Round Wrap: West Adelaide v North Adelaide

By James Woite

 

Crawford makes impactful debut as Bearcats confine Rockets to first loss

The West Adelaide Bearcats have bounced back from their blowout loss to Woodville with a 78-72 win over the previously unbeaten North Adelaide Rockets.

NBL player Peter Crawford played a pivotal role off the bench, scoring 22 points, including the go-ahead basket with 2.19 left in the contest.

The Bearcats led by 14 during the fourth quarter and were still up 12 with 4.46 to go, after Crawford found Blake Truslove for two points.

But as they have done so often this season, the Rockets got hot from long range and put a big run together. A bad pass from Aric Miller was the only blemish on the Rockets’ next five offensive possessions, as they went 4-4 from downtown on the others. They also got four consecutive stops, allowing them to tie the game up with 2.35 remaining.

After Crawford put the Bearcats back in front, the Rockets blew two opportunities to take the lead and another to tie the game up, meaning they were forced into late-game fouling to keep the clock alive.

Bearcat Captain Anthony Spadavecchia was only able to make 1-2 free throws with eight seconds left, and then teammate Tristan Braithwaite made the ultimate mistake – fouling a three-point shooter.

It was Miller who went to the line, yet the star Rocket was only able to convert on 1-3 free throws, as he failed to tie the game up.

Fouled once more, this time Spadavecchia made no mistake from the line, as the Bearcats held on.

Along with Crawford, Truslove (19 points, 7 rebounds) and David Sturner (16 rebounds, 10 points) did most of the damage on the stat sheet for the Bearcats.

The Rockets had five double-figure scorers – Miller and Luke Mapunda (15 points), Luke Pike (14 points), Daniel Goodluck (13 points) and John Wernham (10 points). Mapunda also had 10 rebounds.

As they did in their defeat to the Warriors, the Bearcats started slowly, but this time they recovered quickly. Down seven at quarter-time, the Bearcats whittled their deficit back to one by half-time. 10 minutes later, the Bearcats were up by nine, following a 24-14 third quarter. This advantage proved just enough for them to register their fourth win of the year.

The Bearcats’ next match is ANZAC Day against the 1-4 Southern Tigers. The Rockets have a double-header – they play the 4-1 Warriors on Wednesday, and then the 5-1 Flames on ANZAC Day.

  

WOMEN: Hill’s late scoring burst gets Rockets out of gaol

Jo Hill scored the final eight points of the game as the undefeated North Adelaide Rockets snuck home over the lowly West Adelaide Bearcats 64-63.

Hill scored the Rockets’ final 14 points of the night, single-handedly rallying her team back from multiple seven point deficits. She scored four points from free throws in the space of nine seconds during the final minute.

The Bearcats had a chance to win it after Jamie-Lee Peris drew a couple of blanks from the line with only nine seconds remaining, but they were unable to get a shot up, leaving them without a score during the final 3.22 of the match.

It was a heart-breaking end for the Bearcats, who had put themselves in a position to win, despite trailing by 10 during the second quarter.

Sky Langenbrinck was the Bearcats’ top scorer for the second week in succession, finishing with 16 points. Rachel Herrick added 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Hill ended the night on 29 points, gathering 15 rebounds along the way. Peris picked up 10 points and 6 rebounds.

The win sees the Rockets improve to 5-0, ahead of what looks their most difficult week of the season. They have a rematch against the Warriors on Wednesday. The Rockets won 71-37 earlier this season, but the Warriors have found some form since, winning back-to-back games. The battle with the Warriors will be followed by a home clash with Norwood on ANZAC Day, in the Match of the Season thus far. Both teams are yet to lose this year, with the Flames’ most recent defeat coming the Preliminary Final against the Rockets.

The gallant Bearcats are now 1-5, with a trip to Morphett Vale coming up on ANZAC Day. The Bearcats are yet to meet the Tigers this season. The Tigers sit 2-3.

 

 




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