NBL1 Central recap: Round 1- Friday 22 April

The Woodville Warriors and Norwood Flames took centre stage under Friday night lights at St Clair Recreation Centre. The Warriors came into this game full of confidence after a convincing win over North Adelaide in Round 1 in the women’s, while in the men’s, they only just went down. However, Norwood came to play, giving the women a wake-up call while the men again went down to the wire with Woodville coming out on top this time. Check out how each game went below.

WOMEN

Woodville Warriors (45) def by Norwood Flames (103)

The Warriors struggled in this game from the get-go, trailing by 16 points at the end of the first period as Norwood put up 30 points in 10 minutes. The visitors then went one better in the third with a whopping 33 points to the Warriors’ 14. The Flames were hot all over the floor, shooting at 54 percent from both two and three-point ranges.

Alex Wilson exploded in her first game of the year for Norwood, amassing 36 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals. New recruit Brooke Basham also found her feet with 20 points while Alek Akuen led the way on the boards with 15. Emily Winter battled hard for the Warriors and was the only Woodville player to score in double figures. She finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

WOODVILLE 45 (Winter 13, Bartsch 8, Troia 7)

NORWOOD 103 (Wilson 36, Basham 20, Girardi 16)

MEN

Woodville Warriors (91) def Norwood Flames (90)

After experiencing heartbreak at the hands of North Adelaide in Round 1, the Warriors experienced the opposite emotion in front of their home crowd. It was a thrilling encounter right from the start. Both teams were deadly accurate from two-point range with Woodville going at 57 percent and Norwood going at 62.5. The Flames tried to break the constant deadlock with a 27-19 third term but the Warriors were able to wrestle back the momentum in the most dramatic of fashions in the fourth, outscoring the visitors by three and winning by one.

All five of Woodville’s starters scored in double figures with Dave Humphries leading the way. The former Lion scored 20 points to go with six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and four steals. Walter McBride proved to be the difference off the bench from a Norwood point of view, collecting 25 points to go with five boards and six steals.

WOODVILLE 91 (Humphries 20, Stepney 17, Meldrum 14)

NORWOOD 90 (McBride 25, Lycett 17, D Webber 15)