HAVING now reached the halfway mark of the fixture, the National Basketball League (NBL)1 North action is starting to heat up as the weeks pass.

Round 7 of the 2024 season took place over the weekend, and there were plenty of high-scoring affairs as teams start to truly hit their straps on the offensive end, and the final scores of each and every game reflects that.

With young and experienced talent alike, there were all sorts of players making their mark across the men’s and women’s competition, with some massive stat lines posted.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will be taking a look at the standout performances from both divisions, after some big numbers were posted over the weekend. This time, Roman Siulepa and Mikaela Ruef take out the honours after dominating on both the scoring and rebounding fronts.

Roman Siulepa (South West Metro Pirates) vs. Ipswich Force

37 points, 11 rebounds, two assists

It was a breakout performance from one of the most exciting young players in the competition as Siulepa dominated to lead the Pirates to an eight-point win over the Force at JBS Stadium on Saturday night.

It took Ipswich a while to get going to start the match, and the home side trailed by eight points at the first break as a result of some inefficiency on the offensive end.

The Force fought back to take the lead at half time but momentum swung to South East Metro’s hands again in the third term. That period proved to be the difference as the sides broke even in the fourth and the Pirates snagged a 104-96 win.

On a positive night overall for the Pirates, the performance of Siulepa was one of the best factors for the team as he shone for the victors.

Firstly Siulepa’s 37 points (a game-high figure) came on 13/24 shooting from the field, with the wing doing most of his work from close to the ring, where he was just about unstoppable.

Given how easily he was finding the bottom of the net, the Pirates got the ball in his hands as much as possible, and he delivered. In fact, Siulepa could have had an even bigger scoring night, given he only made nine of his 16 attempts from the free throw line.

On the glass, he was just as damaging, pulling down 11 rebounds in the win. 10 of these came on the defensive end, slowing down the opposition’s scoring rate by ensuring they did not produce any second chance points.

It was as encouraging of a performance as the Pirates could have asked for from Siulepa, who could see himself in an NBL uniform next season.

Mikayla Reuf (North Gold Coast Seahawks) vs. Mackay Meteorettes

36 points, 26 rebounds, six assists, one steal

Although it may not be a new selection, Ruef was clearly the best player of the week with an astounding display to lead the Seahawks past the Meteorettes to the tune of 14 points at Runaway Bay Stadium on Friday night.

The first quarter ended up deciding the match, as the Seahawks stormed out of the gates with a 29-15 opening term that saw the home side completely in control of the match.

Although the two teams split the points in the remaining quarter, Mackay was simply in too big of a hole to produce the comeback victory, and ended up falling 104-90.

Ruef was an absolute powerhouse in her side’s win, doing a lot of everything and carrying North Gold Coast to victory.

The superstar big was the biggest presence on the scoring front with 36 points, the most of any player on the court. She did it on an efficient 14/22 shooting from the field, backing down the opposition and taking high percentage shots.

On the glass, she accounted for an enormous 26 boards, which was nearly more than the entire opposition outfit combined, given Mackay only pulled down 28 for the match. Although the Meteorettes tried to box her out, Ruef was simply too good at getting first hands on the ball.

It was an outstanding performance from Ruef, who is stuffing the stat sheet on a consistent basis and is the clear favourite for the MVP award.