THE Southern Districts Spartans delivered a terrific offensive performance on their way to a 34-point triumph over USC Rip City in the NBL1 North Women’s on the weekend.

The result was set up by the efforts of Southern Districts’ starters, all of whom were able to register double-digit points. The pure offensive output from the Spartans proved too much for Rip City, who were unable to match it, and ended up falling with the final score standing at 104-70.

Madelyn Allen led the scoring for the victors, finishing with 25 points on 10/18 shooting from the field. However, she was upstaged by teammate Kalani Purcell, who remarkably recorded a triple-double with a final statline of 11 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, doing it all in a terrific showing.

Also among the contributors were Lil Dart (19 points, 7/10 FG), Leah Scott (19 points, 7/14 FG) and Nadeen Payne (10 points, five rebounds), with all starters contributing in one way or another. The same cannot be said for Rip City, who relied too heavily on Maddison Rocci (26 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and Ashley Arlen (25 points, five rebounds).

The match was tightly contested in the opening term, with Rip City able to keep up with the Spartans, and taking full advantage of having their home court. The Spartans led by just one point at the first change of play, and it was shaping up to be a back and forth affair.

Things turned in the second quarter, when the Spartans pushed out to a significant lead on the scoreboard. With plenty of contributors stepping up for Southern Districts, USC could not contain the opposition on the defence end, and were outscored 33-16 in the second term, and headed into halftime trailing by 18 points.

Quarter number three saw the hosts able to tighten things up a bit on the defensive end, but the Spartans still broke free to extend the margin even further. Scott, Dart and Allen were all able to find the bottom of the net with ease, while Purcell was doing it all and allowing the trio to shine. When the buzzer sounded to mark three-quarter time, the margin had been pushed out to 24 points, and the result was all but sealed.

Southern Districts managed to push their lead even more in the final 10 minutes of play, delivering yet another productive term on the offensive end. They managed to conjure another 28 points, displaying no signs of slowing up and cruising home to a whopping victory. The win gives the Spartans a record of seven wins and one loss, which puts them in second spot on the ladder and a realistic chance of winning it all this season.