McDowell-White “Big Piece” for Spartans

Jessica McDowell-White has become a “big piece” in her debut season for the Southern Districts Spartans, according to NBL1 North expert Jon Guarna.

McDowell-White helped the Spartans to a six-point win in Round 5 over the Gold Coast Rollers, recording eight points, seven rebounds and five assists. 

Guarna believes McDowell-White’s strongest contribution was her playmaking and involving her teammates.  

“Her control over the game, she hasn’t missed a beat. She’s elevated her ball handling, her shooting, and her scoring ability in my opinion since going over to college,” Guarna said on The NBL1 Show. 

“The way that she defended, the energy, the effort levels, and making the rest of the team the threat is where I think her real strong suit is.”

McDowell-White returned from America to play with the Spartans, after being in college with the University of San Francisco since 2020. Her efforts on Saturday night led Guarna to applaud McDowell-White’s development whilst playing at college.

“It’s a really big piece for them. They had a very tough game,” Guarna said.

"Jess was fantastic. You look at the numbers and Jess’s numbers are never going to jump out at you. Where she is strongest is getting everyone involved.”

The Spartans are back on the court Friday night against the Townsville Flames at 6:00pm AEST via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App here.

Feature image via: Taylor Earnshaw Photography