James Woite

 

WOMEN

Carbo’s ’Cats sneak by Shaw’s Sabres in 2OT

The West Adelaide Bearcats women have moved into a tie for fifth spot, downing the Sturt Sabres 66-63 in double overtime at Port Adelaide on Saturday.

The Bearcats got out to a six point lead in the second extra period, before the Sabres closed to within three with under five seconds remaining. The Sabres went for the steal on the inbound, but the Bearcats got the ball in safely. They then avoided contact and ran the time out for their sixth win of 2015.

The Sabres appeared destined for victory during the first overtime period, but the Bearcats dug deep. The Bearcats and their fans thought they had the game tied up with 34 seconds remaining when Anna Carbo knocked down a long range jumper, but she clearly did not have both feet behind the three-point line.

After trapping Amy Shaw and forcing her into a contested missed shot, the Bearcats got the ball back. Carbo split a double-team and then drew contact with Anne Hatchard. Hatchard thought she had drawn a charge, but the whistle was for a blocking foul, and Carbo went to the line with the chance to put the Bearcats ahead.

Carbo made the first shot, but missed the second, sending the game into the second extra period.

Both teams had ample opportunities to win the game in regulation, but a combination of tough defence, poor shooting and intense pressure meant that neither side could gain a major advantage. Carbo missed two foul shots with 20 seconds left, before Shaw committed a turnover on a drive, leaving just 0.7 seconds on the clock.

The Bearcats called a timeout to advance the ball, but Trudy Holland threw it out of court. The Sabres used their timeout to put the ball in their front half, but their alley-oop did not come off.

At some point, one of these sides was eventually going to be on top when the final siren, and it was the Bearcats who found themselves in front after two overtimes.

For the Bearcats, Carbo had 18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals, while playing the full 50 minutes. Kate Shierlaw added 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals, while Herrick contributed 18 rebounds, 10 points and 3 blocks.

For the Sabres, Shaw stood out with 30 points, 15 rebounds, 8 steals and 3 assists. She spent just 48 seconds on the bench. Jessica McPhail added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bearcats shot just 26 per cent to the Sabres’ 32 per cent, but went 18-26 from the foul-line, while the Sabres only got to the line five times for three points.

Next up, the 6-8 Bearcats will face 5-8 Eastern at Adelaide Hills on Sunday. The 8-5 Sabres will be at home to 4-9 Forestville on Saturday.

 

MEN

Sturner leads Bearcats over Sabres

The West Adelaide Bearcats men have risen to third on the ladder, after defeating the Sturt Sabres 96-77 at Port Adelaide on Saturday.

The Sabres had been beaten twice by the Bearcats prior to this match, and the early signs were there that they were capable of avoiding a sweep. A combination of hot shooting from Dylan Rawson and solid team defence saw them get out to a lead of as much as seven points, before Blake Truslove went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury. Truslove’s injury did not help the Sabres, however – David Sturner came back into the game and inspired a one point quarter-time lead for the Bearcats.

The Bearcats built their win with a 34-16 second quarter. During this time, they hit five three point shots, while Sturner continued to dominate the paint.

From there on, the Bearcats maintained a double-digit advantage, ultimately registering their 10^th win of the year.

Sturner finished with a near-perfect game. He had 31 points (10-13 FG, 11-14 FT), 18 rebounds and turned the ball over just once.

Peter Crawford scored 17 points, Tristan Braithwaite had 14 points, and Anthony Spadavecchia, in his 200^th game for the club, contributed 13 points.

All five Sabre starters scored in double figures, led by Rawson (19 points, 7 rebounds) and Tim Klaosen (17 points, 8-9 FG, 6 rebounds).

The Sabres ended the night with one extra made field goal to the Bearcats, but were outscored by 21 points on three-point shots, and 14 points on free throws.

The Sabres, now 5-8, will attempt to bounce back from this defeat against 6-7 Forestville at Pasadena on Saturday. The day after, the 10-4 Bearcats will be in the far south taking on 3-10 Eastern.