Central Grand Final | Sabres finally get championship glory

Featured image: Sharnee Jones @picture_itsportphotography

It was a fourth Grand Final in five years and the Sturt Sabres have broken through to become NBL1 Central champions delivering a standout performance led by co-captain Nicola Mathews to beat the West Adelaide Bearcats 76-70.

The two teams had been the standout sides in the NBL1 Central and it was only fitting they locked horns in the Grand Final at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

West Adelaide had been the dominant team all season losing just one game along the way including beating the Sabres three times along the way including in the second semi-final to advance straight to the Grand Final.

Sturt had to get there the hard way having beaten Norwood to open the finals but then having to hit back in the preliminary final and beat the Flames again to lock in a Grand Final spot.

That may have worked in their favour as they were battle hardened coming into the Grand Final while West Adelaide had played just one game over the past month.

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Whether that played a difference to the start or it was simply that Sturt weren’t going to let themselves lose a fourth Grand Final in five years, the Sabres made a hot start going on a 10-0 run in the first quarter and opening up a 15-point lead.

Sturt were still leading 24-10 by quarter-time on the back of shooting 9/18 from the field to a paltry 3/20 from West Adelaide with Tayla Brazel and Zoe Walker-Roberts both having seven points apiece.

The Sabres maintained a double digit advantage through most of the second quarter but the Bearcats did manage to find some rhythm going into half-time to end up outscoring Sturt 20 points to 14.

West Adelaide shot 8/20 for the quarter in the end and 3/8 which was a big step up from the first term although the Sabres were still leading 38-30 by half-time with 10 points to Brazel and nine to Walker-Roberts.

Brazel did add another nine points in the third quarter for Sturt but West Adelaide were building momentum and so much so that they hit the front just before three quarter-time thanks to Sienna Lehmann.

Morgan Yaeger was scoreless to half-time but had eight points in the quarter for the Bearcats and in the end, Sturt were clinging to the 55-54 advantage by three quarter-time.

The Sabres then opened the last quarter on fire with the first eight points including three balls to Nicola Mathews and Padroth to back up by nine.

They would never surrender the lead again but it did become mighty close in the last two minutes when Ashlee Strawbridge hit a three-pointer for West Adelaide to make it a one-point game.

Liz Williamson answered for Sturt and then so did Padroth, and from there the Sabres secured their breakthrough championship triumph on their fourth attempt in the past five years.

Sturt can now put those 2022, 2023 and 2025 losses behind them to win a first championship since 2008 and a sixth overall in the women's competition.

Co-captain Nicola Mathews has been there through all those heartbreaks and not only gets to celebrate a championship, but also was named Grand Final MVP on the back of her tremendous all-round game including the defensive performance on Morgan Yaeger.

Mathews ended up with 12 points and three rebounds while making both three-point attempts and both of her foul shots.

Tayla Brazel also delivered 21 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Sabres, Paige Padroth 19 points, five boards and two steals, and Liz Williamson eight points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Zoe Walker-Roberts also had nine points and six rebounds on 4/5 shooting, and Meg Prosser five points and six boards.

It's a heartbreaking way for West Adelaide's brilliant season to end and for Alex Ciabattoni it was more Grand Final heartbreak having lost three WNBL championship series' and an NBL1 West Grand Final in recent years.

She still put up 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks for the Bearcats with Krystal Thompson adding 17 points and three boards, Ashlee Strawbridge 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Yaeger eight points, five rebounds and five assists after the scoreless first half.

NBL1 CENTRAL 2026 SEASON | GRAND FINAL

WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 70 (Thompson 17, Ciabattoni 16, Strawbridge 15)

STURT SABRES 76 (Brazel 21, Padroth 19, Mathews 12)

Grand Final MVP - Nicola Mathews (Sturt Sabres)