By Sam Phillips

Forestville Eagles 84 | Sturt Sabres 54

In what loomed as a tight contest with both teams in good form, ultimately never eventuated as Forestville led from start to finish- accounting for Sturt, 84-54 on Saturday night.

From the opening few plays it was clear that Forestville had a strong intent to push hard towards the basket, perhaps even overzealously at times (a few charging fouls), but it put Sturt on the back foot from the outset.

Olivia Thompson and Sam Defrancesco asserted themselves early, picking up 8 and 7 points respectively in the first quarter. Sturt did find some rhythm late in the quarter on the back of hard work from Kayla Matthews (5 points), but trailed 26-16 at the break.

The second quarter saw the Eagles continue to press the Sabres, making life difficult for the ball carrier on the inbound. Dominant board work from Ruby Luders (7 rebounds) and Sarah Petrie (8 rebounds, 6 points) gave Forestville first use and repeat entries, eventually resulting in 21 more rebounds (56-35) than Sturt over the night.

While Defrancesco and Thompson continued to accumulate points, Morgan Yaeger (19 points, 4 assists) was drawn into the game and played a significant role, hitting a number of crucial jump shots.

Caroline Burgess (10 points, 6 rebounds), who was among Sturt’s best, toiled hard throughout the second quarter especially, showing good leadership out on court. At the main break Forestville had extended their lead to 20, 46-26.

Sturt began the third with a 6-2 run and showed promise of getting back into match after some important defensive stops. In what was an even quarter, as both sides put minutes into their bench, Jess McPhail (7 rebounds) stood strong in the key for Sturt pulling down 4 rebounds for the quarter.

Sturt reduced the gap ever so slightly, trailing by 18 at the final change.

Ultimately the heat went out of the game in the last quarter but Sturt could not be accused of ever giving up, as Lauren Gibbons (10 pts) and Jade Johnson (10 pts) both showed some of their good form late on. While she didn’t have her best night on paper, Hannah Stewart is beginning to look far more confident out on court as she finds more minutes in the Sturt line up.

Defrancesco top scored with 28 points (also 7 rebounds), spending almost the whole night out on court. Thompson was also excellent with a near, triple-double (18 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists), showcasing why any Premier League team would love to have her.

Some may question whether complacency crept into Sturt’s game after thrashing Centrals last week. However, Norwood and Forestville face off next week in what arguably looms as a potential grand final preview.

Round 13: Saturday, 18 June at 6:30pm
Sturt Sabres v West Adelaide Bearcats @ Pasadena
Norwood Flames v Forestville Eagles @ Mars