The Penrith Basketball Association hosted the Hills District Hornets on Saturday night at the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre, in round 10 of the 2014 Waratah Championship League (WCL) competition.
Hills District succeeded in catching everyone except their own players by surprise, suiting up former US College and current German National League power forward Paul Brotherson in the men's game and US College centre Kate Olive in the women's game.
The Hornets men led 26-22 in the first quarter and 51-42 at half time, then broke the Panthers resolve in the third term with a dominant 17-4 run. The Hornets won 90-62, with Brotherson leading all scorers with 27 points.
Sydney Flames WNBL forward Casey Samuels had been the Panthers nemesis in the first encounter between the two teams this season, but older sister Jamie took over on Saturday night.
The elder Samuels led the Hornets to a 15-7 and 41-23 leads in the first two breaks respectively, before the Panthers staged a powerful third quarter recovery to close to 58-50 at the end of the third term.
The Panthers recovery was short-lived, with the Hornets rallying again in the final term to record a 76-61 win.
MEN: Hills District Hornets 90 def Pioneer Tavern Panthers 62 (Louis Brandt 14 points, Nic Pozoglou 12, Sean Albert 12)
WOMEN: Hills District Hornets 76 def Davlin Security Panthers 61 (Rohanee Cox 18 points, Tahlia Tupaea 15)
