Category: Basketball Features

Photo Credit – Adelaide Uni

6-Minute Read

Women

The Waatu Women played in their first final in the short history of the UBL and gave another strong account of themselves – however a returning Caitlyn Martin inspired the home side USYD to a solid 79-71 win to secure their place in the semi-finals at the USYD Sports and Aquatics Centre.   

After defeat in Adelaide – both teams made a strong start particularly Madi Dalmeida whose size and strength would not reduce throughout the afternoon. Caitlin Shillabeer (Physiotherapy) however kept the scoreboard moving back in the away sides favour with multiple triples and ten first term points. Enter Martin however with the next seven points with her strength guiding USYD to the lead before the Waatu snatched it back through captain Jemima Whitton for a 17-19 edge.

Yvette Volk for USYD began the second better than anyone with multiple makes – but the scores remained tied throughout the second quarter. It took a little planning from Annika Uzcategui-Montenegro (Project Management) from beyond the arc and inside to give the Waatu the lead back with Madi Hughes (Occupational Therapy) putting in place the Waatu up by seven 32-39. Alex Kayrouz however slashed the margin back to a single basket at the half 36-39.

The Waatu made the most of their momentum prior to the half extending out to seven points again and that’s when the Martin flicked the switch. She proceeded to score 12 points to haul the lead back from the Waatu as USYD produced a 25-16 term – the Waatu however were only down 61-55 with one to play.

A quick fire opening to the fourth dented the Waatu’s chances with USYD through Kayrouz and Lauryn Walker 8-0 before Whitton (Viticulture & Oenology) picked the steal for a layup then a triple off the next play thanks to a Hughes block and assist to break the run. USYD with their experience however steadied again to get out to a game high 16 points 78-62 with Waatu needing answers with 4:27 to go. The fightback ensured with a 0-9 run led by Shillabeer and AUM was bold a valiant but ultimately time ran short with USYD progressing to the semi-final, but the seventh placed finish still ended up being the best in the Women’s history for the Waatu.

Whitton capped off a consistent season with a near triple double of 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds which Uzcategui-Montenegro producing arguably her best game of the season with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Martin however with 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists proved the difference along with Alex Kayrouz finishing with 14 points, five rebounds and four steals.                 

Women – USYD 79 (Martin 31, Kayrouz 14, Dalmeida 11) defeated AU Waatu 71 (Whitton 17, Uzcategui-Montenegro 16, Shillabeer 13)

Season Summary 2025

6th – 5-4 (7th after Finals series due to Melbourne Uni upset of LTU)

You can’t compare the previous seasons for the Womens to this one – it was easily the most successful led by a strong recruitment drive of highly talented players from NBL1 Central sides.

Team Highlights

• Opening match against UON
• Pushing LTU in match away from home
• Away win against UWA
• Upset win against USYD at Home

Individual Highlights

• Caitlin Shillabeer 25 points versus LTU
• Meaza Otto 24 points versus FED
• Jemima Whitton near triple double versus UWA
• Jemma Tredrea debut versus UWA
• Alice Sabine double double versus UNSW

Surprise Packet

It was a surprise debut but a pleasant one from Jemma Tredrea becoming an important player to the foil of Shillabeer, Whitton and Woosnam – 16 points against UWA showed the talent the Forestville Eagles NBL1 Central backup. She continued to play a consistent brand across the remainder of the season to finish with 12.25 points and 9.25 rebounds in four games.

Most Improved

Taking large steps forward this season was the captain of the team in Jemima Whitton. She took on the most important defensive jobs but also produced ultra consistent numbers. The Norwood Flames NBL1 Central with 11.22 points, 6.11 rebounds and 4.56 assists along with 2.8 steals certainly should see more minutes in her side this season you would hope.

Player of the Season

The evenness of this side makes choosing an MVP tough however it has to go to newcomer Caitlin Shillabeer who historically has a strong record in big games. She finished the NBL1 Central season with the Norwood Flames with a bang and that showed in her first outing against UON with 14 points and had pivotal roles in wins over VU and USYD (17 points). She finished her first season with 15.86 points and 6.86 rebounds as we certainly hope of more from her in 2026.

