CABL Round 17

WOMEN: Bearcats Keep Finals Hopes Alive
              

The West Adelaide Bearcats had their finals chances on the line on Saturday night as they went up against the Southern Tigers, and they produced the goods with a strong 31 point victory away from home.

However it wasn’t easy for the Tigers when they lost their captain to injury early in the first quarter. Kelsie Rutland landed wrong when receiving a pass, immediately crashing to the court and clutching her ankle. After inspection, the injury was diagnosed as a sprain.

West Adelaide made an early break, leading 20-5 at one stage, and then by 18 points at quarter time. Seeming like a blowout already, the Tigers held their nerve and played well to keep the margin the same at the half time break. Michaela Lappin registered an impressive 6 points and 10 rebounds in the first half for the Bearcats.

In short time West Adelaide turned it into a 31 point game, with Lappin and Sky Langenbrinck both shifting into another gear and scoring freely. Lappin had 16 points and 16 rebounds at three-quarter time.

Southern kept ticking over on the board, but never enough to reduce the margin significantly. Shayde Quintrell scored a team-high 18 points with 8 rebounds, while 15 points and 11 rebounds for Kaylee Biddell gave her a double-double for the night. Langenbrinck top-scored for West with 17 points, while Anna Carbo was close to a triple-double with 10 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds!

With the win, West Adelaide are still in the hunt for a top five placing, however their chances are incredibly slim. For them to qualify for a post-season spot, the Bearcats will require Forestville to defeat the Rockets (North have a 7-1 record away from home in 2014), while West will also need to hand Norwood, the top-seed, their third loss of the season.

MEN: West Claim Important Win
          

The West Adelaide Bearcats have firmly placed themselves in the top five with an important 22-point win against the Southern Tigers at Morphett Vale.

The Bearcats worked hard to get ahead, putting together a 9-2 scoring run late in the first quarter to make an important breakaway on the scoreboard. The Tigers managed to get themselves back within 4 points in the second quarter, however the Bearcats swiftly pulled away to a 16 point lead at the main break. Blake Truslove was impressive with 14 points and 6 rebounds at half time, while Anthony Spadavecchia knocked down 13 first half points for West also.

Truslove combined with Jason Dawson to assemble a destructive quarter for the Bearcats, taking their lead out to as far as 26 points at one stage. The pair put on 17 points together for the third quarter. Sam Johns was doing his best to keep Southern alive, having accumulated 11 points and 6 rebounds at three quarter time.

A much more spirited final quarter saw Southern play their best basketball of the game, though it was too late. After West Adelaide jumped ahead by 30 points, Michael Florance and his Tigers reduced the margin to as low as 19 points with a 13-2 run late in the last quarter. At the final buzzer West Adelaide finished up on top, 94-72.

Dawson and Truslove tallied similar stats at the end of the night; Truslove finished up with 22 points and 10 rebounds, alongside Dawson who had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Top scorer for the Tigers was Michael Florance with 15 points.

West Adelaide take on Norwood at home next week to ensure they hold third position and take full momentum heading into the post-season, while the Southern Tigers will play their last game of the season when they take on Sturt at Pasadena.