrage of three's in the final quarter. Ex-Lightning member Monique Bowley shot an uncustomary 5/21 from the field, but was tough on the boards, collecting 21 rebounds. Brigid Bowley led the team with 18 points, while Hannah Bowley contributed 11 points to go with her 8 rebounds.
Tracey Beatty was dominant in the Tigers' narrow win over North last week, scoring 23 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. She was well supported by Tamara Walker (19 points), Nerrida Cooper (12 points and 8 rebounds), Olivia Warnes (11 points) and Leah Cannon (11 points).
The last time these teams met, Sturt ran away with a convincing 73-56 victory. In that game, Hannah Bowley did the most damage, scoring 18 points off the bench. Beatty was still a handful for the Sabres, with a nice stat line of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks, but her supporting cast failed to fire.
The front-court contest between Sturt's Bowley sisters and Southern's Beatty, Cooper and Rebekah Redden will go a long way to determining the winner in this match. Sturt's trio will look to exploit Southern's bigger frontline by taking them out to the perimeter and shooting from the outside, or attacking them off the dribble. Southern will be attempting to pound the ball inside and find Beatty some easy looks early, while Cooper is a threat from inside and out.
In the backcourt, Southern's Walker, Cannon and Colleen Kaesler will play the bulk of the time, while Sturt will rotate through Nixon, Dametto and Jolly. Marino was absent from last weeks game and it is uncertain whether she will line up this week. The Tigers will be looking to create space for Walker and Cannon to bomb away from long distance, while Kaesler will play a vital role in locking down her opponent and setting up team mates with crisp passing. Nixon will need to play aggressively and get herself involved in the offense to be effective, while Dametto and Jolly will be counted on to play tough defense and nail open shots.
This weekend's match figures to be far more evenly contested than the last, with Southern looking to continue their good form and Sturt aiming to avenge last week's loss. If Sturt's outside looks are falling, I'd expect them to take this match, but it won't be easy.
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Remember: 6:30 at Wayville, this Saturday.
