Games of the Week Preview: May 3-5

The NBL1 is back in action tonight with 10 Games of the Week, all streaming live and free via Kayo Freebies.

See the full fixture here.  

Check out the previews for each game below: 

Friday: Round 6, Perry Lakes Hawks vs Warwick Senators 

Women’s live from 6:30pm AEST

Sitting third and fifth on the ladder, the Perry Lakes Hawks will host the Warwick Senators in a must-watch Friday night clash in Western Australia. 

The players to watch will be Warwick’s young gun Chloe Forester and Perry Lakes’ sharpshooter Ashleigh Isenbarger. 

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Isenbarger, the Round 4 Foot Locker Player of the Week, has been one of the conference’s deadliest shooters – connecting on a league-high 53.3 per cent* from outside the arc.  

She’ll be going up against ANZAC Round Medallist Forster, and the 20-year-old is coming off a major 28-point, 10-rebound and seven-assist performance over Anneli Maley’s Redbacks. 

*Minimum of 10 attempts

 

Men’s live from 8:30pm AWST

In the second game of the night, the Hawks will have a challenge at home with the roaring Senators coming to try to claim their fifth win of the season.

Michael Harris and Todd Withers have been a lethal duo, averaging a combined 47.2 points per game across the season. 

Can the Hawks defend home court? We’ll find out tonight. 

Saturday: Round 5, Keilor Thunder vs Ballarat Miners

Women’s live from 6:00pm AEST

If you’re a fan of women’s basketball, this is a no-brainer. 

Perth Lynx star Chloe Bibby will take on Keilor’s stacked roster in a who’s who of WNBL talent. Featuring Lilly Rotunno, Maddy Rocci, Penina Davidson and Isabella Bourne in red and black, it’s no surprise the Thunder are 7-1 for the season and are one of the best teams in the country.

Men’s live from 8:00pm AEST

Luke Rosendale’s Miners will be on the road for a second straight round as they take on the second on the ladder Keilor Thunder on Saturday night. 

The duo of Rosendale and Majok Majok have given Ballarat some much-needed pace, while NBL1 South All-Star Five member Tyler Rudolph continues to shine. 

They’ll take on Keilor’s talented roster, featuring Kyle Zunic, star import Jalen Gibbs, Kuany Kuany and three-point tally leader Trevor Lakes. 

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If you are a fan of high-quality basketball, this is the game to tune into. 

Saturday: Round 7, South Adelaide Panthers vs Central District Lions

Men’s live from 6:30pm ACST

The men’s game will kickstart Round 7 in NBL1 Central, with two elite scorers going head-to-head. 

Back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Alex Starling will face off against the Lions’ Branden Jenkins. Starling is currently averaging 26 points per game while Jenkins is up to 27.8 per game, showing just how electric this match-up will be. 

While the Panthers may have three more wins over the Lions, two of Central District’s five losses have been by six points or less. 

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Women’s live from 8:15pm ACST

In what should be a barn-burner, the 6-1 Lions will take on the South Adelaide Panthers in a premier match-up on Saturday night. 

Three of the top five scorers in Central will feature in this game, as Panthers’ superstar Brittany Hodges will dominate inside while the trio of Casey Samuels, Taylah Levy and Jasmin Fejo control the outside for the Lions. 

In what could be a preview for the Grand Final, you’ll have to tune in to see the best of what South Australian basketball can offer. 

Sunday: Round 4, South West Metro Pirates vs Rockhampton 

Women’s live from 12:00pm AEST 

Coming off a seven-point win to Ipswich, the Pirates will host the Rockhampton Cyclones in a fantastic Sunday afternoon showing. 

Leah Scott will lead the way for South West Metro, averaging 26.3 points (fourth in the conference) and 12.6 rebounds per game. The NBL1 North Second Team member will have to carry the Pirates as they will go up against Foot Locker Player of the Week Sam Bowman. 

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Missing Lara McSpadden due to national team commitments, Bowman will have to repeat last round’s enormous 31-point and 18-rebound performance for Rockhampton to get the win. 

Keep an eye on Morgan Yaeger, as the 2023 NBL1 Central All-Star Five member is finding her groove up North. 

 

Men’s live from 2:00pm AEST 

Coming off a game-winner and Foot Locker Player of the Week performance, all eyes are on Lamar Patterson as the Pirates will host the Rockets in a must-watch clash. 

Beating the defending champions at the buzzer, Patterson had 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to clutch the win over former Bullets teammate Nathan Sobey. 

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However, star on the rise Roman Siuelpa arguably had his best NBL1 game, scoring 18 points off the bench and making a game-saving swat that earned him an ANZAC Round medal. 

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While 0-3 for the season, Rockhampton is coming off an impressive performance in a nine-point loss to Mackay. Where former Sydney King Matur Matur made his debut scoring 21 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in less than 30 minutes – giving Rockhampton fans a promising second-half of the season to look forward to. 

Sunday: Round 5, Centre of Excellence vs Norths Bears 

Women’s live from 12:00pm AEST

Youth versus experience, the reigning champions will head down to Canberra to take on the Centre of Excellence in a must-watch clash. 

Both the Bears and CoE went 2-0 in ANZAC Round, with the Bears continuing their championship-level team effort across the board, with five different players scoring in double-digits. The player to watch however is Sarah Schicher, who tore down a monstrous 26 of the team’s 63 rebounds against the Comets on ANZAC Day. 

With Bonnie Deas averaging 16.5 points across Round 4, these two teams going head-to-head will be a treat to watch.  

 

Men’s live from 2:00pm AEST

The Bears are reaping the rewards of Mandrell Worthy, the former Diamond Valley Eagle has swapped conferences this offseason and has been nothing short of dominant. The ANZAC Round medallist averaged 26.5 points this past round and is showing no signs of slowing down. 

The CoE had two uncharacteristic losses against the Hornets and the Crusaders. While only dropping the two games by a margin of six points, if the Centre of Excellence wants to dominate as they did last season we will need to see more out of the bench. Who only scored 28 points across the two games – which is not reflective of the depth this team features.