Central Recap | First Nations Round Friday Replay

By Tristan Prentice for NBL1.com.au

Feature images supplied via NBL1.com.au / @CS Photographic

The last match of Round 13 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central was rescheduled and played out last night where two teams kept their season alive with wins in a weekend where now with a double header could play havoc with both teams…   

Here are the results of Friday’s games:

Seventh win for Flames through James keeps fire burning               

The catch-up match between the Norwood Flames and Eastern Mavericks saw the Flames keep their season fire burning taking care of business eventually seeing off their opponents 86-70 at the ARC of Campbelltown.    

The Flames and Mavs both with no games since Monday and Sunday respectively had preparations thrown out with their original Wednesday match being shifted to Friday. That didn’t douse the spirit of future youth of both sides as Caitlin Shillabeer for the Flames and Daisy Hocking for the Mavericks went head to head in an entertaining light into the future with the Flames holding sway 27-23 at the first change. 

The second term was a different story with KJ James igniting the home side with eight points for the quarter and leading them to an unanswered 0-11 run to give them a handy halftime lead of 35-51. 

Needing a spark the Mavs turned to Bella Schaftenaar who this season has been thrust into the starting lineup with Morgan Yaeger sidelined and she delivered some key baskets in the second half scoring eight points but the force of James and her embers around her were enough to keep the Flames season fire burning with two rounds to play - but needing results to fall their way to make the final five one win behind the Panthers and Warriors on the table. 

James was the clear standout on the night with 27 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals, Shillabeer back to her firing best with 15 points and three rebounds while Amanda Paschal notched another double double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. 

The future of the Mavs continues to be bright with Daisy Hocking leading the way as the Sapphire sparkled again with 22 points, 12 rebounds and three steals while Bella Schaftenaar collected a new career high with 20 points and six rebounds and Lou Watkinson found her mark with 14 points on four triples.           

NORWOOD FLAMES 86 (James 27, Shillabeer 15, Paschal 11)

EASTERN MAVERICKS 70 (D Hocking 22, Schaftenaar 20, Watkinson 14)

Eastern excels at ARC with dominant shooting display over Flames           

The Eastern Mavericks have kept their season alive for at least one more day with an excellent shooting display at the ARC against the Norwood Flames 70-96 last night.  

After a Riley Harrap triple for the Flames to start the match - the Mavs were in no mood to keep this one within arms length as they rattled off a 0-20 run led by BJ Symons as they made a mess of the home side. Some late Flames scoring, full stop by an Aydan Janssan (Nine points and seven rebounds) throwdown saw it 16-28 and back to respectable figures at the first change. 

Eastern answered every time the Flames made a basket with Freddy Webb and Lachlan Hunter causing all sorts of mismatches and carnage to keep the Mavs in control 35-56 at the main break. 

Harrap came to life for the Flames in the third but Symons kept finding score after score continuously breaking the defensive lines of the home side with a pair of Micale Mee triples putting the finishing touches in the third term 77-52 with one to play. 

Tom Goodall (Six points and eight rebounds) and Oscar Sabine made the most of their late entry into the match again as players look to stake their claims for spots in the league in 2026 with the Mavs closing this one out in emphatic fashion against a rival they’ve struggled against in their history for their second win in over 20 plus years of basketball between the two clubs. 

The general and power of BJ Symons led from the get go with 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists backed up by captain Freddy Webb with 14 points, four assists and rebounds. Plenty of Mavs muscled their team across the line with import guard Broderick Robinson doing what he needed to do with 14 points, eight assists and three steals but the night also belonged to Hunter who amassed a strong double double of 18 points and 12 rebounds with four assists and two blocks. 

Home town Harrap was the best for the Flames with 14 points and five rebounds and Anthony Green paired a couple of his best together this round with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists with five other players scoring six or more in the match.      

NORWOOD FLAMES 70 (Harrap 14, Green 11, A Janssan 9)

EASTERN MAVERICKS 96 (BJ Symons 26, Hunter 18, Robinson, Webb 14)

Both teams are back in action tonight in Round 14 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central - tune in to see who keeps the fire burning or has one more trick up their sleeve from 6:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.  

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