NEWCASTLE Falcons coach Chloe Mullaney has leaned on daughter Chyra Evans for inside information in preparation for their NBL1 East women's game against Canberra Nationals at Newcastle Basketball Stadium on Sunday.
After being based in Canberra in the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence program in 2020 and 2021, Evans knows what to expect from the Nationals, who are eighth with a 1-2 record.
Canberra, who will play Maitland at Maitland on Saturday before the game against Newcastle, opened their 2022 campaign with a 65-62 road loss to Norths Bears, then split a home double-header with a 76-66 loss to Sutherland and a 65-58 victory over Illawarra.
"When I was at CoE, we played against a lot of the Canberra girls in social comps down there, and they've got some talented players," said Evans, who is enjoying representing her home town again after her stint in the national capital and a WNBL season with Sydney Uni Flames.
"They've had a similar start to the season as we have, and similar results, so they'll be tough."
Evans and Falcons teammates Amelia Raidaveta and Emily Foy were representing NSW at the Australian Under-20 Championships in Mackay last week, so they missed Newcastle's first loss of the season, a 58-54 defeat against Hills Hornets at Hills last Saturday.
Averaging 19.6 points and 10.6 rebounds a game for NSW, 18-year-old Evans led the national under 20s tournament in scoring and rebounding for the second straight year.
But unlike last year, when she also won the Bob Staunton Medal for the most outstanding player at nationals, Evans and the NSW team had to settle for fourth place after winning the title in 2021.
"Obviously it wasn't the result we were hoping for, which was disappointing, but it is what is and all you can do is look ahead to the next game and the next challenge," she said.
"It will be good to get back on court for Newcastle again, especially at home in front of our crowd."
Evans led the NBL1 East Conference in scoring (27ppg) and rebounding (15rpg) after two rounds, and still leads the way in rebounds, but has slipped to second position in scoring behind legendary former Opals centre Lauren Jackson, who is averaging 28.5 points a game for Albury-Wodonga.
The narrow loss to Hills last Saturday meant Newcastle slipped to fifth with a 2-1 record. The game against the Nationals is scheduled for a 1pm tip-off, followed at 3pm by the men's game between Newcastle and Canberra Gunners.
Having opened their account with an 82-50 extermination of the Hornets at Hills last Saturday, the Falcons have had a spring in their step at training this week as they chase back to back wins against third-placed Canberra (2-1).
The Gunners, who like the Nationals start their Hunter road trip in Maitland on Saturday after a bye last weekend, defeated Norths (80-68) and Sutherland (112-75) in their first two games before a 97-89 loss to Illawarra on April 10.
Canberra's two main scoring threats are Glenn Morison and William Mayfield, who both average 18 points a game to be ranked in the East Conference top 10.
Falcons coach Peter Astley will look to twin towers Myles Cherry and Tom Dawson to again dominate the paint, after the conference's two leading rebounders laid the foundations for Newcastle's thrashing of the Hornets last Saturday.
In his first appearance of the season, Dawson pulled down 16 boards and Cherry had 12, just shy of his 13.3 rebounds per game average. Cherry leads the Falcons in scoring, averaging 19 points a game, to be ranked seventh in the East Conference.
The Falcons also hope to see American import JaShaun Smith make his NBL1 debut but that will hinge on his international clearance being processed before the game tips off.
