Dentistry Plus Cockburn Cougars v Kalamunda Eastern Suns Game Report– Saturday July 10
Women’s NBL1
The Dentistry Plus Cockburn Cougars Women fell valiantly to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 66-53.
Due to Covid Limitations Wally Hagan Stadium was quiet giving the game an eerie atmosphere.
Samantha Roscoe led the way for the suns with 19 points.
Kahlia Morgan was awesome for the Cougars with 15 points, shooting 3-of-4 from the three-point line. Molly Matthews was also good with 11 points and playing solid defense.
Without Jessie Edwards and Taylah Simmons the Cougars needed other to step up and Jodee Sontay provided a good presence.
Kahlia Morgan brought good energy early hitting with a nice triple followed by a tough lay-up.
The Suns took the lead 15-11 into quarter time.
Emma Burke had a nice finish to get on the Cougars going in the second, which was followed by a three to Molly Matthews to put the Cougars in front.
The Suns took charge and went up by nine halfway through the second.
Emma Burke was a threat on offense drawing fouls for the Cougars.
Molly Matthews hit a sweet step back-three to put the Cougars up by two at the half-time break.
The game was a defensive tussle with both teams fighting hard to get scores.
Nic Roberts hit a nice floater to give the Cougars a much-needed score heading into three quarter time.
The Cougars were down 48-40 at 3QT.
Kahlia Morgan hit a corner three to give the Cougars some momentum to cut the margin down.
The Cougars needed a big push in the final three minutes as they found themselves down by 10 points.
The Cougars couldn’t bring the deficit back but a three to Nic Roberts gave some consolation for the Cougars.
The final score was 66-53 to the Suns.
Head Coach Tyrone Thwaites was happy with the effort but said the team needs to improve.
“The effort was definitely one of those things we spoke about coming out of a pretty challenging two weeks against Perry Lakes and Lakeside,” Thwaites said.
“Rebounding, putting some ball pressure on, shooting a great shot, running in both directions, there were things we definitely did better tonight.
“It’s still certainly not where we want to be.”
Thwaites said despite being undermanned they were still confident.
“That’s still a game we should win, we believe should win, we very much felt that when we were leading at half-time,” he said.
“A few girls were playing different roles tonight and that is something they’ve got to acclimatize themselves to.
“We were pleased but definitely not satisfied, that was a game we really wanted to win for our season tonight, there’s seven games left and we are going to be better for that.”
Men’s NBL1
The Dentistry Plus Cockburn Cougars Men have won dominantly through a consistent four-quarter effort against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 101-71.
Coming off a huge win against Geraldton, The Cougars started the game with lots of energy.
Seva Chan hit a big three on the shot-clock buzzer to put the Cougars up by four early.
Young Star Ben Henshall was assertive with the ball making a sweet floater of the dribble, putting up six points in the first quarter.
The Cougars taking a three-point lead into the first change.
Jaarod Holmes hit a nice open-three to give the Cougars a good start to the second.
Seva Chan had his game going in the second making a tough layup under contact and then hit a straight up three.
Some terrific ball movement by the Cougars got a Seva Chan an open triple which he knocked down to give the Cougars a seven-point lead.
Nic Pozoglou took it down the court and made a sweet hesitation move and finished an and-one.
The Cougars had a stellar first half lead the Suns 52-41 at the half. Seva Chan was excellent with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists at the half.
Dribble penetration from Seva Chan got the Cougars going in the second half.
The Cougars were in control and showed good composure to nullify the Suns. Josh Hunt was very active on defense getting several steals finishing with a dunk.
Ben Henshall came in after the Suns made a run and finished a tough layup to right the ship for the Cougars.
An offensive rebound gave the Cougars a second chance and Nic Pozoglou was denied a poster by Chris Johnson but made the layup and finished a spectacular and-one.
A three from a metre behind the line to Seva Chan kept the Cougars momentum going in the last.
The Cougars kept up their team-based play with delightful ball movement getting an easy lay-up for Nic Pozoglou.
Gavin field made a nice spin-move and finished a sweet move off making the lead.
The Cougars had five players in double digits making it a well-rounded performance. Seva Chan and Gavin Field led the way with 21 points each.
The final score was 101-71 with the Cougars winning comfortably.
Head Coach Andrew Cooper said
“That’s two weeks in a row, that we’ve done that, so very happy with that, defense is the big thing, in helping us on offense,” Cooper said.
Cooper was pleased with the performance of the whole team.
“We want everyone to contribute, whether its offense or defense, team basketball is what we are about,” he said.
