Central Recap | Round 11 Sunday

By Tristan Prentice for NBL1.com.au

Feature images supplied via NBL1.com.au /  Melissa Belanic | @justbphotoau

Round 11 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central concluded Sunday afternoon with strike backs for teams just falling at the finish line the previous evening, some high octane pace of play and yet another buzzer beating win in the nick of time at St Francis…  

Here are the results of Sunday’s games:

James splashes Sabres to redeem Flames              

After a gallant effort and running out of the points late against the West Adelaide Bearcats the Norwood Flames atoned for their previous night loss with a huge haul from KJ James as they splashed the Sabres in a stunning upset 78-72 at the ARC.  

The Flames showed no fear from falling the previous night as they took it right up to the Sabres 21-19 in the first term - led by James. Paige Padroth (15 points, four rebounds and steals with three assists) was pushing the pace early for the Sabres to keep them in the contest. 

Meg Prosser (13 points and five rebounds) picked up from the previous night with the points but James was just unstoppable in the first half with 20 points for the half as the Sabres led 39-40.

The James show rolled on as she sliced her way through the Sabres with Amanda Paschal (18 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and four assists) joining in the points production. The Flames however showed their defence snarl with a 22-6 telling term to bring the Sabres to stand still with a 12-0 run to lead 59-46 with the last term ahead.

The Sabres offence continued to be dried up as Paschal and James kept the scoreboard ticking over 67-53. As Sabres teams did with 4:00 minutes to go they made their move charging back into the match through captain Nicola Mathews (Eight points with four assists, three steals and rebounds). 

It was too late though as the Sunday sizzler was completed by the Flames with KJ James finishing with 40 points and eight rebounds.

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The Flames stay in the finals race once again with a 1-1 weekend - Find out if they are making up the numbers or ready to rise to the challenge next Saturday when they take on the Forestville Eagles 6:00pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.   

NORWOOD FLAMES 78 (James 40, Paschal 18, Kerridge 8)

STURT SABRES 72 (Padroth 15, Prosser 13, Stamatelopoulos 12)

 

Warriors do enough to ease over Eastern              

The Woodville Warriors avoided a scare at St Francis De Sales as a pumped up Eastern Mavericks threw plenty of punches at the Warriors but the away side slid away in the final term 55-63 in the finish.  

The Mavs got the fast start through Aspen Williston who continued her great recent form… 

Aspen Williston carves up the D and finishes it off ?

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The Warriors however found some big bombs from outside from Ida Andersson (11 points with three triples) as they took a 16-19 lead into the first break thanks to Ambah Kowcun’s buzzer beater. 

At 26-30 the game took the turn the way of the Warriors with a 0-14 run going the way of Jasmin Fejo (14 points, six rebounds, fours steals and three assists), Naomi Allotey (Eight points, three assists and rebounds) and Erin Phillips (Four points and 12 rebounds) delivering the silver service for her teammates as they led 26-38 at the half. 

The Mavs hit back in the third to even it right back up as Williston picked up from where she left off in the first half then Lou Watkinson (Nine points and four steals) found some extra additions to the score. Laura Erikstrup in foul trouble early managed to find some separation in transition for more points to make it 43-51 with one stanza to play out.  

Erikstrup (14 points, eight rebounds and three assists) continued to be a problem late in the piece but Williston (23 points and 12 rebounds) kept it interesting but a couple of slightly off course passes compared to the Warriors proved the difference in creating cleaner opportunities for the dark green and gold as they eased to the win over Eastern.

           

The Warriors got back on track with a tough Sunday afternoon assignment - find out if they can edge ahead of their next opponent the South Adelaide Panthers next Saturday 6:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.   

EASTERN MAVERICKS 55 (Williston 23, Watkinson 9, D Hocking, Schaftenaar 6)

WOODVILLE WARRIORS 63 (Erikstrup, Fejo 14, Andersson 11, Allotey 8)

 

Rockets and Tigers play out yet another tight tussle at Lights              

The North Adelaide Rockets and Southern Tigers played off in another classic tight tussle in the Kayo Freebies Game of the Week 55-51 at the Lights.   

