A STRONG all-around performance from emerging talent Agnes Emma-Nnopu was one of the biggest positives to come out of the Knox Raiders’ huge 43-point win over the Ballarat Miners in the NBL1 South Women’s over the weekend.

The action on the weekend marked the final round of the 2025 home and away season in the competition, as both teams looked to close out the season in style. Knox had locked in second spot coming into the clash and trailed only the undefeated Geelong United in the standings, while finals had already been ruled out for the struggling Miners, so Knox was hoping for a nice tune-up heading into the postseason.

The Raiders led from start to finish at State Basketball Centre on Saturday night, building a solid buffer in the first half before putting the foot down after the main change. The Miners were held to just 18 points in the final 20 minutes of play as Knox cruised home to another convincing win to enter the postseason in style.

While it was an excellent team performance with plenty of contributors from the victors, no player had more impact on both ends of the floor than Emma-Nnopu, who showed she is one to watch heading into the postseason.

Knox Raiders (98) def. Ballarat Miners (55)

Agnes Emma-Nnopu – 15 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, three steals, three blocks

Doing it all in a huge team victory, Emma-Nnopu was Knox’s best performer on Saturday night, showing her two-way prowess and doing whatever her side needed in a big win on the eve of finals.

The 23-year-old started the match as a dominant force on the glass, pulling down three rebounds in the first minute of the clash to consistently get first hands on the ball in an electric start. Emma-Nnopu recorded her first assist of the game when she dished out to Paige Burrows on the perimeter, who nailed the triple.

Emma-Nnopu got involved on the scoring front herself when she nailed the catch and shoot triple to extend her side’s lead and show confidence in her shooting stroke. She backed it up on the next two possessions, recording back to back driving layups to post seven points in the span of a couple of minutes.

She started the second frame on the bench after playing the entire first quarter, and returned to the fold with five minutes to play in the half. Emma-Nnopu continued to be a presence on the glass, particularly on the offensive end, where she was hunting the ball with intent and creating plenty of second-chance scoring opportunities for the Raiders.

Emma-Nnopu showed her two-way talent perfectly with back to back plays, one on each end of the floor. She dragged down the offensive board and put the ball back up for a nice layup, before storming down the other end and blocking an attempted layup by the opposition, showcasing her work rate and instincts within the game to close out the half.

She came out of half time extremely active, looking to generate steals and poke the ball free from the opposition wherever she could, doing so on a few occasions. Her active hands were crucial to generating transition scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates, and played a vital role in the visitors being restricted to just nine points for the quarter.

Her inside scoring touch was excellent around the basket, recording another pair of layups and a nice turnaround jumper in the third frame, as well as her second assist and second and third blocks of the game as she truly emerged as the most impactful performer of the match.

She spent the fourth quarter on the bench with the result in the bag and the Raiders not looking to risk her or any of the other starters heading into a promising finals campaign. She finished the match with a double-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks in a stat-stuffing performance on 7/11 shooting from the field, in just 23 minutes of court time, making every minute count in a masterful two-way showing.