Photo Credits – NBL1
5-Minute Read
The Game
When: 5:30pm (ACST), Saturday August 8
Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Broadcast: Kayo Freebies, http://www.nbl1.com.au
Did you know?
This will be the Sturt Sabres and West Adelaide Bearcats third venue played at for a Grand Final since 2015 with both teams having played deciders at Adelaide Arena, Lights Community and Sports Centre and now the Adelaide Entertainment Centre
The Last Meetings
Round 8 (PA) – WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 93 (CO HODGES 22, YAEGER 17, CH HODGES 13, CIABATTONI 14, STRAWBRIDGE 10, LEHMANN 8) defeated STURT SABRES 66 (L WILLIAMSON 12, BRAZEL, PADROTH 10, STAMATELOPOULOS 9, N MATHEWS 8, Z WALKER-ROBERTS 7)
Round 15 (SS) – STURT SABRES 56 (BRAZEL 21, PADROTH 11) lost to WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 77 (YAEGER 20, CIABATTONI 19, CH HODGES 16, CO HODGES 11, STRAWBRIDGE 7)
QUALIFYING SEMI-FINAL (PA) – WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 83 (CO HODGES 17, YAEGER 15, CH HODGES 13, CIABATTONI 12, STRAWBRIDGE 12, LEHMANN 8) defeated STURT SABRES 64 (PADROTH 17, Z WALKER-ROBERTS 11, WILLIAMSON 10, N MATHEWS 8)
How they got here
West Adelaide Bearcats (1st – 17-1)
After a dominant 17-1 season the Bearcats were a case of one and done for the finals series winning their qualifying final over the Sturt Sabres in convincing fashion 83-64 at Port Adelaide. It was a tight opening but the second quarter gave the Bearcats the advantage with their defence moving up a notch and Morgan Yaeger dropping some points to give them the 41-31 lead at the half. After splitting the third term evenly the fourth term also remained closely contested but West Adelaide did not let the Sabres within eight points or less answering each time they threatened. The Bearcats were able to stretch the margin to twenty from there with some key triples and some Krystal clear vision from Thompson creating stops for her side and putting them into their third grand final in a decade.
Sturt Sabres (2nd – 14-4)
It was a different path for the Sabres of sorts in 2026 having only lost games to the top three teams to finish in second place with a 14-4 record. They first up saw off their 2023 Grand Final nemesis the Norwood Flames off in the Qualifying Final 75-66 at Springbank. It was the Sabres defensively out of the blocks showing their experience in finals when the lights came on as they grinded down the Flames 41-23 at the half. The Flames hit back in the second half but when it came to the crunch – the Coaches MVP and Merv Harris winner for 2026 stepped right up striking back to finish with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists to help guide her Sabres back to a rematch of the 2025 Qualifying Semi-Final this time at Port Adelaide.
After going down to the Bearcats in the final term – the Sabres found themselves with a rematch of their qualifying final this time with no next week for the loser. That pressure didn’t seem to deter the Sabres as they replicated and made a little extra of the Norwood Flames 72-51 at Springbank. The Sabres found another level to their defensive game taking out the first half 38-21 and like the last game the Flames launched their comeback in the third term 9-19 to bring it back to 47-40. That’s when the Sabres showed off their improved offensive arsenal paired with their defensive nous 25-11 as Brazel dropped eight final quarter points who was elite at both ends of the court to take them to another opportunity for a shot at redemption.
Championship History
The Bearcats Women return to the decider for the first time since 2022 where last year’s championship coaches in Kaye-Lee Stuart and Vicki Daldy took them to the title. Before that it was a long time to get back to the big dance with their last appearance in 2016 going down to the North Adelaide Rockets 45-63 at Adelaide Arena. The Bearcats have won the championship seven times and been in the Grand Final eighteen times.
They made five in a row across 1989-1993 with back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993. Notable players across this era were superstars Pat Mickan, Rachael Sporn, Cass Pujals, Sam Woosnam, Trina Balter, Debbie Miller and Heather McKinnon. Matthew Clarke who took the Southern Tigers to the 2021 championship will be looking to repeat his second Grand Final appearance as coach with the Bearcats eighth title in their 80 year history.
