By Mark Halliday

 

WOMEN 

The Norwood Flames continued their undefeated start to the season but had to work hard for their 66-54 victory over the visiting Woodville Warriors.

The Flames were led by Jess Good (18 points, nine rebounds, four steals) and Taylor Ortlepp (16 points, three steals) who both elevated their play to turn a four point first quarter deficit into a commanding lead.

However, it was all Woodville in the opening 10 minutes. The Warriors defence caused some issues for Norwood as Katherine Perkas (13 points) scored eight points in the quarter. Perkas and Ursula Richards both made threes to give Woodville a four point buffer after one.

Elizabeth Keane was the only Flame to make an impact at the start, scoring 10 of her 15 points to keep the home side close.

The next two quarters were a display on how Norwood currently sit on top of the ladder, with a defensive showcase in the second and an offensive explosion in the third.

Norwood took the lead for good in the second quarter after consecutive baskets from Kristen Macaskill and held the Warriors scoreless for the first three minutes.

Good and Ortlepp extended the narrow lead in the third with some impressive shooting. Good banked in a three halfway through the quarter to end a small scoring drought for the Flames while Ortlepp sliced through the lane for an easy layup.

Good received a pass from Kelsey Ireland (five points, seven rebounds, seven assists) for seven points in the quarter and then Ortlepp connected on back to back triples to give Norwood a 12 point lead.

Good, Ortlepp and the Flames continued their run to close out the game, leading by as much as 22 points before the Warriors began to cut into the lead but it was far too late and the lead too big to get close in the remaining amount of time.

 

 

MEN

Mitch Creek put in an excellent all-round performance to help the Woodville Warriors pull out an 87-73 victory over the Norwood Flames in a battle of the top of the ladder.

Creek finished with 32 points and 18 rebounds on an incredibly efficient shooting night, making 12-15 from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line.

The two sides were almost inseparable in the first quarter. Norwood had numerous players put points on the board while Creek and Ian Nixson (17 points) combined for 16 first quarter points for the Warriors.

Starting with the second quarter, the Flames began to struggle to stop the drive as the Warriors were constantly living in the lane for close range buckets and layups.

As the defence collapsed, it left the Warriors poised to attack in a variety of ways. Darren Ng (eight points, eight assists) made a move towards the basket only to dish it off to a cutting Creek. The next possession Ng took it himself for two.

Creek scored 16 points in the second and closed the first half with a thunderous dunk all over the Norwood defence.

Jacob Holmes (18 points, eight rebounds) poured in 11 points in the second to keep Norwood reasonably close on a frustrating shooting night for the Flames. The home side connected on only 36% of their shots as they couldn't get much to drop compared to the 52% shooting for Woodville.

As the teams traded baskets it never looked as though the Flames had much to strike back with. Good looks were hard to come by and even the easy ones refused to go in.

Norwood temporarily slowed Woodville when they switched to a zone but the offensive potency of Creek and Nixson put the hopes of a win beyond the Flames.

Andrew Webber led the Flames with 21 points and six assists. The Flames have now lost two out of their last three games.

The Warriors have taken their winning streak to five after dropping their only game of the season to North Adelaide back in round two.