Tigers finish stronger

Ouyen broke to a five-goal lead at half-time, before a successful third quarter by Red Cliffs had the scores level going into the last quarter.

It was goal for goal early, but as the quarter developed, Red Cliffs were clearly the better finishing team.

It seemed the Tigers had stronger, taller and fitter bodies around the court and made Ouyen work desperately hard to score their goals.

In contrast, the Parkers and Zara Copley had the ball flowing effortlessly in attack.

The Kangas were unable to generate the turnovers they typically feed off due to the efficiency of Red Cliffs’ attack.

Copley herself scored the same as Ouyen – 11 goals – in the final quarter. She seldom missed.

Red Cliffs coach Romany Bowen was happy to get the win that moves them to fourth spot.

“We were pretty poor in the second quarter and were erratic with the ball,” said Bowen.

“After that, we worked on protecting the ball and we started to capitalise on their turnovers a lot more. We cleaned a few things up and managed the ebbs and flows of the game.”

Morna Naquto was key in defence for Red Cliffs, with Bowen praising her mindset.

It was another tough loss for coach Kyra Nathan and the Kangas.

“It was a great start,” said Nathan. “Our shooters combined well and Megan Jardine was patient and fed the ball into the ring well.

“The whole team looked good in the first half. The second half we went away from our game plan.

“Red Cliffs came back with accurate shots and were very physical. We got tired.”