TALK about starting your season in style. Over the weekend, the National Basketball League (NBL)1 West competition held its first round of action for the 2021/22 season. There was plenty of action for fans to enjoy across the men’s and women’s competition. The competition had a serious injection of talent over the offseason, and it showed in the first batch of games, with plenty standout performances. None caught the eye more than the showing delivered by Jessie Edwards of the Cockburn Cougars, who was simply dominant in her side’s seven-point win against East Perth at Wally Hagan Stadium on Friday night. She poured in a whopping 35-point, 22-rebound effort in the triumph, proving far too strong for the Eagles defence.

Cockburn Cougars (91) def. East Perth Eagles (84)

First Quarter

Edwards could not have started the game any better if she tried, scoring the first points of the game with a tough inside lay-up, on which she was fouled. After converting the and-one at the free throw line, she backed it up seconds later with another basket inside, demonstrating that she was here to play. After the defence began to take a bit more notice of her, Edwards impacted the game in other ways racking up some defensive rebounds and also a few dimes. The Eagles began to mount a charge towards the end of the term, but a pair of Edwards blocks halted any momentum. She finished the first quarter with a couple of free throws, and the Cougars leading by four at the first break.

Second Quarter

Edwards continued to show her smarts with ball in hand, finding teammate Katherine Tudor in a scoring position. Once again, Edwards was able to finish through the contact, drawing the foul and sinking the jumpshot to give the Cougars some breathing room after a charge from their opponents. With East Perth denying her the ball, she instead used her energy to crash the boards, towering over the opposition bigs to secure the possession for Cockburn. She drained another lay-up a couple of minutes later, before finishing off the half with a buzzer-beating putback to give her side a narrow two-point advantage at the big break.

Third Quarter

It was more of the same for Edwards to kick off the second half, getting involved in the rebounding and passing side of things to boost her side however she can. Scoring came shortly after with a couple of jump shots finding the bottom of the net, before again converting a couple of and-one plays, showing her determination to drive the Cougars to a winning score. A couple of offensive rebounds came towards the end of the term, and even a tip in as reward for effort to close out the quarter in style.

Fourth Quarter

With the Cougars looking to put the game away early, Edwards was determined to fight for any loose ball in the air, pulling down a number of boards in the opening minutes. She found the going a bit tougher in the last quarter, but was able to get to the free throw line to keep the offence rolling when needed. The Cougars managed to close out the game and claim a seven-point win to kick off the season in style..