Final Score - Round 1

NBL1 Women
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Round 1
Eltham Wildcats 82 def Ringwood Hawks 51
Top Performers: A. Maley 26 points/28 rebounds, E. Riley 22 points, L. Scanlon 17 points

The Eltham Wildcats have started the NBL1 South 2021 season with a dominant performance over the Ringwood Hawks. It didn't take long for the Wildcats to get going with Anneli Maley hitting a wing three point shot within the first five seconds of the game to get the scoreboard ticking over.  

After a close first quarter the Wildcats found a good balance between fast and structured offence. Combine that with their ability to dominate the rebounds lead by Anneli Maley (26 rebounds) even with a smaller team, it generated transtion offence in which the Hawks were unable to stop as Eltham outscored Ringwood 23-8 in the period. 

The second half would continue to see the Wildcats control the game and execute on the offensive end as they cruised to a 31 point win providing an opportunity for Eltham Wildcat junior players Anna Burrows, Steph Fell, Emily Davies and Claudia Hii to get their first taste of NBL1 basketball. 

Coach Grant Spencer was happy with the performance of his group.

"Very proud of how the team attacked the game. We had a clear plan, it was executed and I’d say the white flag was waved by Ringwood 3mins into the 3rd Qtr. Shelby’s ability to limit any influence Funda had on the game, Lily’s incredible contribution 24hrs out of quarantine and the leadership of Anneli was fantastic. Looking forward to next week against Diamond Valley.”

NBL1 Men
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Round 1
Eltham Wildcats 88 def by Ringwood Hawks 93
Top Performers: A. Doyle 24, B. Waldren 18 points, J. Aver 15 points/8 assists

A hotly contested first quarter on the back of elite shooting from Ben Waldren & Adam Doyle saw the lead change numerous times throughout the first ten minutes. The Wildcats changed up their defence in the second quarter to mitigate Ringwood's size which lead to a two point lead going into the half.

Former Wildcat Adrien Sturt found his rhythm in the third quarter as he netted 9 points to lead the Hawks to a one (70-71) point advantage heading into the final quarter. The game went back and fourth in the last quarter as the Hawks switched their defence to a zone slowing up the Wildcats offence as Eltham only hit 1/9 from behind the arc creating a small 5 point lead in the final two minutes of play. From there the experienced and crafty Hawks held on to secure the win in front of a packed Eltham High School crowd.

The Wildcats take on local rivals the Diamond Valley Eagles in a blockbuster Anzac Eve clash this Saturday night at Eltham High School. Women tip off at 6pm, Men at 8pm with tickets going on sale 5pm Wednesday night.