The Sturt Sabres will appear in their fourth Grand Final in five seasons of the NBL1 but this time the form line is different. The Sabres have been in six grand finals since 2010, in 2011, 2014, 2019, 2022 and 2023 and 2025. The last five finals before 2023 were by an average margin of six points – while not an official NBL1 season, they also won the ABC 2020 against the Southern Tigers.
The Sabres have been in the championship decider ten times, and they have won five matches. This included two across 2006 and their last one 18 years ago in 2008, featuring stars Renae Camino (Garlepp) and the Bowley sisters of Monique and Hannah.
Many players remain from their previous two finals in the NBL1 Central Era including Nicola Mathews, Meg Prosser, Zoe Walker-Roberts and Tayla Brazel with several other players that have come through juniors part of their journey to breaking their own finals record as well.
These teams have met only once before in the Grand Final four years ago in 2022 at the Lights Community and Sports Centre with West Adelaide prevailing 82-75.
The Numbers
- The West Adelaide Bearcats have been superior in their matchups offensively this season as #1 for points scored (96.5), field goal percentage (47.2), assists (23.1), turnovers conceded (13.8), offensive rebounds (14.7), rebounds (46.2) and steals (17.2)
- In addition they are #1 for points in the paint (51.8), points off turnovers (19.5), second chance points (12.2) and fastbreak points (17.5)
- Add to this their defensive numbers as #1 for points per game conceded (58.7), field goal percentage conceded (35.4), 3pt percentage conceded (20.3), assists conceded (13.1), turnovers caused (26.3), rebounding conceded (40.4) and steals given up (7.6)
- They are measly also in giving up points from turnover (5.2) and second chance points (6.1)
- Matthew Clarke’s second coach of the year season success stemmed from similar to his last team the Southern Tigers who won in 2021 who was also were top two in points, field goal percentage, rebounding, points conceded, 3pt percentage conceded, points in the paint and second chance points as well as the defensive categories above.
- The Sturt Sabres are top in several categories going into the final as #2 for points per game conceded (62.6), 3pt percentage conceded (24.6), assists conceded (13.4) and turnovers caused (22.4)
- Add to this they are #2 in points off turnover (11.4), conceding points in the paint (28.2) and giving up fast break points (5)
- The Sabres offence has risen a notch this season as #3 in the competition with 78.1 points per game compared to 70.1 (2025) and 70.5 (2024) – more on par with their 78.8 in 2023
- Against West Adelaide this season the Sabres have only averaged 62 points and conceded 84 points per game. The Sabres have not scored more than 80 points in their last six meetings.
- The Sabres finals record in the decider will need some overcoming having not won their last six grand finals – conceding an average of 74 points and scoring only an average of 64 points
The Money Women
The Perth Lynx player herself is the queen of reliability and has shone on the biggest stage of the WNBL Grand Final in Alex Ciabattoni. Her form line including a second half of season high 19 votes in the Lorraine Eiler Medal includes an average of 18 points, six rebounds and four assists – she knows when the big time is approaching. Add to this her performance in the 2024 NBL1 West Grand Final in 2024 of 30 points, six rebounds and five assists and you have yourself the player that rewards herself on the big stage individually but is also motivated to overcome the team records she has in big dances.
The difference for the Sabres is literally the Adelaide Lightning player herself in Tayla Brazel. Missing last year’s conclusion she instantly has increased the offensive numbers for the Sabres and we know what she can do defensively matching-up 1-5 on the court and has taken her game to another level this season. Her form is crisp heading in with an average of 22 points and 7.4 rebounds minus their last meeting showing the understanding that if the Sabres are to score enough points then Brazel must be taking 15 or more shots. You can see the possibility of these two going head to head on the Adelaide Entertainment Centre floor.
The Reliable Women
This was a tough one that I actually spent a full day summarising over however I’ve gone with Morgan Yaeger for a volume of work over multiple seasons. It’s one thing to have breakout seasons but it’s another to consistently show a body of work at the higher level in overseas leagues as well as local input. The difference this year is the role and time on the floor has been significant to the reliability of Yaeger. She has played minus nine minutes on average this season compared to her past seasons and as a result a high volume of shots and percentage has ensured. Yaeger clipped 50.6 from the field this season in her 19.9 points in 25 minutes per game – her role is defined clearly under Clarke. With 18 points in her last NBL1 Central Grand Final with the Southern Tigers in 2021 along with 32 in game two of the NBL1 North Grand Final shes a proven performer in deciders.
