Darwin Salties Men secure first win of season 2024
The Darwin Salties men have got their name on the board after a tough fought victory against the Logan Thunder. Check out all the action from Round 2
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The Darwin Salties men have got their campaign officially under way after recording their first win of the 2024 season.
The Salties had a point to prove against the Thunder following their Round 1 loss to Cairns, and they did just that.
Still missing their main man in the middle, Sean McDonald, the side played their starters for most of the night in order to maintain a level of consistency among the new group.
The 100th NBL1 appearance for Verle Williams and the debut for Jason Ramsamy, the side was up for the task and delivered big time.
The Salties got out to a 32-21 lead after the first, this flurry of points is what would get them over the line as Logan had their number for the remainder of the evening.
And despite allowing Logan to get back in the contest courtesy of free throws galore, the Salties stuck it out until the final whistle to record a gritty 101-93 victory.
Captain Makuach Maluach found his groove and was far more impactful in his overall performance and ended with a game high 30 points, along with 10 rebounds and six assists.
Kouat Noi was at his MVP like best once again, putting up 29 points, while the other three starters had 10 and nine points a piece.
As for the women, they kept on their winning ways in another brilliant all around display.
Two from two at home, the women had to dig much deeper against the Thunder.
A much more difficult opponent, Logan were not afraid to get physical and attack from all around.
It was the Salties performance in the final term that sealed the deal with the team out scoring Logan 30-21.
The Salties’ marquee signing Courtney Woods stood-up with another best on court performance, leading the Darwin side back from 70-75 with three minutes to go, to the winning scoreline of 90-82.
Off the bench, Catherine MacGregor balled out for the second week in a row, dishing up 17 points, five rebounds, three assists a steal and four three pointers in her 27 minute stint, while Woods finished her stellar night with a game high 26 points.
“I think I might’ve gone to sleep a little bit there in the third but I had a couple of good things go my way in the fourth and the rest of the girls got on a roll,” Woods said on the game defining fourth quarter performance.
“For our second game, to rally back and win this type of contest is pretty impressive.
“This was our first proper game of the year and we’ve now shown to one another that we are more than capable of pulling out these high emotion, physical and close encounters.
“For things we can improve on, for sure, bench rotation and combinations could be better, but we’re all still trying to figure out who works best with who, but we’ll get there and everyone is still learning.”
ROUND 1
The Salties women got their season under way in style after defeating the Dolphins by 37-points.
The Salties were impressive across the board from the off, and imposed themselves on both ends of the court with venom.
The women took an early lead and would never let it go.
With big name signing Ashley Arlen out of the line-up due to an issue with FIBA accreditation, the side stood up in her absence.
A number of new faces balled out, namely marquee signing Courtney Woods who dropped 27 points despite carrying a quad injury.
Ellas Titans DBA championship winning pair Catherine MacGregor and Abbey-Lee Wood had a night to remember, connecting on a number of fast-break plays and joined in on the scoring, recording 14 and 11 points respectively.
The two new Abbys (Curtain and Solway) also had a great night out, both huge presences in defence, Curtain with her height and rebounding and Solway with her frantic pressure.
Fast-pressing defence and great guard rotation was the story of the night, as every player stuck to their assignments, which resulted in the starting five all scoring double digits.
The Salties played their way to a very well-earned 105 to 68 victory, not losing a single quarter to their opposition.
“That was a brilliant first outing from the girls,” coach Rod Tremlett said.
“This was obviously their first real game as a unit and they looked very promising.
“We shared the ball well in offence and pressed high in defence and had great rotations all night.
“Woods, Curtain and Solway in particular I thought stood up and had phenomenal debuts and all the others played to their roles perfectly.”
The men also got their season under way against Cairns but unlike the women, went down in a disappointing affair.
After coming out of the gates firing and full of intensity, they lifted their foot off the accelerator in the second period, and couldn’t claw their way back.
The side at times looked lost offensively and weren’t all that glamorous defensively either, showing signs of rust coming out of the off season.
A solid first quarter was followed by a dismal second in which the side looked disjointed across the board.
They had no troubles finding scoring positions but for whatever reason were unable to sink their shots.
They rebounded in the third and fought back to be level at 60 all coming into the final term.
The Salties started to miss their assignment with more regularity, and this led to some players to show frustration, gifting the Marlins unnecessary free-throws.
With two minutes on the clock, the Salties were only down the one score, 80-77.
However, they lost their way and allowed Cairns to sink 10 unanswered points to blow out the lead and hand them their first loss of the season.
As for individual performances, Kouat Noi was an absolute beast and carried the side as he put up a game high 35 points, made three assists, got eight rebounds and had three steals.
Chier Maker was the only other Saltie to record double digits with 17.
At full-time the score read Marlins 90 to Salties 77.
