In our final hit out of the regular season, we headed to Wally Hagan Stadium to face the Cockburn Cougars.
The first quarter for the Tiger women was a tight affair with the Cougars taking the 3 point advantage going into quarter time.
The Tigers fought back at the start of the second quarter with Tayla Hepburn getting some great looks putting up 6 points for the quarter.
The scoring then dried up for the Tigers, with Desiree Kelley breaking the 4 minute drought with 2 made free throws to put the Tigers within 4 points of the Cougars.
The deficit at the half was 6 points and the game was still within reach.
Alex Sharp stunned at the start of the 3rd quarter with 4 points and 2 offensive rebounds in a little over a minute of play.
Sam Lubcke got the 2 to put the Tigers level at the 8 minute mark of the 3rd quarter.
After going score for score, the Tigers took the lead with 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter thanks to a big 3 from Emma Gandini.
Sharp extended the lead with the next 2 offensive plays and the Tigers looked to be rolling into great form to close out the game.
Going into the final term, the Tigers led by 3 points, which quickly extended to 6 with an impressive 3 point play by Sharp in the opening play phase.
Despite the fight back, the Cougars lit it up in the final quarter from the 3 point line, with De Sousa making back to back 3’s, followed by Jewel Williams and Alina Hartmann both hitting 3’s in the following plays.
The Tigers couldn’t match the scoring power of the Cougars, putting up 30 points for the quarter to the Tigers 17. The girls went down by a final margin of 10 points.
The Tiger Women head to Warwick Stadium to take on the Senators in the Qualifying Final this Saturday.
The Men were facing the 4th placed Cougars who were in great form in the second half of the season.
The Tigers were a few men down, with Mike Vigor, Andrew Black and Hunter Clarke all out for the game.
Dylan Hampson stepped up for his team in a big way in the first quarter, scoring 7 points in a row and keeping the team in touch.
Damien Scott also had a great opening quarter with 9 points.
The Cougars had a good spread of scorers, and we able to answer each basket, finishing up by 2 points at quarter time.
The Tigers put forward an incredible team effort in the second quarter, with a total of 6 players hitting the scoreboard.
Lachlan Evans came off the bench firing with 3 3-pointers in 4 minutes, including a half time buzzer beater to extend the Tigers lead out to 6 points.
Connor Mincherton kept this 3-point frenzy going with a step back 3 in the opening minute of the 3rd quarter, however things started to heat up offensively for the Cougars as they went on a 15-4 scoring run.
Carter Skaggs warmed up at the 3 point line, and Seva Chan was attacking the ring effectively.
Tom Gerovich had some big inside moves to keep the Tigers in touch, and Josh Ibukunoluwa showed his range with a big 3.
The Tigers were facing a 9 point deficit at the start of the final term.
Despite some important points from Michael Garbellini, and some great offensive rebounding as a team, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Cougars. The Cougars sealed the win by 16 points.
The season is now finished for the Men, but you can get down to Warwick Stadium at 5pm on Saturday to support the Women on their quest to defend their Championship!
Game Night Gallery
Thank you to June Halliday for the photos from the night
For the full Women vs Cougars album click here
For the full Men’s vs Cougars album click here
