WAY out west, there was still plenty of exciting action taking place in the National Basketball League (NBL)1 West throughout the weekend, and some massive individual performances occurred in that time.

Round 6 of the 2024 season took place throughout the course of Friday and Saturday, and there were several contests that were decided in the dying stages. There were also some enormous wins, particularly in the Women’s competition, headlined by an 85-point thumping of the South West Slammers at the hands of the Cockburn Cougars.

Both the Men’s and Women’s divisions had some cracking individual displays, showing how much talent the NBL1 currently has suiting up each and every week.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will be taking a look at the standout performances from both divisions, after some big numbers were posted over the weekend. This time, Mike Adewunmi and Mary Baskerville stuffed the stat sheet to prove exceptional among their peers.

Mike Adewunmi (Lakeside Lightning) vs. Eastern Suns

40 points, six rebounds, seven assists, one block

In a thrilling affair at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Friday night, Adewunmi was the difference as the Lightning emerged four-point winners over the Suns.

In a game that had several momentum swings, it was Lakeside that struck first, taking a four-point lead into quarter time, before the visitors flipped the script and turned the deficit into a five-point buffer at the main change. As expected, the Lightning struck back to regain their four-point advantage at the final break, and held on to claim a 97-93 victory.

The guard exploded for a game-high 40 points on some of the most accurate shooting seen in the competition for Round 5, making every scoring chance count in an exceptionally efficient outing.

From the field, Adewunmi attempted 18 shots from the field, and remarkably made 14 of them to show a high level of accuracy while also being the game’s leading scorer. He was near-perfect from inside the arc, making 10 of his 11 shots, while he went 4/7 from downtown.

He had a high usage rate, and was also a tremendous passer with seven assists for the match, although when the game was on the line, the guard was the go-to option.

It was an outstanding individual effort from Adewunmi, who was a massive reason his side held on to win and had some massive plays throughout the game.

Mary Baskerville (East Perth Eagles) vs. Mandurah Magic

34 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, three steals, two blocks

It is difficult to find a stat-stuffing performance to the level of what Baskerville produced in the Eagles’ overtime win over the Magic at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre on Saturday evening.

The two teams could not be separated after four quarters, given the game was extremely tight all game, and proceedings headed to an extra period. In overtime, the Eagles were far and away the dominant team, outscoring the Magic 18-3 and storming home to a 15-point win.

There was no single player that had a bigger impact on the match than Baskerville, who did a bit (or a lot) of everything to steer East Perth to victory.

Firstly, she was the game’s leading scorer with 34 points, shooting an impressive 13/15 from the field. All of these attempts came from inside the arc as she consistently would wreak havoc for the defence inside the paint. She could have had an even bigger match, making just eight of her 13 free throws, but was still the dominant force offensively.

On the glass, Baskerville was just as impactful, pulling down a whopping 20 boards, constantly getting to best position and getting first hands on the ball. Whenever the opposition would miss a shot from the field, it was Baskerville that was always in the right spot, using her smarts and size to start the possession for the Eagles.

She was such a key figure of the team’s offence that she even got involved on the playmaking front, making excellent exit passes and finding her teammates on the cut to register five assists for the game.

Baskerville was nearly perfect in terms of impact on the game against the Magic, stuffing the stat sheet and proving a match-winning factor.