NBL1 Central Recap Saturday | 2022 Women's Preliminary Final

Halls Hero: Just when you thought she couldn’t go to another gear, the Halls Medallist Mikayla Williams delivers a season high in the crunch time of a Preliminary Final | @snapshotphotography31 @Snap Shot Photography / Emma Hoppo

Preliminary Final: Sturt Sabres vs South Adelaide Panthers

Halls hero grabs game; seals Sabres third appearance in decade  

The Sturt Sabres are through to their third Grand final in a decade after closing out the South Adelaide Panthers 74-70 at the Cave. It was a second half defensive clinic coupled with the Halls Medallist Mikayla Williams who when the game was there to be won grabbed it with both hands. Early though the Panthers started as they did against the Norwood Flames with a glass domination.  

The Panthers 7-19 on the rebounds including 2-8 offensive one’s setup Ash “Splash” Spencer with another fast start of 6 opening points and along with import Holly Forbes and Jade Johnson gave the away side the lead. The Sabres were shooting at 23 percent in the first term and were struggling to find answers to the Panthers defence as they trailed 14-24 after one.

The Panthers continued to hold the Sabres ransom on the glass at the start of the second led by a 6 point and 6 board quarter to Forbes. Former Sabre Johnson coming off her best game in recent months in the semi also nailed some points but Meg Prosser for the home-side began to get it rolling with a few huge clutch triples. Williams continued to accumulate as she lifted to a double double of 10 points and 12 rebounds to help the Sabres back to a 30-43 deficit at the half.

The third started to turn the tide for the homeside as they lifted their field goal percentage and defence as they delivered a second five minutes of 9-4. Williams had 9 for the term and Prosser another two triples as the Panthers started to dry up with only Spencer impacting the scoreboard. The Sabres were coming and had cut it to 54-59 with one pulsating quarter remaining.

The Sabres hit the front early in the fourth for the first time in the game 60-59 with 7:20 to go. With the scores tight and the match crying out for someone to grab it by the scruff of the neck, that’s when the Halls Medallist turned it up to sixth gear as she pouched 12 last quarter points. Panthers Captain Jordan Hunter who’d be aggressive all night returned the scores with a bank triple to a single basket 72-70 with 2:08 to go. Johnson got the steal but then a Hunter turnover backcourt violation gifted the ball back immediately. The foul was drawn by Zoe Walker-Roberts who missed both at the charity stripe, Johnson who shook her opponent missed the driving layup and Kayla Mathews came up short on her jumper as both teams couldn’t take the ascendancy. Walker-Roberts stole it off Hunter who found Mathews and with a hand off from Williams made the heavily contested layup to make it 74-70. The Panthers scrambled for shots from Spencer with the Sabres securing possession and a position in the 2022 Grand Final.

Williams had a season high 31 points, 19 rebounds and an efficiency rating of 41; she was the match winner in the final term. Prosser also was heavily influential with 17 points including 5 of 6 from beyond the perimeter and Emily Close came off the pine in the second half for 7 points to finish with 10 points. The Panthers got contributions across all four quarters from a raft of players including Spencer (15 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists), Forbes (14 points and 9 rebounds) and Johnson (12 points) but in the final term, none of them scored a single point. That was left to the late rally from Isabella Sigurdardottir (9 points and 11 rebounds) and Hunter (12 points) who scored 10 of the 11 final stanza point for the Panthers. The Sabres grabbed 9 rebounds and 6 assists in the final quarter to setup the comeback.      

The Sturt Sabres will now meet the West Adelaide Bearcats for the second time in three weeks in the Grand Final at the Lights Community and Sports Centre next Saturday night.