You can catch all the games from the season past on the UBL website and stay tuned to the crossoverdribble for more match reports and features in season 2026.

We want to continue our work telling the stories of SA Basketball this summer and beyond with world championships, local legends, NBL and WNBL previews, reviews and NBL1 off season news and predictions – Can you PLEASE HELP US with a shotclock sub of $14 or $24 a year to help us do this?

NEW – PITCH TO THE PUBLIC 

It takes 4 hours a week to write, research and produce our content but we want to write extra content this next few months so we thought we’d pitch to the public

Here are the next lot of articles up for pitching – subscribe to get these written

“All about Ability – the last five year’s of the Men’s Ivor Burge Program”

“The all-time Adelaide Lightning All-Stars Team – Naming the team of the past 30 years of Adelaide Lightning players”

Eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers will have the remaining of piece produced on the topic of

Another eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers or contributors directly will have both pieces done for production

Please DM if you’d like to support another way than subscription

See if you can provide the assist we need to tell the South Australian Basketball story

All Episodes of the SA Shotclock available on podcasting platforms in the coming months

Photo Credit – Anthony Furina (Via Adelaide University)

3-Minute Read

Women

The Waatu have secured one of arguably their greatest ever victories taking out powerhouse of the competition USYD in a convincing 74-56 win at the State Basketball Centre.

Caitlin Shillabeer (Physiotherapy) sparked the early 8-0 run with some quick points to gain the early ascendancy with Bella Woosnam (Exercise and Sports Science) active in another 7-0 run. Despite no Caitlyn Martin for USYD and Tom Garlepp absent on coaching duties with the U16 Gems – USYD pulled it back with a quick six points thanks to captain Lauryn Walker 19-15 at the first change.

The defence of the Waatu however was keeping Alex Kayrouz and many of her Sydney Comets teammates quiet while Shillabeer kept ticking the scoreboard over as did Jemima Whitton (Viticulture and Oenology) with a pair triples. Both were dishing the damage to keep the Waatu in front 39-30 at the main break.

After a quiet first half Kayrouz rose to the challenge hitting the scoreboard hard for USYD but it was all on the Waatu’s terms with the grinding nature of the game in the home sides favour. Every challenge from USYD was answered by the Waatu and although Kayrouz grabbed 10 points for the quarter- the Waatu still held firm 60-42 with one to play but not quite out of range.

USYD made one final push the start of the fourth with Kayrouz carrying them through the fourth but a string of triples to Meaza Otto (Health & Medical Science) and some strong finishes to Jemma Tredrea (Physiotherapy) helped secure the huge win with now results likely to draw the Waatu to face their opponents once again in the first week of the finals.            

Tredrea once again came up big in the match with 11 points, 12 rebounds while Shillabeer had a huge three terms to finish with 17 points and five rebounds. Jemima Whitton’s leadership and influence on the game defensively couldn’t be underestimated either with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals. In the absence of Martin – Kayrouz collated 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the finish.

Men

The Waatu Men gave second place a scare but a third term fightback setup the eventual win for the powerful USYD unit 85-92 at the State Basketball Centre.

Ayual Garang (Architectural Design) burst out of the blocks with some big time plays and a huge dunk in the opening for 10 points as both teams traded blows. Matthew Wacher also showed his form of the past NBL1 East season with the North Bears grabbed a quick 10 points of his own to hand the lead back to USYD 20-29 at the first change.

The most potent second term of the season came to be led by Garang again, but soon foul trouble engulfed the mismatch for USYD. Curtis Scott (Health & Medical Science) however overtook him with several of his own as the Waatu grabbed a surprise halftime lead of 43-35.

A 0-9 run out of halftime lead by Robert Moore and Harrison Evans who USYD identified as their own mismatch wiped out the halftime lead quickly for the Waatu. Needing a solution Scott provided the antidote with 14 points of his own to keep the Waatu in touch 57-60 with one to play.