If there is a method for the Sabres to win this game perhaps it’s turning the focus to finding an untapped echelon of being ultra defensive – leading that charge is multiple defensive player of the year Zoe Walker-Roberts. Has been the most consistent defender in the league as the winner of the award in 2024 for the team that has been right up there in the category since 2022. She’s done two jobs on the Lorraine Eiler Medallist in Cali Clark and matched up and guarded all last time they met the Bearcats in undersized matchups but not without heart. She’s also hit the scoreboard in this final series with an average of 12.3 points per game giving her the double edge in this final.
The X-Factors
You could almost accumulate a starting five of these for West Adelaide with some key things to take into account – first of all Krystal Thompson has an incredibly important role as well as some key numbers coming into Saturday night. She had 16 points in their last meeting of 2025 while also averaging four steals in her last four encounters. Ashlee Strawbridge is no stranger to the AEC having played for the Tall Ferns in their international fixtures in 2025 and brings the extra experience to the floor. It’s been brilliant seasons for Coco Hodges and Chloe Hodges averaging 30 points, 25 rebounds and 11 assists as a duo in the finals however the only remaining question is how they will handle the bright lights of the big stage and one of the largest crowds they will play in front of Saturday night.
If the plan is to go toe to toe at the offensive end of the floor – the page needs to be turned into a scoring weapon in Paige Padroth with the start in this one. Padroth has a solid record against the Bearcats with 17, 11, 10, 12 in her last four games for 12.5 points per game. Then there’s Katia Stamatelopoulos who has already shown the big dance has no fear for her. She was the standout in last year’s decider for the Sabres and instigated the comeback against the Warriors with 22 points, seven rebounds with a finals average in 2025 of 14 points per game. She’s been quiet this campaign and that spells danger for her opposition.
So who claims the championship?
The simple answer is look at the numbers and its West in a canter but before we just lock that in – lets consider why the Sabres couldn’t win it.
For the first time in their last two grand finals they will go in as underdogs and as Brazel spoke about on NBL1 Central Unleashed this week they are embracing this. Sturt also has more experience playing at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre with eight players on the roster featuring in last year’s decided with Brazel a WNBL player. Compare that to Ciabattoni, Yaeger and Strawbridge who have played in front of large crowds and only Strawbridge has played at this venue – it does make a difference especially early in the big dance.
This game will have two of the smartest basketball IQs in the state in Clarke and Shortt supported by their equally strong assistant coaches – the in game moves that come unexpectedly will be what decides this contest.
The two ways coach Tim Shortt’s team can pull off the upset will be to try and up the offensive attack on the basket learning the lessons of the 2023 and 2025 Grand Final second halves or turn this into a grind with small 0.5 of a step and shapes unpredictably to make sure they don;t fall into their past readable predictable gameplay and try to keep it as tight as possible to the final minutes and find a way late in the contest.
For West it’s simple – take the margin out early and throw everything at the first half then from there it’s controlling the contest as they’ve done all season. They’ll look to get Yaeger and Coco Hodges going early as they’ve been the key instigator of points with Ciabattoni and Chloe Hodges marshalling the pressure followed by a bench of high octane ball pressurers in Thompson and Sienna Lehmann.
While West Adelaide will go in red hot favourite I’ll leave you with these thoughts for consideration…
In a Women’s league which has been predictable for many years – the Women’s grand final has thrown up the unexpected continuously. In 2022 it was the Bearcats Skye Langenbrinck turning back the clock, in 2023 it was the bench points of Caitlin Shillabeer for the Flames, in 2024 it was Taylah Levy elevating her stardom to another level and in 2025 after a quiet scoreless series Ida Andersson scored the most important 14 points of her career.
In this game there will be something we don’t see coming and I just can’t shake the feeling that you can’t underestimate a team that’s been that close and are motivated to seek redemption for past errors…
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CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 