By Jake Stoubos

West Adelaide 75 | Southern Tigers 63

In the first round of elimination finals, West Adelaide managed to hold on against a courageous Southern Tigers side and secure victory by 12 points at Morphett Vale.

The hometown favourites were first to capitalise on this special night with a shot made by Mollie McKendrick. Denelle Fawcett followed suit with a shot of her own until West Adelaide retaliated, sinking a three pointer to make their presence felt. Eventually though, the Tigers gained some momentum after an impressive block and turnover by Tara Robinson leading to a few consecutive baskets. With this early flurry the Tigers were able to jump to 7 point lead at the end of the first quarter.

It was incredibly tight in the second quarter. Both sides were holding off one another from getting on the scoreboard until Teonna Campbell was rewarded with a free-throw. Following this, the Bearcats elevated their defensive pressure to a new level, keeping their opposition completely scoreless until 6 minutes in. Through shutting down the Tigers for the majority of the quarter, West was able to score 9 successive points and for the first time in the match take the lead. Southern managed to slight hang in, trailing by 2 points at half time, setting up for a massive second half.

Unfortunately for Tigers’ fans, West’s momentum carried over into the third quarter as they scored 13 points to their 2. The Bearcats had a phenomenal start due to their unreal attacking nature. They were so swift at counterattacking that it allowed them to score so easily, where Southern were working tremendously hard for every shot they made. West were playing their best basketball to date. Eventually, Ta’Rea Cunnigan made a vital three point shot to keep her side alive, however they still found themselves down by 10 points at three quarter time.

The Tigers had quite the sluggish start in the final period. They just couldn’t seem to get their game going, missing vital shots and giving up too many turnovers. West briefly capitalised on this, extending their lead to 17 points at one moment. Though, just when it looked like the visiting side was about to run away with the game, McKendrick lifted for her side scoring two back to back shots from consecutive steals. This resulted in a slight comeback from the Tigers as they narrowed down the margin quite extensively. However despite this late game resurgence, it was all too late. West were able to handle the pressure, keep their focus and ultimately close out the match in the end as victors in what was a tough and physical encounter.

The Southern Tigers will no doubt be utterly disappointed with their loss on their home ground but West Adelaide proved to be the better side on the night, thus moving forward to the semi-finals.

Despite her sides’ loss, Mollie McKendrick had a phenomenal night scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Ashlea Vordermaier was best on ground for the bearcats with 20 points and 3 steals.