Jake Weinstein who stuck triples in the third hurt again from outside while Scott tried to carry the Waatu home. The longer the final term went on the bigger Evans grew as a target for USYD – Moore on target one too many times for his final 12 points to guide the away side home to end the regular season for the Waatu.                   

Scott tried hard to get the Waatu across the line with 41 points and three assists producing the second highest individual total for the Waatu in their history. Garang was impactful but hampered by foul trouble with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals. Moore was superb across the full match for USYD with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three assists while Evans second half proved to be pivotal with 18 points, 16 rebounds with 10 offensive boards.

The Waatu Women and Men finish sixth and fifth and will face USYD and UTAS respectively in their quarter finals interstate Tuesday 7 October

Women – AU Waatu 74 (Shillabeer 17, Tredrea 11, Whitton 10) defeated USYD 56 (Kayrouz 21, Walker 13, Oliver 9)

Men – AU Waatu 85 (Scott 41, Garang 19, Mestrov, Thomson 10) defeated by USYD 92 (Moore 25, Evans 18, Jake Weinstein 16)

Finals have arrived for both our teams – Catch all the action against UTAS & USYD from this Tuesday October 7 on the UBL website and stay tuned to the crossoverdribble for match reports and features throughout the season.

We want to continue our work telling the stories of SA Basketball this summer and beyond with world championships, local legends, NBL and WNBL previews, reviews and NBL1 off season news and predictions – Can you PLEASE HELP US with a shotclock sub of $14 or $24 a year to help us do this?

NEW – PITCH TO THE PUBLIC 

It takes 4 hours a week to write, research and produce our content but we want to write extra content this next few months so we thought we’d pitch to the public

Here are the next lot of articles up for pitching – subscribe to get these written

“All about Ability – the last five year’s of the Men’s Ivor Burge Program”

“The all-time Adelaide Lightning All-Stars Team – Naming the team of the past 30 years of Adelaide Lightning players”

Eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers will have the remaining of piece produced on the topic of

Another eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers or contributors directly will have both pieces done for production

Please DM if you’d like to support another way than subscription

See if you can provide the assist we need to tell the South Australian Basketball story

All Episodes of the SA Shotclock available on podcasting platforms in the coming months

Photo Credit – Anthony Furina (Via Adelaide University)

3-Minute Read

Women

The Waatu stuck thick and thin with UTAS but eventually lost touch with them late as the UBL powerhouse got the job done on the road 59-76 in a gritty encounter at the State Basketball Centre.

It was tight opening to the match between the two teams with an enthralling battle between Sharna Thompson and Jemima Whitton (Viticulture & Oenology – 10 points, four steals and three rebounds) – two championship teammates with the Norwood Flames going toe-to-toe in the same barrel. Leah Bartlett however with seven opening term points led all from the front as UTAS took the lead 12-17 at the first change.

Quiet in the first term Thompson got rolling with plenty of solid makes with Waatu coach Lachlan Coppick trying to stifle the momentum with a timeout down 18-29. Enter Alice Sabine (Medical Studies) as she met the challenge with multiple makes helping keep the margin to a reasonable 26-35 at the main break.

The scoring spread further in the third with UTAS finding answers from their Hobart Chargers in Zoe Banks (Nine points and assists) and Thompson again – keeping touch was Jemma Tredrea (Physiotherapy) and Bella Woosnam (Nutrition & Sports Science – Nine points and three steals) as they muscled the Waatu into the contest with one to play 43-57.

A quick 9-8 run to open the fourth saw the Waatu stretch back into it through Tredrea and Caitlin Shillabeer (Physiotherapy) again 52-65. The answer came for the well balanced UTAS with Emmerson Wells consistent throughout the afternoon and Thompson finishing it off with another eight points in the final term.        

Tredrea continued her strong contributions with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists backed up well by Shillabeer with 12 points and six rebounds. Thompson player of the game notched 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists while Wells collected 18 points and 11 rebounds, Bartlett superb in the first half particularly finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Men

The Waatu Men kept their faint top four finals hopes alive but also secured their highest finish of the UBL with a thrilling 90-88 win over UTAS at the State Basketball Centre.

