QUARTER FINAL PREVIEWS
total blocks.
The Pirates come in to the
quarter finals having lost their last
encounter against the Spartans
last weekend. South West have
been led strongly all season long
by Stephanie Bairstow who has
averaged 23 points per game.
Shelby Cheslek has recorded 13
rebounds per game and Madelyn
Willey has led the team in assists
with almost 6 a game.
Last week’s game between
these two sides ended in another
big win for the Spartans. Maddie
Allen top scored with 19 points
and 11 rebounds for the Spar-
tans, whilst Kalani Purcell man-
aged 13 points and 10 rebounds
off the bench. The Pirates shot
at just 29% despite a big game
from Stephanie Bairstow who put
up 23 points. Madelyn Willey and
Shelby Cheslek gained 13 boards
each but couldn’t stop the pow-
erful Spartan’s offense.
The Spartans were able to keep
their stars off the court on Sun-
day to keep fresh for this game
and despite more minutes for
the bench, the end result will
more than impress the Spartan’s
coaching staff.
No one was able to knock off
the Spartans in the regular sea-
son and it would take an almighty
effort from the Pirates to pull off a
shocking upset.
Prediction: Spartans by 22
MACKAY METEORETTES (3)
VS IPSWICH FORCE (6)
Last time they met: Round 5
– Mackay 84 (Payne 25) def Ips-
wich 64 (Landry 16)
Mackay had the week off in
Round 15 and have kept their
bodies fresh ready for their quar-
ter final matchup with the Ips-
wich Force. Mackay have been a
consistent team all season long
with four players (Payne, Willey,
Cocks and Paalvast) all aver-
aging double figure points per
game. Nadeen Payne and Tami
Willey have both averaged over
8 rebounds a game and Jillian
Haughton has led the team in as-
sists with an average of 5.
Ipswich have come into the
quarter finals on the back of a
7-point win against the Pirates.
Markel Walker was dominant
for the Force scoring 33 points
and grabbing a whopping 22
rebounds for the game. Shenita
Landry was also strong scoring
15 points, 11 total rebounds and
3 steals in the win.
Ipswich have leant on Walker’s
scoring prowess all season with
the star averaging over 20 points
per and 13 rebounds per game.
The Force have been strong
shooters throughout the season
and at 43% they have the best
field goal percentage of all teams
after 17 rounds.
These two teams last met way
back in May with Mackay surg-
ing to a 20-point win in Ipswich.
On that night Nadeen Payne top
scored with 25 points and 15
rebounds. Chevennah Paalvast
also had 10 assists as Mackay
shot at 43% to Ipswich’s 32%.
No road game in the playoffs
is easy and Mackay is one of the
hardest places to win a knock-
out game. The Meteorettes are
primed after a week off and will
surely be too strong for the Force
at home.
Prediction: Mackay by 14
GLADSTONE PORT CITY
POWER (4) VS TOWNSVILLE
FLAMES (5)
Last time they met: Round 13 –
Gladstone 86 (Richardson Smith
40) def Townsville 69 (Garbin 27)
Gladstone are the form team
of the competition after winning
five straight games to finish the
season in 4th spot and secure a
home quarter final.
The Power have been led by
the incredible Tabatha Richard-
son Smith who was the leading
point scorer in 2017, averaging
over 31 points per game. Rich-
ardson Smith has had support
all year with Cassie Rochel and
Charmaine Mellars both aver-
aging close to 10 rebounds per
game. Rochel has also shot at
Get out there and perform
accelerationesp.com
14
#ourteamourtownourtime