THE NBL1 West Women’s competition resumed hostilities over the weekend, and in Round 5 of the 2023 season, Sarah Mortensen led the Cockburn Cougars to victory.

The Cougars came up against the Lakeside Lightning at Wally Hagan Stadium on Saturday evening, and entered the match undefeated with three wins next to their name. The Lightning had struggled to get any sort of momentum going throughout their season, with Cockburn expected to chalk up another victory.

Lakeside did well to match Cockburn’s output in the first quarter, but the home side broke away with a 20-6 second quarter. The Cougars took a significant lead into the main break, and managed to hold off any sort of fightback from the Lightning, cruising to a 27-point triumph to remain unbeaten.

Mortensen was at the forefront of the action, popping up everywhere as the Cougars proceeded to dominate the match after the first quarter, with the 26-year-old putting her fingerprints all over the game.

Cockburn Cougars (83) def. Lakeside Lightning (56)

Sarah Mortensen – 27 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, three steals

Mortensen stuffed the stat sheet, continuing her terrific start to the year with yet another strong showing. Mortensen produced a game-high 27 points on 47 per cent shooting from the field, and was again the focal point of the team in the offensive half of the court. She has started the season as one of the league’s best scorers and it was on full display against the Lightning.

Nine of her 19 shots from the field found the bottom of the net, delivering a strong balance in her shot selection. Although she had more luck shooting from inside the arc, Mortensen showed the capability to shoot from behind the arc on her way to four three-pointers for the match.

She also went a perfect 5/5 from the charity stripe, making sure to punish the opposition for any undisciplined defending during the match.

Mortensen has also found plenty of success rebounding the ball to start the season, and is third in the competition for boards per game, a statistic that was justified against Lakeside. She was the game’s leading rebounder with 14, including four on the offensive end.

Mortensen has truly started the season as an MVP contender, and she was a force to be reckoned with against the Lightning. A scoring and rebounding machine, Lakeside simply had no answer for her on either end of the court.