NBL1 North Recap | Friday Round 9

The Northside Wizards flexed their muscles once again on the back of a triple-double from Tiana Mangakahia in Friday night NBL1 North Women's action while the Darwin Salties Men opened their triple-header weekend on the road in fine fashion.

Shyla Heal returned for the Northside Wizards and Tiana Mangakahia had a night to remember with their team dominating the Darwin Salties for the eventual 114-58 victory on their home floor.

Heal had 13 points and four assists on her return but Mangakahia stole the show with 24 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.

Ruby Porter battled hard for the Salties with 14 points and three assists.

Then in the Men's contest, both teams were missing some key players including the absence of Nate Jawai, Mitch McCarron and Anthony Drmic, but the Darwin Salties opened their triple header road trip in style beating the Northside Wizards 98-89.

Makuach Maluach finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Darwin, Jerron Jamerson 26 points, and Tad Dufelmeier 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Lual Diing put up 30 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards.

Round 9 in the NBL1 North competition will continue on Saturday with the Red City Roar playing host to the Ipswich Force while the South West Metro Pirates are at home to the Logan Thunder and Rockhampton Cyclones/Rockets take on the Mackay Meteorettes/Meteors.

The Townsville Flames/Heat are also hosting the Cairns Dolphins/Marlins with the Southern Districts Spartans taking on the Darwin Salties, Sunshine Coast Phoenix battles USC Rip City and North Gold Coast Seahawks are at home to the Gold Coast Rollers.

Then on Sunday, the Brisbane Capitals are at home to the Darwin Salties at Auchenflower Stadium.

NBL1 NORTH – 2022 SEASON
ROUND 9 – FRIDAY NIGHT

WOMEN
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 114 defeated DARWIN SALTIES 58

The Northside Wizards maintained pace with the top of the NBL1 North competition with a thumping Friday night home win against the Darwin Salties.

The Wizards hosted the travelling Salties at South Pine Sports Complex with Shyla Heal back in the line-up after a bout of glandular fever.

She joined her Sydney Uni Flames WNBL teammate Tiana Mangakahia in the line-up and the Wizards were able to have a night out against the travelling Salties who were playing their first of three games on the road this weekend.

It didn’t take long for Northside to get rolling on their home floor opening up a 16-point advantage by the end of the first quarter.

They continued the charge in the second quarter going on another run of scoring 11 consecutive points to end up leading by as much as 28 points and being in control 56-29 at the half-time break.

Another 32 points to 20 in the third quarter saw the lead grow to 41 points at one point before it did balloon out to 58 in the fourth term before the Wizards settled on the 114-58 victory.

 The win improves the Wizards to a 7-2 record on the season while the Salties are now 3-6 with road games to come against the Southern Districts Spartans and Brisbane Capitals this weekend.

Tiana Mangakahia continues to show exciting signs ahead of joining Sydney Uni for the upcoming WNBL season by producing a stunning triple-double on Friday night. She ended up with 24 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds on 9/18 shooting from the floor, 3/8 from downtown and 3/5 from the free-throw line.

Caitlin Cunningham also delivered 20 points and four rebounds for Northside while Shyla Heal marked her return with 13 points, four assists and three boards.

Kelsey McDermott added 18 points and three rebounds with Hayley Cotter also putting up 20 points with 6/8 shooting from three-point land, and Georgia McCarron eight points, six rebounds and three steals.

It was a tough night for the Salties but Ruby Porter finished with 14 points and three assists while hitting 4/9 from three-point land.

Lauren Heard added 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals with April Rummery-Lamb delivering 11 points and nine boards, and Serena Waters five points and three rebounds.

MEN
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 89 lost to DARWIN SALTIES 98

It always shaped as a tantalising Friday night match up in the Men's competition at South Pine Sports Complex and it didn’t disappoint with the travelling Darwin Salties coming away with the nine-point win over the Northside Wizards.

Some big names were missing for the occasion with Anthony Drmic and Mitch McCarron not there to lead the charge for the Wizards while Nate Jawai also didn’t suit up for the Salties despite being on hand for their first of three road matches this weekend.

With a hot crowd providing a tremendous atmosphere, it was an exciting opening quarter with Darwin able to overcome an early six-point deficit to take a 27-21 advantage into quarter-time.

The Salties remained in charge throughout the second quarter and even went up by as much as 15 points at one stage before settling on the 51-40 lead at the half-time break.

The Wizards were missing their two NBL leaders in McCarron and Drmic, but had welcomed another former NBL captain and 297-game veteran Kevin White after he had made the move across the Nullarbor.

He helped to lead a fightback for the Wizards in what was becoming a spirited affair and with new Brisbane Bullets development player Lual Diing catching fire, the home team fought right back into the contest.

Northside put up 30 points to 17 in the third quarter to close the gap and be in front heading into the fourth quarter, but the Salties responded once more with 30 points to 19 in the last term to end up winning 98-89.

The victory improves the Salties to a 7-2 record on the season with games still to come this weekend in Queensland against the Southern Districts Spartans and Brisbane Capitals. The Wizards are now 6-3 following the defeat.

The three big guns in the absence of Nate Jawai all came up huge for the Salties with new Melbourne United NBL signing Makuach Maluach delivering 27 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals and several highlight reel performances.

Jerron Jamerson was also terrific with 26 points on 11/19 shooting while Tad Dufelmeier flirted with a triple-double by putting up 20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals on 9/13 shooting from the floor.

Lual Diing showed exactly why the Bullets have got him on board for #NBL23 by delivering 30 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in an exciting performance for the Wizards.

Cameron Thew added 18 points and eight rebounds too for the Wizards and Javaan Mumtaz 12 points, four boards and four assists while Kevin White made his first appearance and produced 14 points and four assists in 27 minutes of court time before struggling with some cramp late.