By James Woite

MEN: Bearcats heat up from downtown, defeat Sabres

Unable to turn their huge size advantage into points in the paint, the West Adelaide Bearcats had to look outside the arc in derailing the Sturt Sabres 91-79 at Pasadena.

Despite lacking the size of their opponents, the Sabres won the inside battle. They outscored the Bearcats by six in points in the paint (26-20), they had more two-point field goals (26-24) and shared the rebounds 34-apiece. Yet, they wound up 12 points short of the Bearcats, who made four extra three-point shots, leading to that dozen extra points.

The Bearcats shot 11-23 from downtown, compared to 7-16 from the Sabres. They were particularly on song in the second half. Notably, Adam Pearce went 3-3 in the third quarter, and fellow point guard Anthony Spadavecchia nailed another two, after subbing in for Pearce during the fourth quarter. Pearce finished with 11 points and Spadavecchia 12. In addition, Kurtis Phillips registered nine of his 16 points on three pointers, and Daniel Phillips’ 10 points included two three-pointers.

Despite the exterior players doing most of the damage on the scoreboard, big men Blake Truslove (16 points, 10 rebounds) and David Sturner (18 points, 9 rebounds) still did a solid job for Bearcats.

Clinton Reed (23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) and Tim Klaosen (16 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) were the Sabres’ best players, while Dylan Rawson piled on the scoring late, finishing with 20 points, including 4-6 3FG.

Along with their long range shooting, the Bearcats’ ability to close quarters was instrumental in the final outcome. They finished the first quarter on a 4-0 run, and then scored 9 of the last 14 points in the second.

After the Sabres burst out of the blocks in the third with a 9-0 run, the Bearcats fought back by outscoring them 24-12 the rest of the quarter. The Sabres only trailed 73-80 with 2:33 remaining, but once again, the Bearcats finished the quarter the stronger with 11 points to six from there on. The Bearcats ultimately ended up plus-11 in the final three minutes of each quarter combined, and just plus-one in the other 28 minutes.

The Bearcats are now up to 3-1, and will visit the Warriors after Easter for a second Grand Final rematch. The Bearcats lost by three to Woodville in Round 1. This loss was the Sabres’ first of the season. They will aim to improve to 3-1 when they make the short trip to Wayville to face Forestville, who also sit at 2-1.

 

WOMEN: Shaw, Sabres start fast, hold off Bearcats

Amy Shaw once more established herself as an early season MVP candidate as the Sabres cruised to a 69-56 win over the Bearcats.

With 26 points, Shaw registered her third consecutive 20-plus point game. She added 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks, as the Sabres improved to 3-0. Jess McPhail was also in the thick of things, finishing with 17 points and 8 rebounds, while Kate Gladstone had 9 points.

For the Bearcats, Trudy Holland top-scored with 13 points. Kate Shierlaw added 13 rebounds and 10 points, while Ashlea Vordermaier (10 points, 9 rebounds) fell one rebound shy of a double-double.

Down 16 after three periods, the Bearcats went on a run, with a basket by Holland closing the gap to 11 with just under seven minutes still play. But after Holland missed a chance to reduce the margin to single digits, McPhail scored at the other end, and the Bearcats never had an opportunity to get any closer.

Ultimately, the result came down to the Sabres’ strong starts in the first and second quarters. They began the game on a 15-4 run, and started the second quarter with eight consecutive points. With most of the damage done, they controlled the pace of the game in the second half, slowing things down and ensure fast break opportunities were few and far between.

Following the Easter break, the Sabres head out on the road to face the Forestville Eagles, who are 1-2. The Bearcats, now 1-3, will face another a rematch with the 1-2 Warriors. The Bearcats defeated the Warriors on the second day of the season.