A POWERFUL all-around performance from Sienna Harvey helped the Basketball Australia (BA) Centre of Excellence (CoE) defeat the Penrith Panthers by 10 points when the two sides clashed at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre on Saturday evening.

The CoE has not only been developing some of the best young platers in the country, but also winning games along the way, emerging as one of the contending sides in the National Basketball League (NBL)1 East Women’s competition.

Although it was a close contest, the CoE won all four quarters, albeit by small margins. The Panthers held on all game, only to allow the opposition to keep their noses in front with scoring runs. It was still game on coming into the fourth term, but Penrith fell short and conceded a 78-68 loss.

Harvey was the glue that kept the CoE in front as they defeated the Panthers on the road to add another win to their tally.

Penrith Panthers (68) def. by BA CoE (78)

Sienna Harvey – 21 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals

Harvey was tremendous again for the CoE as they got the win over Penrith, doing a bit of everything to lead from the front in a performance that impacted the game in several ways.

Although she was not the most efficient scorer (7/25 FG), she overcame some tough defence from the opposition to finish with 21 points, trailing only Monique Bobingie (22 points) in terms of scorers for the CoE. Harvey was the go-to option offensively, and although lacked accuracy and poise at times, came up with some crucial baskets for her side.

On the glass, she has been impressive all season, and kept that trend rolling against Penrith with 12 boards. She formed an impactful duo with teammate Jade Cook, who had 13 rebounds of her own, as the pair consistently got first hands on the ball and kept the opposition from generating second chance scoring opportunities.

Given the CoE looked to get the ball in her hands as much as possible, Harvey even dished out some assists as the defence collapsed in on her. Often finding herself trapped with several defenders closing in, she made the correct exit passes, finding the spare player in a scoring position in excellent fashion.

Playing all 40 minutes, Harvey’s importance in the result of the match cannot be understated, steering her side to another win in enemy territory.