MEN Report: Tigers still seek Finals
The Southern Tigers kept their
finals hopes alive on Saturday, taking their record to 6-7 with a 5 point over the
North Adelaide Rockets at Morphett Vale Stadium.
The Tigers raced away at the start, opening up a 9 point
lead at the first break, and then going on to create a 13 point buffer at half
time. Rocket’s captain Thomas Rowe worked hard to inspire his side in the
second quarter, however it was tough going. Southern’s Samuel Johns and Sam
McDaniel had 8 points each at half time, as did as Pero Vasiljevic and Daniel
Goodluck for the Rockets.
The third quarter was kept relatively even for the most part
until a three from Luke Mapunda gave the Rockets that much needed spark to draw
the game closer. Goodluck fired away bringing the margin back to 4 points,
before a miraculous half-court shot from Luke Pike on the three-quarter time
buzzer left the two sides separated by only a point!
The fourth quarter went eye for an eye all the way to the
end, with both the Rockets and Tigers sharing the reigns during the quarter.
Southern were holding onto a small 4-point lead for majority of the quarter after
the Rockets peeped ahead by a point at one stage. The crucial three-pointer to
square the scores with 10 seconds to go was missed by Rowe, allowing the Tigers
to eventually prevail by 5 points.
McDaniel had a brilliant night under the bucket, pulling
down 15 rebounds to go with his team-high 16 points. Cody Ellison contributed
13 points, as well as 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Goodluck sunk 17 points as
North Adelaide’s top scorer, alongside Rowe with 11 points and Vasiljevic with
10.
WOMEN Report: Rockets Demolish Tigers
The North Adelaide Rockets had a
night out at Morphett Vale on Saturday, smashing the Southern Tigers by a hefty
58 points to notch up their tenth win of the season – the competition’s second
highest defeat of 2014.
Jo Hill quietly stamped her place
in the game early on for the Rockets, chalking up 11 points in the first
quarter. The Rockets lead by 10 points at the first break, but only due to some
clutch three-point shooting from Southern’s Kelsie Rutland, who sunk two threes
quickly before the break to give the scoreline some respectability.
However the second quarter began
the flow of one-way traffic, with turnovers proving vastly expensive for the
Tigers (37-13 points from turnovers for the match), as they watched their
opposition cruise to a 22-point lead at half time. Rutland did all she could
for her struggling side, racking up 20 points at the half. Hill and Jamie-Lee
Peris had tallied 9 steals between them at that point for North Adelaide.
The experience of the Rocket’s
talls were evident in the second half, as Hill and Peris shut down a lot of the
Tiger’s scoring action in defence. Smart, smooth and well executed plays in
transition to offense were all North Adelaide cared to display, as they made
their way to a 33-point lead at the last change.
However it was a blow-out final
quarter that had everybody shell-shocked, as the Rockets went 34-9 for the
final ten minutes of the game, extending the margin to 58 points at the close.
Rutland played the entire second
half without a break, only to register 2 points. Hill finished with 24 points,
12 rebounds and 8 steals, alongside Peris who managed 13 points, 9 rebounds and
6 steals for the night. Jess Smart also starred for the Rockets, finishing with
18 points, 6 assists and 6 steals.
