By Jake Stoubos

Southern Tigers 81 | West Adelaide Bearcats 71

The Southern Tigers have come out victorious in a highly contested and physical match against a very game West Adelaide Bearcats side 81-71.

The game was very tight from the beginning with both sides quick to etch their name on the scoreboard within seconds. It was fairly back and forth early on however a couple of fouls shortly afterwards by the Tigers saw the Bearcats shoot some easy free-throws giving them the advantage going forward. Teonna Campbell made a three point shot allowing her bearcats to take the lead by 5 points at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw quite the shift in momentum though. Tahlia Fejo was first to score, however the tigers were able to strike back with two straight baskets of their own. Following this, Southern took control of the game through elevating their pressure and offensive stride to a new level, resulting in stepping in front for the first time in the match. The Tigers looked on the verge of breaking the game completely open after this, however to the Bearcats credit they were able to slightly hold on, trailing by 3 points at half time.

The fast paced scoring that we came to see in the first half completely disappeared here in the second, due to the tense and constricted nature that had transpired. Both sides were unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities as much as they would have liked to, as a total of 24 missed shots went by.

The final period of the match was perhaps the most physical yet. The bearcats scored the first two shots back to back while Ta’Rea Cunnigan quickly retaliated with two of herself. Following this, the game began to turn into a free-throw fest, as an astonishing 9 fouls were committed by Southern and 6 being made by West. Both sides were being quite sloppy and reckless with the way they moved around the court, which was the result in this halt of play. Nevertheless, thanks to the Tigers dominance half way through the match, they were able to retain their lead in the end and walk away with a 10 point victory.

Ta’Rea Cunnigan to no surprise was best on ground yet again. Her ability to move the ball with such ease and score from an array of different angles saw her be the top scorer on the night with 28 points. Denelle Fawcett had a worthy night also having made 10 rebounds and 3 steals.

Tahlia Fejo was strongest for her bearcats with 20 points and 3 assists.

In the end, the Southern Tigers were fortunate to win and move to second place on the ladder for season 2016.

Round 18: Saturday, 23 July at 6:30pm

Norwood Flames v West Adelaide Bearcats @ Mars

Southern Tigers v Woodville Warriors @ Morphett Vale