Central Wrap | Women's Round 1

Brittany Hodges, Sam Simons, Morgan Yaeger, Mollie McKendrick and Holly Forbes were among the standout opening night NBL1 Central performers with women's wins for the Woodville Warriors, Sturt Sabres, Forestville Eagles, West Adelaide Bearcats and Southern Tigers.

>> CENTRAL SPOTLIGHT | SABRES DOMINATE SECOND HALF

Norwood Flames (81) lost to Woodville Warriors (86)

The Woodville Warriors had to come from behind but finished strongly to overrun the Norwood Flames and begin their NBL1 Central championship defence with the 86-81 road win.

The Flames hosted the Warriors at The ARC Campbelltown and it was a tight battle for three quarters before the Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter with 28 points to 18 for the five-point victory.

Brittany Hodges is back in the NBL1 for a third stint after previously playing in the West with the South West Slammers and Central at South Adelaide, and she starred with 30 points and nine rebounds.

Taylor Ortlepp also had 21 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals, and Ambah Kowcun 20 points, four boards and three assists.

Amy Cotton finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals for Norwood with Caitlin Shillabeer contributing 17 points and Dara Mabrey 12.

Sturt Sabres 62 defeated South Adelaide Panthers (52)

Last season's NBL1 Central runners-up had work to do in the 2026 season-opener but the Sturt Sabres held the South Adelaide Panthers to 14 points in the last 20 minutes for the first up 62-52 home win.

It was an impressive start from South Adelaide away from home, but Sturt took charge in the second half to turn a nine-point deficit where they scored just 29 points into the 10-point victory having held the Panthers to just the 14 second half points.

Nicola Mathews has been a rock solid contributor over the past five seasons with Sturt and she started off the 2026 season with a match winning performance finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and being a mighty impressive +15 in her 36 minutes.

She was the game's high scorer with Tayla Brazel adding 11 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Sabres despite shooting 4/14 on the back of her WNBL season with the Adelaide Lightning.

Keira Gardiner top-scored for South Adelaide with 12 points along with eight rebounds and three steals with Hatti Cox contributing eight points, three rebounds and three assists, and Bianca Stasinowsky seven points and eight rebounds.

Eastern Mavericks (74) lost to Forestville Eagles (79)

The Forestville Eagles started their road to redemption in 2026 with a hard fought 79-74 road win over the Eastern Mavericks to start the season.

The Mavericks hosted the Eagles at St Francis de Sales Community Sports Centre and they had a strong first half to be leading 44-39 going into the half-time interval.

From there, Forestville worked on top with 40 points to 30 in the second half to win by five as they look to make up for a 2025 where they were regular season champions but failed to reach the grand final.

Sam Simons starred in the win for Forestville with 28 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists with 6/14 three-point shooting.

Jess Simons added 16 points and six rebounds, Rachael King 12 points and seven boards, and Gabriella Vidmar nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Brooklyn Rewers top-scored for the Mavs with 21 points and seven rebounds with Antigonie Sanabria adding 20 points and nine boards, and Annaliese Watkinson 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.

North Adelaide Rockets (53) lost to West Adelaide Bearcats (76)

Morgan Yaeger put up 30 points as the West Adelaide Bearcats started the season in winning form away from home beating the North Adelaide Rockets 76-53.

Both teams were bundled out at the start of last year's playoffs and were looking to make a winning start to 2026 at The Lights Community and Sports Centre, and the Bearcats dominated from the outset with 30 points to six in the opening quarter.

They were never headed from there on the way to the 23-point victory with Yaeger starring on her return to the NBL1 for the first time since playing in the North at the Rockhampton Cyclones in 2024.

She finished with 30 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals with 11/17 shooting from the field and being a +26 in her 27 minutes.

Chloe Hodges also had 12 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists, and Coco Hodges 10 points, five boards, five steals and three assists.

Jordyn Freer top-scored for North Adelaide with 15 points and seven rebounds with Lauren Mansfield finishing with 10 points and three boards, Maddy Freer eight points, eight rebounds, five steals and three assists, and Sarah Warner eight points and seven rebounds.

Southern Tigers (85) defeated Central Districts Lions (63)

Mollie McKendrick and Holly Forbes combined for 54 points, 19 rebounds and eight steals with the Southern Tigers impressive first up this season beating the Central Districts Lions 85-63.

The two teams only combined for seven wins in 2025 so were looking for a confidence boosting start to 2026 when they clashed at Morphett Vale Basketball Stadium, and the Tigers were on song right from the outset.

The home team put up 32 points to 18 in the first quarter before leading 58-30 by half-time on the way to the eventual 22-point win with McKendrick and Forbes producing starring roles.

McKendrick delivered 28 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals on 12/19 shooting while Holly Forbes provided 26 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and two assists on 8/11 shooting from the field and 9/12 at the free-throw line.

Rosie Williamson also had seven points, nine assists, six steals and two rebounds.

Grace Stone had 19 points and four rebounds for Central Districts with Alana Howden adding 10 points, three assists and three steals, and Tiahna Sears eight points and 11 rebounds.