NBL1 CENTRAL FINALS Week One Recap: Sunday

Photo Credit: Bailey Gibbs - Quick Flick Media

Finals week one concluded with former Bendigo Spirit shooter Ash Spencer cashing in on her Panther’s glass dominance with a dominant performance in the Panthers women’s elimination final win.

Here is the result from Sunday’s standalone fixture:

Womens

Elimination Final: North Adelaide Rockets vs South Adelaide Panthers

Spirit of Spencer strikes Rockets from finals

Former Bendigo Spirit shooter Ash Spencer has struck the North Adelaide Rockets from the NBL1 Central Finals with a stunning 63-73 win at the Lights.  

Spencer set the pace in the match early as the Panthers jumped out to an early lead with Hannah Stewart once again assigned to guard the league’s leading scorer in Brooke Basham which helped keep the Rockets to 20 percent from beyond the arc. The Panthers controlled proceedings before the Adelaide Lightning’s Lauren Mansfield strung together a couple of drives in a row, but the Panthers held the lead after one 16-24.

Lauren Mansfield took it all the way ?

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Another former Lightning player in Shannon Webber (who struck 12 in a quarter back in the mid-2010s) dropped a big three out of the break before a forward combo in UT Martin Skyhawk Holly Forbes and college graduate Darcy Rees (9 points and 7 rebounds with four offensive) made life tough for the Rockets inside on the glass. Spencer continued the onslaught to finish with 17 for the first half and Forbes had 11 rebounds as they led away from home 38-45 at the main break.

30-piece from Ash Spencer powers @SouthAdelaideBC past North #Adelaide in the #NBL1 Central Elimination Final in #SouthAustralia pic.twitter.com/TGS07giWDv

— NBL1 CENTRAL (@Nbl1Central) July 23, 2023

Mansfield came out firing after the break with a string of buckets as the Rockets crept within a basket early in the quarter – it was then the “Jordan” show for both team for a stanza as Jordyn Freer (6 points) for the Rockets and Jordan Hunter traded blows but Spencer and nuggety guard Harriet Cox gave the Panthers the three-quarter time buffer 51-58.    

 

 

 

 

 

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The fourth quarter with it all on the line was when Spencer really stepped into her work as her spirit and shooting of 10 final term points capitalised on everyone of her team’s 22 offensive rebounds as the Panthers moved onto a meeting with their south nemesis the Southern Tigers and the Rockets season had been grounded in the grind of the contest.  

Spencer was the game changer with 30 points and seven rebounds (three offensive) but had enormous support on the glass from Forbes with seven points and 18 rebounds including five offensive rebounds. Another cameo from former Rocket Sam DeFrancesco with 11 points and Rees along with Stewart’s blanketing performance on Basham. The Rockets best was Freer with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks to cap a huge month while Mansfield did her best to get her team back into the contest numerous times with 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Basham finished with 10 points and eight rebounds but was quelled throughout the afternoon.    

The Sturt Sabres will meet the Norwood Flames at the Cave in the Qualifying Semi-Final for a place in the Grand Final while the Southern Tigers will host the South Adelaide Panthers in the elimination Semi-Final.