Mixed weekend for Panthers in NBL1 East

THe penrith panthers won 1 and lost 3 in Round 6 of the 2023 Coles express NBL1 east competition, with the highlights coming on Saturday night at the Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Stadium.

The penrith women are currently missing five players through injury, with the most recent losses being star import Tahlia Tupaea and captain Franny peters.

It would be hard to imagine the panthers not being impacted by the loss of so many players, particularly against the competition-leading Sea eagles, but they led 17-11, 35-22 and 48-45 at the first three breaks in play, before the Sea eagles rallied in the final term, sneaking home to a narrow 2-point win (59-57).

“Meg Jefferson was wrecking crew, as she scored heavily against a strong Sea eagles defence,” said penrith head coach Bernie Slattery.

“Valued contributions came from Tiana petterson, Chloe Williams, emily Matthews, and Kate pozoglou, but the defensive effort of every player kept the panthers in the game.”

Meg Jefferson led the panthers with a game-high 26 points, ahead of Tiana petterson 11. alex Delaney led the home team with 18, ahead of Felicity Henderson 10 points, 10 boards.

The penrith men followed up on their club-mates brave performance, also leading from the outset and holding their advantage in every quarter to eventually win 90-71.

Caleb Fetui-Fa’amoe led the Panthers with 21 points and 9 boards, ahead of pranaya Sakya 18 points. Mitchell evans was best for the Sea eagles with 21.

There was a fitting bonus for panthers fans on Saturday night, with Meg Jefferson and pranaya Sakya both being awarded the inaugural aNZaC medals for their respective performances on the night.

Sunday heralded the panthers first home games of the season and the women started brightly against the Canberra Nationals, in the first term, leading 16-14 at the break. The Nationals dominated the second term to lead 37-25 at half time, then 50-36 at the final break, before maintaining that advantage to score a 61-46 win.

“The effects of such a physical battle from 18 hours previous was noticeable, but a spirited start saw the panthers ahead 16-14 at the first break,” said coach Slattery.

“The second quarter reflected the inexperience of the young panthers, as Canberra piled on 23 points to 9. All things considered, the team should be proud of the effort, unity and progress they are making in a very strong competition.”

Meg Jefferson again led the panthers with 16 points, ahead of emily Matthews 14. Lizzy Tonks top scored for the Nationals with 22.

The panthers men were never really in the contest against the Canberra Gunners, trailing 25-19, 49-26 and 73-37 at the first three breaks, before eventually falling 92-54.

Caleb Fetui-Fa’amoe led the panthers with 14 points, ahead of Kaylis Beaumont-Tafua 10. Nikhil peters led the Gunners with 17 points.

Both penrith teams are on the road again this weekend, playing the albury-Wodonga Bandits at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre, albury.