By Jake Stoubos

Sturt Sabres 65 | Eastern Mavericks 63

The Eastern Mavericks have fallen short in a tight finish against the Sturt Sabres 65 -63 last Saturday night at Pasadena.

The match was hot right from the jump ball. Sturt took control early on taking the first three shots thanks to a fiery start by Hannah Richards. This allowed for the Sabres to jump to an early lead until the Mavericks caught up shortly thereafter with some classy shooting. The play style rarely slowed down due to minimal fouls and pauses, which made for an exciting and fast paced first quarter.

That first quarter momentum carried over for both sides in the second. Sturt were yet again first to score, while the Mavericks retaliated straightaway. Anne Hatchard made a nice three point basket early on, rallying up her side which lead to a nice flurry of offensive pressure. This allowed the Sabres to take the lead by a few points, however much like the first quarter the Mavericks were able to catch up. Sturt lead by 2 points heading into halftime.

In the third, it was the Mavericks who were first to hit the scoreboard thanks to a nice three point shot by Brooke Basham, briefly giving her side the lead. However, Sturt were quick to recapture their lead and extended it through their ability to steal the ball and create offensive rebounds at crucial times in the game. There was a point late in the quarter where Tracey Carrington had the opportunity to even out the game for her Mavericks but unfortunately failed to do so. Danni Angley though was quick to exploit this error, stealing the ball and setting up a shot for Jade Johnson to capitalise on and end the quarter with a 4 point lead.

Both sides knew the final quarter could go either way due to the tight and offensive nature of the game preceding. The game style changed quite drastically as the time went on and the level of physicality was elevated by both Sturt and East making for a much slower pace to transpire. Within the last 39 seconds of the game and a 5 point margin standing, three timeouts were called. This showed just how close this contest really was. Basham made three free-throws narrowing down the score and went for a potential game winning three point shot in the last few seconds but sadly for her side, she missed.

The Eastern Mavericks went down in one of the tightest finishes yet, losing to a fortunate Sturt Sabres side by a mere two points.

Anne Hatchard was top scorer on the night with 18 points, while Danni Angley also had a solid game with 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Brooke Basham was best on ground for her Mavericks with 17 points and 4 assists.

With this win, Sturt remain at sixth place on the ladder, while Eastern Mavericks retain their position at eighth as well.

Round 16: Saturday, 9 July at 6:30pm

Norwood Flames v Eastern Mavericks @ Mars

Sturt Sabres v Southern Tigers @ Pasadena