By Kieren Vartuli

North Adelaide 71 | Southern Tigers 67

The North Adelaide Rockets overcame Southern Tigers in a nail-biter blockbuster round rematch on Saturday night.

After the opening whistle, the physicality between both clubs showed on both ends of the hardwood, as several players took some hard tumbles. The defensive presence showed up on the scoreboard with North Adelaide leading only by 1 point halfway through the first.

North Adelaide were playing well in transition throughout the opening term and this kept them in the game after the Tigers took the lead. The Tigers were able to obtain some nice defensive stops including a strong block from Tara Robinson. In one of the final plays of the opening term, the Tigers were able to push their lead out to 4 points with a big 3 leaving the score at 18-14.

Coming out of the first break, North Adelaide started out strong with a 3-point play leaving the margin at 1 point. The Tigers didn’t let North Adelaide get any points easily as they sent them to the line to earn them. An important aspect of North Adelaide’s is their excellent ability to find the open player. Several times throughout the game the Rockets were able to get some easy points after making that extra pass which helped them in the long run as they were able to build an 8 point lead. They were able to build on the strong lead in the final minute with a big 4-point play and some accurate free throws after Tigers turnovers late in the half.

The third quarter showed some promising signs from both clubs. The Rockets were moving the ball around very well while the Tigers were eating the defensive glass and forcing turnovers. The tight score increased the defensive presence outside the key on both sides, although both clubs struggled to defend inside as easy buckets were made. The Tigers were able to gain the lead in the final 30 seconds of the quarter with Jemma Thacker scoring both of her clutch free throws. As the siren blew, the score was set at 50-48 in favour of the home side with one quarter to play.

Both sides were playing well and trading buckets in the fourth. Ta’Rea Cunnigan (15 points) was able to grab a pretty steal and the conversion to bring the margin back down to 1 possession. During the closing minutes there appeared to be some trouble guarding the inside as once again both teams allowed some easy points to be scored late in the game. The Tigers had some costly turnovers late, which could have changed the outcome and sent the road team home unhappy.

After a deep 3 ball, the tigers to cut the margin to 2 points but clutch free throws by Shannon Mckay secured the 4-point victory for the Rockets.

The win has given North Adelaide a 2-point differential buffer between third and the fourth position Tigers.

Round 13
North Adelaide v South Adelaide @ Hillcrest, Saturday, 18 June at 6.30pm
Southern Tigers v Eastern Mavericks @ Adelaide Hills, Sunday, 19 June at 1.15pm