The second Playoff Final saw Lady Rocks take on St Mirren in the U18 Women’s Final. League Champions Rocks were feeling confident coming into the fixture after their comfortable win over Perth Phoenix in the Semi-Final.
Both teams came out with intent to score early. Lady Rocks racked up an early lead behind Shannon Beattie’s dominant performance, scoring from all levels. Beattie had her partner in crime by her side, as Maela Faleu was disruptive on defence.
St Mirren struggled later in the first to keep up with Rocks’ pace as they cut out a 16 point lead to end the opening quarter, 29-13.
Domination was the trend for Lady Rocks as they controlled the pace of the game. A strong transition put the pressure onto Saints’ struggling defence. With their lead expanding more and more, Rocks perfected their defence to hold St Mirren at bay.
Beattie and Faleu controlled the tempo and kept Rocks’ scoreboard ticking over to end the half as they held a 42-23 lead.
A well-structured offence from the Rocks caused major issues to the St Mirren defence, with cuts coming from all angles, the defence was scrambling to cover the ball.
Dunsire, Faleu, Beattie and Burns all worked in tandem to force tunrovers and score in transition.
Saints’ Laura Collins was all over the court, a standout on defence and rebounding strong as well as running the offence. Her efforts were noticed but unrewarded as Rocks sussed out the game plan.
With the lead expanding even more, Rocks now led 55-30.
The final quarter started with more of the same for Rocks, their lead grew further after Saints’ Laura Collins fouled out.
The Lady Rocks continued their dominance throughout the final quarter which saw them crowned the 2019 U18 Women’s Playoff Champions as they took down St Mirren 79-38.
Report courtesy of The Church Of Hoops
