Josie Dooley’s 86 guided the SA Scorpions to a four-wicket win with nine overs remaining at Allan Border Field on Sunday, leveling the WNCL round against the ladder-leaders Queensland Fire.
After being sent into the field by Queensland, the innings got off to the perfect start thanks to Courtney Neale once again, as she dismissed Fire captain Georgia Redmayne for just five in the opening overs.
Kate Peterson was next to strike not long after, getting Charli Knott caught at cover in the eighth over.
After that, the leg-spinning duo of Amanda-Jade Wellington and Anesu Mushangwe claimed wickets in consecutive overs, with Lauren-Winfield Hill caught by a Bridget Patterson hanger off Wellington, before Mushangwe bowled Georgia Voll next over.
A quick cameo from Laura Harris (28 off 18 balls) came to an abrupt end thanks to Wellington in the 22nd over and the Fire were five down for 87 runs.
Mikayla Hinkley and Sianna Ginger developed a solid partnership after that, with some brilliance in the field from Wellington breaking it, as she ran out Ginger.
The last five overs belonged to the Scorpions skipper Jemma Barsby, as she got three wickets in the final overs to help restrict the Fire to 9-205.
Chasing 206 to win, the Scorpions overs had a watchful start before beginning to hit boundaries in the fifth over.
Not long after that, both openers fell and Courtney Webb quickly followed to have the Scorpions wobbling at 3-35.
From there though, Josie Dooley anchored the innings, first with a 54-run partnership with Maddie Penna (29) and then with Barsby (35), as the duo put on 80 runs together.
Dooley brought up her second half-century of the competition and finished on 86 as she guided the Scorpions to a four-wicket win inside 41 overs at AB Field.
The Scorpions return home for the next WNCL round, where they will play on Adelaide Oval against Victoria on Monday, January 9.