NBL1 Central Recap Saturday | Women's Finals Week One

Females of Fire: The partners in crime Wilson (pictured) and Basham turned up the heat on the Eagles along with their forward Molly "Ice" Coleman (pictured right)  | Kelly Barnes/AllStar Photos

Qualifying Final: South Adelaide Panthers vs Sturt Sabres

Sabres not short on punchy Panthers performance

The Sturt Sabres were not short on answers every time the Panthers tried to make a run as they sealed a convincing 55-69 win at the Jungle. The Panthers did not roll the dice on the recovering rolled ankle of Isa Sigurdardottir and turned to fellow import Holly Forbes which proved to be a winning move early. Forbes gathered 8 points and 5 rebounds in the opening stanza as the Panthers led 16-8 at the first change and the Sabres who dropped 10 triples the last time they met; produced a measly 0/9 and shot 15 percent from the field. That all changed in the second quarter as the Sabres turned up the claws on their fellow cats holding the Panthers scoreless for 3 minutes and reeling off runs of 0-11 and 0-7. That was instigated by the return of Emily Close, Jasmin Rigoni, the Mathews sisters and Mikayla Williams who dropped 7 points and 5 rebounds for the term. They forced the Panthers into 8 turnovers; the lead 23-30 at the main change.

It didn’t get much better from there for the homeside with the Sabres continuing to punish each error and turned their fortunes around beyond the arc with 5 triples in the second half partnered with Williams 13 points and 15 rebounds at the three-quarter time break 35-53. Jordan Hunter tried to rally for the Panthers with some points but the Sabres controlled the flow of the contest eventually running out winners comfortably 55-69. Williams finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds with Meg Prosser hitting the scoreboard in the second half to finish with 14 points. Zoe Walker-Roberts blanketed Jade Johnson yet again taking her for 11 points and 6 rebounds in another contribution to coach Tim Short's first finals win. Forbes was the clear standout for the Panthers with 12 points and 14 rebounds but it was a lean scoring night for a team needing to find some answers in their elimination semi-final next weekend.       

Elimination Final: Forestville Eagles vs Norwood Flames

Ice-Coleman Flames fire down Eagles in block blaze

The Flames have kept the season alive eliminating the Eagles in a strong display 57-78 at the Nest. The away-side got multiple contributions across the board including big contributions from Adelaide Lightning’s Brooke Basham and another that could fit into that team in Molly Coleman in one of her most complete performances for the club. It was a tight start early as both teams traded baskets with the Eagles not having access to the services of Bella Stratford with a season ending knee injury discovered earlier in the week. A 0-8 run from the Flames saw them lead 12-16 at the first change. The second quarter is when the Flames made their move through Coleman (8 points) and solid defence as they opened a half-time lead of 24-40.

The Eagles flew out of the break for an 8-0 run to push themselves back into it through a standout shooting stretch from Jess Simons (11 points) and trailed at the end of three 48-57. The 0-10 run in the final term put the game out of the Eagles reach as the partners in crime Ally Wilson (8 points) and Basham (9 points) finished off the season for the gold and blue and put the Eagles out in consecutive elimination finals 57-78. Coleman set it all up for the Flames with 24 points and 18 rebounds with Basham (24 points and 7 assists) and Wilson with a near triple double of 11 points, 9 assists and rebounds. The Eagles best was Sam Simons with 14 points and 8 assists but was nullified by the Flames while Rachel Hines played solidly for 15 points and 6 rebounds. The Flames scored 44 points from the paint while also holding the Eagles to less than 33 percent from the field in the second half to sound an alarm to their fellow contenders.       

The Sturt Sabres will meet the West Adelaide Bearcats at the Bearcat Cave in the Qualifying Semi-Final for a place in the Grand Final while the Norwood Flames will travel to the Jungle to take on the South Adelaide Panthers in the elimination Semi-Final.