Recap NBL1 Central | Round 9 Sunday

Feature images via: Melissa Belanic | @justbphotoau

Round 9 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central concluded with four teams signalling a second half of the season warning to their rivals - some with their talent back on the court and others closing important results down the stretch when it mattered.     

Here are the results from Sunday's games:

Levy Lions maul Flames in furious third term   

The Central Districts Lions Tayla Levy returned with a roar as the Lions mauled the Norwood Flames 70-93 at the Furnace. A third term of 15-30 was the difference as the Lions took apart the Flames thanks to the returning Levy after missing their last encounter against the Warriors. 

Sit back and enjoy the Taylah Levy show ???

25 Points, 4 Rebounds & 8 Assists in Central Districts win over Norwood

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Levy collected 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds and along with star Casey Samuels (27 points and four rebounds) made a mess of the Flames with championship coach Will Smith stepping in after the mid-season break. 

The Flames import Emily Saunders kept them in touch in the first half with 10 points and 15 rebounds and Caitlin Shillabeer hit the scoreboard with double figures in her best return since coming back from college - but in the end the Lions overpowered their youthful opponents to continue their strong season. 

The Lions play the Mavericks next week on June 1 at 6:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.     

NORWOOD FLAMES 70 (Shillabeer 11, Saunders 10, Langton 9)

CENTRAL DISTRICTS LIONS 93 (Samuels 27, Levy 25, Ritz 10)

Tigers triple threats bury Warriors in second leg   

The question mark considering the Tigers injury riddled season was whether they could back up from the previous evening - they answered that emphatically burying the Woodville Warriors 101-57 at the Cage. The three point line numbers were in the Tigers favour with 14 for the match - but it was their tenacious defence that took a step up as they took a 42-15 second half.

Regan Schenck led the charge with 11 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals also awarded a momentous medal for the best and fairest between the two clubs named after club legend who played for both teams in Greg Olbrich. She even beat the buzzer right here to keep the momentum rolling.

Returning from injury - Bianca Stasinowsky found her range to drop 22 points with four triples, six rebounds, five assists and four steals in the match in a welcomed return with six Tigers players making double figures including both Mollie Mckendrick (15 points) and Sophie Kerridge (14 points with six steals). The Warriors Molly Whitmore came off the pine to help her side at varying times in the contest to finish with 12 points and six rebounds while Holly Forbes narrowly missed yet another double double with nine points and rebounds. 

The Tigers play the Panthers next week at the Cage looking to extend their 11 game winning streak against their southern rivals on June 1 at 6:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. 

SOUTHERN TIGERS 101 (Stasinowsky 22, McKendrick 15, Kerridge 14)

WOODVILLE WARRIORS 57 (Allotey, Whitmore 12, Forbes 9) 

Ultra Magnus checkmates Flames to move Lions up the board  

The Central Districts Lions made the biggest move of the weekend, checking the Norwood Flames off their head to head list 89-104 at the Furnace. Import Magnus Richards was gigantic with a season high 31 points, 13 rebounds and four assists with another gem of a game from the bench from Clayton Jewell notching 18 points and nine rebounds. The Lions also got great service from Branden Jenkins (10 points, nine assists, four steals and rebounds) who fed recent college returnee Magok Manyang (13 points and five rebounds)...

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Koen Sapwell was solid all afternoon with 16 points and eight rebounds - The Flames tried to repair some of the earlier damage through Jack Hemphill (23 points, eight rebounds and four assists) and Blake Morrow (16 points and four rebounds) but couldn’t reel them in.

The Lions play the Mavericks back at the Den next week looking to reverse their overtime heartbreaker in Round 1 on June 1 at 8:15pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.     

NORWOOD FLAMES 89 (Hemphill 23, Morrow 16, Stanwix 13)

CENTRAL DISTRICTS LIONS 104  (Richards 31, Jewell 18, Ko Sapwell 16)

Warriors second leg against Tigers thrills in OT finish 

The Tigers and the Warriors went to battle a second time within 24 hours with the Warriors finding their defensive nous right at the end of the contest to win an overtime victory 77-83 at the cage. The Warriors gained some momentum in the third quarter courtesy of a 16-22 term driven by Greg Olbrich medal winner Riley Meldrum with a near triple double of 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. 

The Tigers snarled back as the Sunday afternoon raucous crowd got behind them as they clawed back 19-6 through Harvey White, Edvard Kristensen and Nic Logan. Michael Diggins made an and1 dunk in transition then forced the Warriors into a shot clock violation 70-68.

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Kristensen made a big triple with the Warriors getting the next look - Diggins registering another big block with 34 seconds to go. Sharif Black’s drive cut it to 75-73 with 29 secs to go before the Warriors forced Riley Miller into a long triple which crashed off the backboard and with seconds remaining Nick Wurm stepped up down the stretch poised with the sweet jump shot position to nail the deuce 75-75 with the Tigers lob pass to Diggins at the rim not able to connect sending it to OT. 

The Warriors defence climbed a notch to claim the overtime period and the crucial win to claim the 2-0 weekend and give them some momentum into their next clash with the West Adelaide Bearcats.

The wild west showdown will be at the Bearcat cave next week on June 1 at 8:15pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.   

SOUTHERN TIGERS 77 (Diggins, Miller 15, Kristiansen, White 11)

WOODVILLE WARRIORS 83 (Black 18, Wurm 17, Jackson 16)

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