Cockatoos Women 29 def. Central Coast Waves 26

In a closely fought contest, the Cockatoos Women relied on their two big guns to establish a narrow 18-14 lead at half-time. Kylie Gauci and Tani Vollmer were combining better than ever, with both players contributing 8 points apiece in the first half. In a game highlight, Vollmer swished a fabulous baseline buzzer-beater to double the lead to four points at the main break.

Central Coast was led by Adam Worthington with a tidy 6 points, but their attack was a more balanced effort with five players getting on the first-half scoresheet.

Both teams tightened their defence after the break and baskets were much harder to come by. Sensing that the game needed a spark, Gauci took matters into her own hands, scoring 7 of the Women's 11 second-half points to deliver a player-of-the-match performance. 

Credit to the Waves who actually won the second half 12-11, but their first-half deficit proved  too much to overcome. Waves captain Matt Fitzgerald was convinced there was a lid on the basket in the second half as their team had more than enough attempts to take the win. "I've never seen so many shots roll off the rim, but it was really encouraging to see how well we played elsewhere on the court," he said.

Both teams showed great improvement in this outing, especially with Emma Jalalaty, Erin Christie and Lizzie Gilchrist anchoring the defences and pulling in rebounds. There are bigger things ahead for both these teams.

Scorers

Cockatoos Women: Kylie Gauci 15, Tani Vollmer 10, Louise Sidgreaves 4

Central Coast Waves: Matt Fitzgerald 6, Adam Worthington 6, Noah Hewson 4, Terry Bignell 4, Chris Walsh 4

Cockatoos green 38 def. Manly Wheel Eagles 24

Cockatoos Green continued their winning ways with a comfortable victory over the young Manly Wheel Eagles.

Neither team could find their range in the opening quarter, with Green holding a 6-2 lead, and it looked like we were in for another defensively focused grind. Then the second quarter happened and the scoresheet started to fill up for the rest of the game.

Jason Gauci found his shooting touch after a promising debut last week, knocking down 6 straight points to keep Manly in the contest. However, Green had two stars of their own ready to shine. Louis Richards dropped a quick 4 points before Jon Simon went one better, adding 6 straight of his own. It was enough to establish a handy 16-8 lead at the big break.

The second half saw a cameo appearance from Manly's ‘2026 NWBL Champions’ player, Cooper Tarleton. He could easily have dominated proceedings but instead chose to get his teammates involved, moving the ball around and setting up the younger players to take the shots. That said, he couldn't resist showing us what he's capable of. In a blistering two-minute stretch, Cooper reeled off 8 points in a nothing-but-net outside shooting display. He then put his guns back in their holsters and resumed sharing the love.

Tallow Ra, in his first game of the tournament, took some time to find his range but it was good to see him close out Manly's scoring with their final two baskets. Meanwhile, Lane Cove continued to gradually build their lead, with six different players getting on the scoresheet in the second half.

Green went on to record a convincing 38–24 victory, maintaining their unbeaten run and top position on the ladder.

Scorers

Cockatoos Green: Jon Simon 10, Louis Richards 10, Will Sidgreaves 6, Nate Simon 4, George Lund 4, Tony Boyadjian 2, Ahmad El Haj Youssef 2.

Manly Wheel Eagles: Jason Gauci 8, Cooper Tarleton 8, Tallow Ra 4, Rhys Baxter 2, Mitchell Collins 2.

Next Tuesday 17 November

5.35pm: Sydney Uni Lions vs Cockatoos Green

6.35pm: Central Coast Waves vs Manly Wheel Eagles

Bye: Cockatoos Women