NBL1 West Recap | Sunday First Nations Round

Tevin Jackson just wasn’t going to let the Perth Redbacks lose again as he led them to the Sunday NBL1 West win over the Geraldton Buccaneers while the Beeliar Boodjar Cougars scored a pair of home wins over the Goldfields Giants.

First Nations Round in the NBL1 West wrapped up on Sunday with just the one women's game with the Beeliar Boodjar Cougars beating the Goldfields Giants 96-66.

The Cougars men also beat the Giants 102-98 while the Perth Redbacks defeated the Geraldton Buccaneers 97-88

NBL1 WEST RECAP | SATURDAY FIRST NATIONS ROUND

NBL1 WEST RECAP | FRIDAY FIRST NATIONS ROUND

FIRST NATIONS ROUND ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN JUST THE PLAYERS

SUNS GIVE 300-GAMER MAXWELL NEW LEASE ON LIFE

WOMEN

Cougars hit back to stay top with win over Giants

Dominant performances from Sarah Mortensen and Jessie Edwards ensured the Beeliar Boodjar Cougars hit back on Sunday to beat the Goldfields Giants 96-66 to retain top spot in the NBL1 West.

The Cougars suffered their second loss of the season the previous evening to the tune of 25 points at the hands of the second placed Willetton Tigers so they did need to bounce back on Sunday at Wally Hagan Stadium.

The Giants arrived after losing to the Eastern Suns the previous night but they did have Australian Opals forward Darcee Garbin back into their line-up to mean they were always a threat.

Sarah Mortensen had a day out for Beeliar Boodjar, putting up 2??9?? points and 9 assists to keep her side on ? of the ladder!

Watch #NBL1West via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/1mF4SVsZuD

— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 9, 2023

However, Beelier Boodjar started strongly in response to the previous night to open up a 13-point lead by quarter-time on the back of scoring 11 consecutive points.

The Cougars remained in control of the contest the rest of the way to lead by as much as 23 points in the second term, 27 in the third and 31 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 30-point victory.

The win keeps Beeliar Boodjar in top spot in the NBL1 West with a 16-2 record while the Giants are now 4-14 with both teams having two games remaining over the final two rounds.

The front court pairing of Sarah Mortensen and Jessie Edwards dominated for the Cougars. Mortensen put up 29 points, nine rebounds and two steals with Edwards adding 26 points, 18 boards and two assists.

Jewel Williams also had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for Beeliar Boodjar, Steph Gorman seven points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Kirsty Whitfield six points, four boards and four assists.

Darcee Garbin did what she could to keep Goldfields in the contest with 28 points, 12 rebounds and two steals with Regan Turnour-McCarty adding 19 points, five assists and three boards, and Aimee Borchet seven points, three rebounds and three steals.

Amelia Corasaniti ???????? the needle ?

Watch #NBL1West via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/Rr1Qu4gqLc

— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 9, 2023

MEN

Cougars hit back for home win over Giants

The Beelier Boodjar Cougars shook off the frustration at another missed opportunity the previous night to beat the Goldfields Giants in a performance full of heart to prevail 102-98.

Both teams came into the Sunday match up having played the night before with the Cougars losing another game from a winning position to the Willetton Tigers while losing captain Gavin Field along the way while already without Luke and Keegan Phillips.

At least Kieran Berry did return to host the Giants at Wally Hagan Stadium on Sunday with Goldfields attempting to make it three straight wins on the back of beating the Eastern Suns the previous evening.

The Giants came out on fire on that quest for a third straight win to put up 35 points in the opening term and lead by 16 at quarter-time.

That lead got out to as much as 18 points in the second term as well but the Cougars did well to work back into the contest to cut the deficit to eight by half-time.

Beeliar Boodjar then then took charge in the third quarter with 30 points to 17 with the lead for the home team getting out to as much as nine points in the fourth.

Goldfields weren’t going away, though, and were still able to make things interesting late with it getting back to being a three-point ball game with Michael Dupree dropping a three with just under a minute to play.

However, the Cougars did enough to stay firm and in the dying stages the defensive presence of Nathan Pond was significant while he also made some big plays at the offensive end, and then Kieran Berry and Courtney Alexander II iced the win at the foul line.

Both teams came into the game with identical records with the Cougars improving to 8-12 with the while the Giants are now 7-13.

Taj Benning completed his best weekend of the season for Beeliar Boodjar by producing 22 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocks while shooting 9/18 from the floor.

Courtney Alexander II also finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Josh Hunt 16 points, nine boards and three assists, and Seva Chan 11 points and four assists.

Kaidon Sander also had the best performance of his six-game career with 13 points and nine rebounds with Kieran Berry adding nine points and three assists, and Nathan Pond six points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Michael Dupree was impressive again for the Giants with 23 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals with Hamish Cummings adding 22 points on 4/8 three-point shooting.

Kon Anguik also had 20 points and seven rebounds before fouling out late with Jerome Reid adding 13 points and four boards, and Damon Ballantyne 12 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Damon Ballantyne is ????? ?

Watch #NBL1West via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/NFQqNDkmE5

— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 9, 2023

Jackson ensures Redbacks bounce back v Buccs

Perth Redbacks captain Tevin Jackson just wasn’t going to let his team lose again on Sunday even against the powerful Geraldton Buccaneers, and he led his team to the 97-88 victory.

The Redbacks were back home at Belmont Oasis to host the second placed Buccaneers on Sunday with Perth having lost to the East Perth Eagles the previous night while Geraldton beat the Lakeside Lightning.

That meant the Redbacks were back home having lost four of their past five matches to have dropped to seventh position and to just about fall out of top four contention, and needing to bounce back against the Buccaneers.

It was a big task for Perth even with Geraldton missing Zac Gattorna and Liam Hunt, but they started well with 23 points to 18 in the opening quarter. The Redbacks then continued to build on that lead to be up by 14 points in the second quarter and 15 in the third.

The Redbacks retained control the rest of the way to end up scoring the nine-point win to improve to an 11-9 record to stem that run of losses while the Buccs are 14-5 now with their winning run ending and now being 5-4 on the road but unbeaten at home.

Redbacks captain Tevin Jackson inspired his team to the win by finishing with 28 points, four rebounds and three steals on the back of 12/15 shooting from the floor.

Bryton Hobbs added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, David Okwera 13 points, nine boards and three assists, Louis Timms 10 points and three rebounds, and Brian Voelkel nine points, 12 boards, two assists and two steals.

Aaron Ralph top-scored for Geraldton with 21 points while hitting six more three-pointers as he closes in on the all-time record in the league from beyond the arc.

Malik Meunier added 20 points and five assists, Johny Narkle 20 points, five rebounds and three assists, Shaun Stewart 17 points and four assists, and Mat Wundenberg two points, 15 rebounds and two assists.

Tevin Jackson goes the ??? ???? ??? ?

Watch #NBL1West via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/O2l8PdhaqG

— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 9, 2023