The opening saw a tantalising battle between two teammates of the runner up NBL1 Central final Central Districts Lions as Jack Stanwix and Ayual Garang (Architectural Design) found themselves going head-to-head. However difficult to stop going downhill Curtis Scott (Health/Medical Science) opened the first term with eight points but Garang was not far behind with five. A 17-5 run led by those two and Issac Hampel (Electrical Engineering) sparked early impact of Jordan Straatsma to take the 28-21 lead.

The Waatu continued to lead the charge with Garang nailing some big triples to give the Waatu a handy 39-25 advantage. After a quiet opening term Stanwix got busy with some key baskets to push UTAS back into it but a late pair of free throws from Scott saw the Waatu hold a handy 52-38 margin at the half.

The comeback for UTAS after the half was launched by Luke Brown and Stanwix (eight points for the term) as the pair rolled it back to 56-49 with a quick 4-11 run. A pair of key triples to Hampel dropped however kept the margin at a reasonable 70-58 with one to go.

UTAS charged their way back in through Straatsma and his work in the block again while Scott was being curtailed by the away side. Straatsma found his range from outside and paired with Stanwix cut it back to 83-79 – the Waatu calculating their approach through Thomas Mestrov (Banking & Finance) and Ahmed Nawasany (Computer Science) to keep them in front.

The Waatu failed to put the game away as UTAS struck back through Archie Stewart with the easy two-point layup, but UTAS were in the fouling situation needing to send Waatu to the line. Sending Scott the free throw line and after missing the first, made the second hit the front of the rim with Garang (eight in the final term) picking up the scraps dribbling it away and forced to foul. He missed the first and tried to miss the second, but it went in to make it 90-88 with one second left. UTAS turned it off fortunately on the last play and Waatu prevailed with one game to play – still had a slim home final alive depending on results ahead.           

Ayual Garang was the player of the match with 23 points and nine rebounds also containing Stanwix for majority of the game and even though quieter than previous weeks Scott still accumulated 22 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Stanwix led all for UTAS eventually with 25 points, five rebounds, three assists along with arguably the most consistent of the match in Jordan Straatsma with 24 points and eight rebounds with Luke Brown also gathering 21 points and six rebounds.

The Waatu Women and Men are already secure in the top eight but if results go their way plus wins over another powerhouse in USYD – home finals are still open for possibility

Women – AU Waatu 59 (Tredrea 13, Shillabeer 12, Whitton 10) defeated by UTAS 76 (Thompson 24, Wells 18, Bartlett 11)

Men – AU Waatu 90 (Garang 23, Scott 22, Hampel 15) defeated UTAS 88 (Stanwix 25, Straatsma 24, Brown 21)    

Finals have arrived for both our teams – Catch all the action against UTAS & USYD from this Tuesday October 7 on the UBL website and stay tuned to the crossoverdribble for match reports and features throughout the season.

We want to continue our work telling the stories of SA Basketball this summer and beyond with world championships, local legends, NBL and WNBL previews, reviews and NBL1 off season news and predictions – Can you PLEASE HELP US with a shotclock sub of $14 or $24 a year to help us do this?

NEW – PITCH TO THE PUBLIC 

It takes 4 hours a week to write, research and produce our content but we want to write extra content this next few months so we thought we’d pitch to the public

Here are the next lot of articles up for pitching – subscribe to get these written

“All about Ability – the last five year’s of the Men’s Ivor Burge Program”

“The all-time Adelaide Lightning All-Stars Team – Naming the team of the past 30 years of Adelaide Lightning players”

Eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers will have the remaining of piece produced on the topic of

Another eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers or contributors directly will have both pieces done for production

Please DM if you’d like to support another way than subscription

See if you can provide the assist we need to tell the South Australian Basketball story

All Episodes of the SA Shotclock available on podcasting platforms in the coming months