NBL1 Wildcard Recap | Round 12 Tuesday

In the Tuesday night clash, the NBL1 North Southern District Spartans defeated the Women’s Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence 97-59. 

The Spartans are missing Kalani Purcell, who will compete for the bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games 3x3 early Wednesday morning. But Nadeen Payne was ready to make up the difference with 32 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the domination of the CoE. 

The CoE have very tied legs, playing two of the top NBL1 West teams on Thursday and Saturday, and then playing the undefeated Logan Thunder yesterday before tonight’s game. A valiant effort nonetheless but they struggled to get past the Spartans' defence, as they only shot 35 percent from the field and only one player scored in double-digits. 

Jayda Clark off the bench for the CoE had 15 points as the team’s leading scorer. She was the spark plug this team needed after such a long road trip. 

Southern District’s Leah Scott and Madelyn Allen both had over 20 points in the game to push the Spartans into the upper end of the Wildcard ladder. 

Could they make the NBL1 National Final through the Wildcard slot?  For more information on the NBL1 National Finals click here.

Feature image via: Judd Green