ALL National Basketball League (NBL)1 competitions were firing over the weekend, with some big numbers and entertaining games taking place around Australia.

With all five states producing some of the best basketball in years throughout the 2024 season, there was plenty to take in, whether it was overtime encounters, huge individual outings, or dominant team performances.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will be delivering weekly updates on some of the most impressive scoring performances around the country across both the men’s and women’s competitions, with no shortage of notable showings.

Although the numbers did not reach the heights of last week, there were still some tremendous offensive outings around Australia over the span of ANZAC round. Once again, forward Anthony Drmic was among the most damaging scorers, backing up last week’s 47 with 36 points to go with 14 rebounds as West Adelaide got the best of Norwood.

However, Biwali Bayles led all-comers with 39 points in a losing effort, with his Sydney Comets falling to the Norths Bears. He did it on 13/22 shooting and scored at all three levels, nearly single-handedly getting his side over the line and accounting for almost half of Sydney’s total score of 88.

Also in the East Men’s competition was a 36-point outing from Ishmael Sanders, while Nick Marshall led the way in the South division, and Dequan Abrom rounds out the top five.

In the women’s competition, Brooke Basham top scored with a whopping 43 points in North Adelaide’s 17-point win over West Adelaide, shooting 16/27 from the field and leading her team to victory. She has established herself as the premier scorer in the Central Women’s competition, and lived up to that title.

The greatest ever Australian basketballer was back at it again, with Lauren Jackson posting a massive 40 points, showing that she can still win a game off her own hand. Matching her was Violet Morrow, who played a lone hand on offence with 40 of Bankstown’s 80 points in a loss to Canberra.

Nicole Munger was a match-winner in the East competition, delivering 39 points as Newcastle downed the Panthers, while out West, Melisa Brcaninovic had 39 of her own for the Tigers as Willetton blew out the Eastern Suns.

Men’s

1) Biwali Bayles (Sydney Comets) vs. Norths Bears – 39
=2) Anthony Drmic (West Adelaide Bearcats) vs. Norwood Flames – 36
=2) Ishmael Sanders (Hills Hornets) vs. Penrith Panthers – 36
4) Nick Marshall (Mt. Gambier Pioneers) vs. Keilor Thunder – 35
5) Dequan Abrom (Perry Lakes Hawks) vs. Lakeside Lightning (34)

Women’s

1) Brooke Basham (North Adelaide Rockets) vs. West Adelaide Bearcats – 43
=2) Lauren Jackson (Albury-Wodonga Bandits) vs. Illawarra Hawks – 40
=2) Violet Morrow (Bankstown Bruins) vs. Canberra Nationals – 40
=4) Nicole Munger (Newcastle Falcons) vs. Penrith Panthers – 39
=4) Melisa Brcaninovic (Willetton Tigers) vs. Eastern Suns – 39