Young gun on the rise Charlotte Southam-Clark (10 points and three rebounds) started strong and along with imports McKenzie Johnston (11 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists) and Iva Belosevic opened up an early 10-0 start. Lauren Badenoch broke the drought followed up by Mollie McKendrick (12 points and rebounds with three assists) in her second match against her old side helped bring it back to 17-19 at the first change. 

Margot Hall (Six points) made a move under the basket worth the price of admission as Belosevic (14 points and 16 rebounds with three steals) continued to expose the Rockets defence.

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The home side responded through Ella Batish (11 points, five rebounds and three steals) as she strung consecutive double figure matches together and form in the process. Jordyn Freer’s late points in the term evening it up 35-32 at the half.

The third was the quintessential grind with Annie Bartsch adding a few for the Tigers to close it to 41-39 at the end of three. 

Bartsch (10 points, three rebounds and two assists) with a left handed finger roll opened the fourth then found another to extend her Tigers back into the lead. Both teams were tiring quickly in the grind but the Rockets through the superstar Freer and some free throws to Batish sealed the tough win and a 2-0 weekend for the red and white.

          

The Rockets go 2-0 on the weekend - are they a top three threat??? Find out when they take on the second placed West Adelaide Bearcats next Saturday 6:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.   

NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 55 (J Freer 18, McKendrick 12, Batish 11)

SOUTHERN TIGERS 51 (Belosevic 14, Johnston 11, Bartsch, Southam-Clark 10)

Sabres strike back to keep ARC record in place             

The Sturt Sabres kept one of their records intact not only moving closer to the fifth placed West Adelaide Bearcats but also their streak at the Norwood Flames home venue of the ARC as they struck back from disappointment the previous night 79-95.   

Sharif Black started strong while Anthony Green (Six points and eight rebounds) blocked Ben Griscti early then finished with the two handed slam at the other end in scenes we’ve seen before. Riley Harrap (20 points) regained the touch that eluded him the previous night with some early scores and Trey McBride also found his touch after his first return match finding his groove. The Sabres led at quarter time 20-22 thanks to captain Jack Turnbull turning back the clock to some sensational shooting. 

Turnbull took it to the Flames literally but was responded to by McBride in good signs for the home side. Emerging was Griscti though as the great separator along with Black who slammed one down one hander and a couple of triples from spot ups. The Sabres momentum kept rolling through the big rookie Adelaide 36er and Black’s half time hooter haul as his team found the front at the half 36-48.

Quiet in the first half Jordan Forbes found a triple early in the third while Griscti (29 points with three triples and 15 rebounds) was proving the problem in the paint and on the perimeter in a striking performance for the double light blue. The Flames however kept just in touch thanks to Aydan Janssan (14 points and seven rebounds) and McBride (18 points, six rebounds, four assists with three steals) to close it to 61-72 with one to go. 

As the season moves into the final month - the little moments are separating the table now as the Sabres knowing they needed to make their move turned the heat up on the Flames with Forbes (18 points, seven rebounds and six assists) and Black (27 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals) snuffed out any chance for the Flames - giving the Sabres a one and two game gap respectively between the teams chasing them and one game behind fifth.

            

The Sabres strike back and are now striking distance of fifth on the table - find out if they continue their spree when they meet the Eastern Mavericks next Saturday 8:00pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.   

NORWOOD FLAMES 79 (Harrap 20, McBride 18, A Janssan 14)

STURT SABRES 95 (Griscti 29, Black 27, Forbes 18)

 

Wurm wins it in nick of time for Warriors             

The Eastern Mavericks had it in their grasp but a late strike from Nick Wurm won the game for the Woodville Warriors on the buzzer 75-76 at St Francis De Sales.   

