ONE of Australia’s brightest basketball prospects had yet another outstanding performance in the National Basketball League (NBL)1 Central Women’s, with Isobel Borlase leading the Forestville Eagles to a big win over the South Adelaide Panthers.

Saturday night’s clash at State Basketball Centre (Wayville) had plenty of intrigue coming in, given the two sides were in similar positions in the standings. Both the Eagles and Panthers were sitting on five wins apiece, and battling it out for a top-four spot.

Although it was a highly anticipated matchup, the Eagles completely dominated the contest in a blowout win. The home side won all four quarters by a considerable margin, and never gave the Panthers a chance to get back in the contest. In the end, the superiority of Forestville culminated in a 37-point win, as the Eagles jumped into fourth spot.

Borlase was the best player on the court as the Eagles looked far better than the Panthers, and showed why she could be the face of Australian women’s basketball in the future.

Forestville Eagles (92) def. South Adelaide Panthers (55)

Isobel Borlase – 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, one block

Fresh off a selection in the WNBA draft recently, Borlase is still producing tremendous performances for the Eagles at NBL1 level.

At just 19 years of age, she is barely scratching the surface of her potential, but can still be the best player on a nightly basis, showcasing how impressive her talent already is.

She shot an extremely efficient 10/13 from the field, making every post a winner and only taking the best looks to ensure she was not wasting any possessions for the Eagles. Borlase already has the basketball IQ of a veteran and her shot selection is the perfect example of that.

She started the game driving to the rim aggressively and got going with some nice lay-ups, before finding her rhythm with some crafty mid-ranges. As the game rolled on, Borlase’s long-range shooting improved as well, riding the momentum of making those early shots and punishing the opposition on all three levels.

She is one of the most exciting Australian athletes in any sport, and Borlase’s dominance in the win for the Eagles was a further example of how high her ceiling is already.