By Connor Rice

Southern Tigers 80 | Norwood Flames 64

In undeniably the game of the round for the women’s competition, the 1^st seed Norwood Flames matched up with the 2^nd Seed Southern Tigers last weekend. Out of all of the teams in the league, the Tigers have proved to be the biggest match up for the Flames, as they had lost their last two against the strong Southern outfit.

The game was incredibly evenly matched from the outset as both squads had done their homework in making sure to rectify whatever points of weakness had arisen in past battles. With only four points separating the two teams heading into the main half time break it was hard to see how either was going to gain an advantage. The first half ended with both squads under 31 points, typically less than their usual high powered offense and less than that what was to come in a fast paced second half.

The Flames came out red hot in the third and after around the 8-minute mark, the Flames went on an almost 10-0 run, scoring from everywhere and distancing themselves from the Tigers unit. Getting to the line, attacking the rim and scoring from the mid range seemed to be how the Flames got such a stranglehold on the 3^rd quarter. A monster game from Flames Captain, Jess Good finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds, lead the way. Jess was an offensive and defensive headache for the Tigers and I’m sure they’ll be relying on her elite two way presence as we inch towards finals and baskets are harder to come by.

Unfortunately for the Flames, the 4^th quarter was a totally different narrative, as the Tigers stormed back and took over the game completely. A Ta’Rea Cunnigan 3-pointer really kick started the Tigers offense back into gear as they ran rampant shortly after. Despite being down 10, the Tigers owned the 4^th to inevitably finish winning by 11 themselves. Mollie McKendrick was a pivotal in the win, finishing with 31 points and 8 boards. For what seems like a weekly occurrence now for McKendrick, her offense has been positively correlated to the Tigers success and she has proven she will make a strong candidate for this year’s MVP.

Ultimately, the Tigers were too much for Norwood in the 4^th as the Flames couldn’t stem the offensive flow down in Morphett Vale behind their strong home crowd. An impressive win and one that should have them in good stead moving into their finals campaign.

Round 21: Saturday, 13 August at 6.30pm
Southern Tigers v North Adelaide @ Hillcrest
Norwood Flames v South Adelaide @ Mars