The Penrith Panthers split their results against the visiting Northern Suburbs Bears on Sunday afternoon at the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre (PVRSC), in Round 17 of the 2015 Waratah Championship League (WCL) basketball competition.
Penrith were missing a host of players in the women's game, including Tahlia Tupaea, Chantyl Szostak, Ashling O'Doherty (Katoomba), Dominika Offner (Springwood) and Kelli Sims and only reached a total of seven players with the inclusion of injured player Danielle Schwarzer and junior Lara Camenzuli.
The second-placed Bears took full advantage, defeating the Panthers 102-73.
Alicia Poto led the Panthers with 29 points and 10 boards, ahead of Rhiannon Pope with 15 points and 9 boards.
The Penrith men led the Bears 25-21 and 44-39 in the first two quarters respectively but the visitors had begun to look very dangerous in the closing stages of the first half.
Penrith simply refused to succumb to the higher-ranked Bears, maintaining their margin throughout the second half for an impressive 97-84 win.
Point guard Noah Cleur led the Panthers with 26 points, ahead of Louis Brandt (Springwood) 23 points, 12 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocked shots; Rhys Daley (Katoomba) 13 points; Jarrod Sorenson (Springwood) 10 points, 14 boards and Krenz Carlos 10 points.
Both Penrith teams are on the road this Saturday, taking on the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at the Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.