The Mavs needed the muscle at home early and they got the hot start through import Broderick Robinson who found touch late against the Tigers and showed that in the first term to give the home side a 24-15 lead after one. 

The turnaround for the Warriors was swift off the back of their upset win the previous night with a 22-25 term orchestrated by Nick Wurm who buried three triples in a row - even the son of the father made the tough move that put a smile on coach Scott Whitmore’s dial. Robinson continued to tick the scoreboard over, joined by Owen Raneburg (19 points with five threes at 50 percent) though to give the home side the lead of the scoreboard 46-40 at the half.

Wurm continued his purple patch of form finding everything from elite contorted drives to outside range while Robinson was shaking, baking and splashing, wanting it all for the Mavs - he drove them to the 64-54 three quarter time break. 

The last term was pure chaos as the Mavs sensing the need to ride Robinson (22 points with four tres, seven rebounds and six assists) and BJ Symons (12 points, six rebounds and five assists) to the finish line - the Warriors showed their continuity and consistency eating away at Eastern’s total with Bryce Sloan making plays and a steal and finish to Joe Jackson really setting the nerves a buzz in St Francis. The Warriors execution out of the final timeout was the final straw drawn as the Warriors had one possession, composed the ball and despite a miss delivered the pass to Wurm in the corner for the win…

The thrilling finish once again came from the game winner this time for Nick “of time” Wurm with 29 points on seven threes at 70 percent for the afternoon with nine rebounds -  a result both teams will look back on as likely pivotal by season's end…

          

The Warriors steal the win and a 2-0 weekend to split the table between fourth and fifth by one game again - one of the most important fixtures of the season awaits them at home at the castle of St Clair against the South Adelaide Panthers next Saturday 8:15pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.   

EASTERN MAVERICKS 75 (Robinson 22, Raneburg 19, Symons 12)

WOODVILLE WARRIORS 76 (Wurm 29, Sloan 15, Troussel 13)

 

Rockets finally fire as takedown of Tigers complete              

The North Adelaide Rockets dented the Southern Tigers final five chances consigning them to a 0-2 weekend with an upset of calamitous circumstances 88-83 at the Lights on the Kayo Freebies Game of the Week.   

Led from the front by their captain Tobias Dowdell who turned it back for the 2021 championship winner with the Rockets - The red and white showed the signs of slowing down as they shot the speed up for the homeside 23-20 at the first break. 

Philip Dopud (Seven points) tried from all ranges from turnarounds to triples with Koop McCalop having a strong energetic afternoon as the Rockets played some of their best ball clearly for the season and the Tigers seemingly swinging for answers. 

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The response came from the skipper Jarrod Molnar (14 points and six rebounds) pushing it back to 46-36 at the half. 

Jarvis Doles (23 points, seven rebounds with three assists) found some range early in the third quarter but McCalop a long time import in the league for several years was showing the newbies why they’d been here for multiple seasons but ex Rocket Nick Logan (Nine points) made some big plays including a huge baseline dunk then a triple, then the steal and score for a quick eight points. Doles basket to basket was getting hard to guard but off the back of a strong weekend Machar Machar (17 points and seven rebounds) another playing their former side was having an impact as Summers (12 points and eight assists) dropped the floater on three quarter time buzzer with the home side ahead 70-63 with one to go.

Harry Morris (21 points and 17 rebounds) peeled off two triples to open the fourth then a third to tie the scores 79-79 but as they got close the Rockets responded at each challenge and they would not be denied their third win of the season with Bijan Johnson three giving them back the lead, Molnar making it 84-83 but the finishing play summed up this one for the Rockets as Koop stuffed it in the hoop of Bijan Johnson to give them the win…  

        

The Rockets cause the upset and take momentum into their next task - it’s against the West Adelaide Bearcats next Saturday 8:15pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.   

NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 88 (McCalop 24, Dowdell 23, M Machar 17)

SOUTHERN TIGERS 83 (Doles 23, Morris 21, Molnar 14)

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