Central Recap | First Nations Round Monday

By Tristan Prentice for NBL1.com.au

Feature images supplied via NBL1.com.au /  Melissa Belanic | @justbphotoau

Round 13 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central was the Kayo Freebies Game of the Week and for the Woodville Warriors delivered two ferocious finals like games with all the trimmings against the Norwood Flames. The Women fighting for a shot at the final spot in the finals and the men playing out another close encounter in 2025…   

Here are the results of Monday’s games:

Warriors stoke own finals chances while diminishing Flames              

The Kayo Freebies Game of the Week had that finals-like elimination feel to it as the Woodville Warriors and Norwood Flames took to the court to keep their finals hopes alive.   

The Warriors got off to a flyer through their own first nations sharp shooter in Ambah Kowcun to take a 7-0 lead but the Flames quickly hit back to level things up through the quarter. The Warriors managed to get themselves to the free throw line while also finding Laura Erikstrup in transition multiple times. Much was going right early with Jordan Hunter making it with the clock running down.

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Enter Erin Phillips (Six points and assists) to put the ribbon on the first term with the smart gather and make like she was back on the footy field finishing with the major to give the Warriors the advantage 27-19. 

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Erikstrup pulled apart the Flames defence under the hoop early in the second before Amanda Paschal (17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists) and KJ James set the Flames alight on a 6-15 run. 

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The game hit finals like fierceness highlighted by a Fejo block, Naomi Allotey (12 points and rebounds with six assists) scrambling for the offensive board with Alek Akeun fighting for it equally, even making splits to try and wrestle it back. The Warriors however regained their slender lead 42-41. 

Fejo and Kowcun (12 points) came out sharp of the halftime break draining multiple downtown daggers but the Flames kept finding their own touch around the rim. James (18 points, eight rebounds with four assists) tried to fire up for the Flames but the hot hand of Fejo and the silver service of Phillips produced a 10-6 mini break to 65-56 with one to play. 

The Flames still burned bright in the fourth to keep their hopes alive led by James but the Warriors looking to prove their point after numerous near misses in final quarters were led home by Erikstrup, Hunter (14 points, eight assists and rebounds with three steals) who shutdown Paschal (Zero second half points) and Fejo who literally denied the Flames victory to record the most number of individual blocks since Tayla Corrigan’s nine last season. 

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The Warriors women with one of their historically most significant victories as a club with now a finals appearance back in the headlights heading to the last two rounds. 

Laura Erikstrup through four terms with her family in the stands was one the toughest matchups of the night for the Flames to lead all scorers with 25 points, 10 rebounds and two assists while Fejo produced a statline stuffer again with 15 points, Seven rebounds and blocks with five assists and three steals.

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WOODVILLE WARRIORS 84 (Erikstrup 25, Fejo 15, Hunter 14)

NORWOOD FLAMES 68 (James 18, Paschal 17, Kerridge 9)

Last minute Warriors eventually snuff out fighting Flames          

Despite a torrid tough season for the Norwood Flames - they took it right up to the Woodville Warriors at the Castle of St Clair in the Kayo Freebies Game of the Week. 

Tim Troussel was active early for the Warriors but in one of his best games of the season - the big gigantic shadow Anthony Green surrounded the Warriors big men as he reeled in every loose ball off the glass and finished with the highest of authority. 

The Wurm of Nick however found pockets to play with on the perimeter draining triple after triples but it was the other Trey flowing for the Flames in McBride (15 points, four rebounds and three blocks) as he beat the buzzer at quarter time to give the Flames the first break in play 21-23. 

Needing class from calamity - Uzo Dibiamaka (16 points, five assists and rebounds with two blocks) entered the chat with multiple triples before a Bryce Sloan miss was engulfed up by “jumpin” Joe Jackson for a finishing flush.

The Green machine of Anthony (Eight points with five rebounds) continued to slam on unsuspecting victims with Cooper Osborne (11 points, four rebounds and three steals) starting to once again warm up against his former side. A Riley Harrap (16 points with four rebounds and three steals) four point play though gifted the Flames the halftime lead 39-43. 

With the music rocking at the Castle the late night block party was one between Jackson (Three blocks) and Green (Five blocks) one end then the other - a total of 16 recorded for both teams for the night…

Steve Parfitt (Nine points, five rebounds and three blocks) also a late arrival to the party chimed in with some key plays to help the Warriors engineer an 11-6 run which had Norwood clamoring for timeout. The late work of Aydan Janssan restored faith in the Flames to see them still in front at three quarter time 59-61. 

Janssan (Eight points and five rebounds) made some more big plays at the start of the fourth but after all that energy spent keeping their noses in front - you could sense the Warriors were closing in for the take down to finish the fight. The combo of Jackson (10 points, seven rebounds with three steals and blocks), Parfitt and Troussel (after being unsighted for large amounts of the match finished with 13 points and four rebounds) helped end the resistance of the fighting Flames with an 8-0 run to close the match and gain another important win to tie them up once again with the South Adelaide Panthers in third.

Wurm was the Footlocker Player of the Game in another consistent Warriors even performance and spoke to the Game of the Week team afterwards about how the Flames came at them differently defensively but were finding ways to win. 

“They came at us with a 1-2-2 press but we seem to keep finding ways to win, we’ve wanted to win more and we’ve been in some close games so hoping South drops one and we can lock in third.” Wurm shared with the team.   

“We do play a bit old school under Scott (Whitmore) but it’s working for us.” 

WOODVILLE WARRIORS 80 (Wurm 17, Uzo Dibiamaka 16, Troussel 13)

NORWOOD FLAMES 73 (Harrap 16, McBride 15, Osborne 11)

Wednesday night hoops will determine the finals fate of the Norwood Flames Women and the Eastern Mavericks Men - tune in to see who keeps the fire burning or has one more trick up their sleeve from 6:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.  

Watch the NBL1 Live & Free on NBL1.com.au, NBL1 App and Kayo Sports Freebies.