– Salties women won 25 28 30 22 (105) to 19 12 21 16 (68)
– Salties men lost 20 28 12 30 (90) to 26 14 20 17 (77)
PREVIEWS
The Darwin Salties will take to the court in their first contest of the 2024 NBL1 North campaign, at Ventia Darwin Basketball Stadium.
The Salties first match comes against Cairns with the women playing the Dolphins from 6pm, while the men will get their season underway against the Marlins from 8pm.
Makuach Malauch leads the men’s side for season 2024 and will be eager to make an impact from Round 1 with a sense of unfinished business.
The side has plenty of strong players new to the team, including NBL1 MVP Kouat Noi and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk.
“I’m really looking forward to the first game and the season, we have a really talented team and I just can’t wait to get it all started,” Malauch said.
“We have plenty of new guys with plenty of experience coming in, people like Wani and Kouat are going to really help the young guys.
“The past few seasons we’ve felt like we’ve come up short and this year we believe we have the team that can achieve our goal, but there’s a process to it and we have to take it a week at a time.
“And that Salties crowd will be a part of it, they’re the reason I keep coming back as they’re the best fans in the league and can’t wait for another season with the support.”
The women also have plenty of significant inclusions eager for their first taste of action in front of the home support including Courtney Woods and Ashley Arlen.
Women’s captain Ruby Porter said she was already hyped to get out in front of the Salties crowd, with her side having big expectations for the season.
“We’re super excited to put it all out on the floor for everyone, we’re heading it’s a sellout of a game which is super great for us and the community,” Porter said.
“Pre-season has been super competitive, we’ve got up and down as much as we can and though Courtney and Ash have come in later they’ve just fit in so well.
“The whole team has complemented each other really well, we’re all great friends off the court and that’s going to be massive for us this season.
“Shooting will be our strength, we’re pretty great on the perimeter, but also getting inside and running the floor, we’re going to play up the court a lot and hold ourselves accountable defensively.
“I get goose bumps thinking about the crowd, they get so loud behind us, they’re basically our sixth man on game days.”
WOMEN
Coach: Rod Tremlett
Players (roster): Courtney Woods, Ashley Arlen, Abigail Curtin, Zoe Campbell, Maddy Campbell, Abby Solway, Sophie Johnston, Nyah Morris, Ruby Porter, Catherine McGregor, Tiayana Sing, Haven Hophia-Wilson, Abbey-Lee Wood, Amy List, Tyla Cubillo, Haven Hohipa Wilson
Finish last year: 6th, 11-8 (record)
Key recruit: Reigning NBL1 MVP Courtney Woods played a pivotal role in the Northside Wizards grand final victory last season is now at the Salties.
Woods also won a WNBL ring with the Townsville Fire making her one of the country’s most accomplished players.
She is a needed star who can fill the void of the departing Chelsea Brook and Erin Bollmann.
Who to look out for and why: The well-travelled Ashley Arlen is an American who has proven her basketball skills across the world playing in the United States, Romania, Germany, Spain and the UK.
Arlen is celebrated as a league and finals MVP and was recently named in the Women’s British Basketball League team of the year.
Catherine McGregor is another one to keep an eye on, the returning Saltie is expected to only get better in 2024 after scoring an outstanding 30 points in a losing quarterfinal effort last season.
Headline we’d like to see: Salties women shine in finals.
Our bold prediction: Injuries marred their progress last season after a dream start, but again this season the goal has to be finals and more specifically home finals for the Salties.
Like their male counterparts they’ve made some massive signings so should be pushing for the top.
MEN
Coach: Matt Flinn
Players (roster): Makuach Maluach, Sean MacDonald, Kouat Noi, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, Nate Jawai, Deba George, Toby Campbell, Kai Bloom, Daniel Babb, Verle Williams, Chier Maker, Mitch Brauer, Tristyn Ambrose Pearce, Jason Ramsamy
Finish last season: 7th, 10-9 (record).
Key recruit: It doesn’t get much better than an already established NBL1 MVP in Kouat Noi who averaged 30 points and 11 rebounds a game for USC Rip City.
Who to look out for and why: Makuach Maluach has played every season with the Salties and very quickly established himself as an x-factor star with a stunning dunk.
The NBL player has stated he has unfinished business with the Salties.
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk is another one to keep an eye on, the three-time NBL champion is set to call Darwin home in 2024, while Sean MacDonald played every game for the Salties last season and is on a run of form for the Tasmania JackJumpers in the NBL where he averages more than 20 minutes a game.
Headline we’d like to see: Darwin Salties into historic first grand final.
Our bold prediction: Will play a home finals for the first time in their history with an absolutely stacked roster of newcomers in the squad for the 2024 season. Have the roster to go all the way.
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