Central Spotlight | Brazel has 30 as Sabres win big

Featured image: Dan Cowley | @imagesby_dan

Tayla Brazel hit six three-pointers on her way to 30 points and the Sturt Sabres dominated the North Adelaide Rockets with the 103-62 win ahead of wrapping up the NBL1 Central regular season up against the West Adelaide Bearcats.

The Rockets were on a three-game winning run even though they are out of the finals mix as they hosted the second placed Sabres at The Lights.

But Sturt took over early with a 22-0 run in the first quarter to set the tone for the evening with the lead getting out to 23 points in the second period, 38 in the third and 42 in the fourth before they completed the 41-point victory.

The win keeps the Sabres solid in second position at 14-3 with the Rockets now 5-12 with just one game of the regular season remaining.

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It was a dominant performance from Sturt to end up shooting 52 per cent from the field to 36 from North Adelaide along with making 12/33 from downtown to 7/25, and forcing the Rockets into the 25 turnovers to help the Sabres get up an extra 14 shot attempts.

Tayla Brazel had another standout performance for Sturt with 30 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals with 6/12 shooting from beyond the arc.

Paige Padroth added 15 points, five steals and three assists, and Zoe Walker-Roberts 11 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

North Adelaide couldn’t quite make it four straight wins against a team gearing up for a title push with Jordyn Freer finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Abbey Jones also had eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, Lauren Mansfield eight points, four boards and two assists, and Erin Morris seven points and two rebounds.

The Rockets might have been out of playoff contention but still came into the game having won their past three while the Sabres are locked into a top two finish, and it was Sturt on the road getting off the dominant start.

The Sabres scored 22 straight points in the first term to lead by 18 and still be up 28-11 at quarter-time with Tayla Brazel scoring 10 of those as they shot 63 per cent from the field to 25 from North Adelaide who also had seven turnovers.

It was another 22 points to 16 in the second frame from Sturt with the lead getting out to as much as 23 and by half-time they were in control 50-27 on the back of getting up an extra nine shots having forced the Rockets into 15 turnovers.

Jordyn Freer was still doing all she could to keep North Adelaide in the contest with 12 points and six rebounds to half-time.

It was then another 29 points to 17 in the third quarter from the Sabres with the lead getting out 38 and then it was as much as 42 in the fourth before they secured the eventual 41-point victory.

Having locked in a top two spot, Sturt will finish their regular season in a mouth-watering match up with the West Adelaide Bearcats next Saturday. North Adelaide's season will end on the road to the Forestville Eagles.

NBL1 CENTRAL 2026 SEASON | FIRST NATIONS ROUND

NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 62 (J Freer 12, Mansfield 8, Jones 8)

STURT SABRES 103 (Brazel 30, Padroth 15, Z Walker-Roberts 11)