Warwick Senators W vs Sturt Sabres W

Sturt came out sharp after Friday's tough loss to Knox. The Sabres controlled the opening quarter and never let Warwick recover. By half-time the margin had grown to double digits, and Sturt's offence — which managed just 55 points against Knox's elite defence — found its rhythm in transition.

The Sabres pushed the lead beyond 20 in the third quarter and maintained it through the fourth. Warwick, the NBL1 West champions who had beaten Cockburn Cougars 102–76 to claim their conference title on 15 August, could not mount a second-half response.

Quarter-by-quarter scores were not available from published data at the time of writing.

Sturt's first-quarter surge decided the game. After scoring only 13 in the first half against Knox on Friday, the Sabres adjusted quickly. Their ball movement and transition game opened up driving lanes, and they never allowed the Senators to establish defensive rhythm. Warwick, a team built around three-point shooting (37.5% from deep during the regular season, best in the NBL1 West), could not get clean looks early and spent the rest of the game chasing.

Sturt spread the scoring load. The Sabres had five players in double figures during their Central grand final win over West Adelaide on 8 August (76–70), and a similar balance was on display here.

Warwick's scoring relied heavily on their core group, but the supporting cast could not match Sturt's depth. Individual box score data was not available from published sources at the time of writing, and no player of the match was officially named.

Sturt's 97 points represented a sharp jump from their season average of 78.05 PPG (the lowest among the six National Finals qualifiers) and a 42-point improvement on their Friday output against Knox. That swing underscores how dependent the Sabres' offence is on matchup: stifled by Knox's disciplined defence, then freed against a Warwick side that conceded 86.13 PPG across the season.

Warwick's 74 points fell below their season average of 86.13, continuing the trend from Friday when they managed only 50 against Bankstown. The Senators, who shot 37.5% from three-point range during the regular season, appeared to lose their shooting rhythm in Adelaide.

Sturt finish fifth in the National Finals, a solid result for the Central champions in their first national tournament appearance of the season. Their 2026 campaign ends with a conference title and one national-stage win.

Warwick finish sixth. That undersells a team that won the NBL1 West championship in dominant fashion — Chloe Forster's 34-point grand final MVP performance was the high point — but the National Finals exposed the gap between the West conference and the stronger South and East conferences.

Knox Raiders, Bankstown Bruins, Waverley Falcons and Mackay Meteorettes played the semi-finals later on Saturday, with the top two advancing to Sunday's championship game at 11:00 AM ACST.

Sturt treated a consolation game as a statement. After a rough Friday, they played their best offensive basketball of the tournament. Warwick ran out of answers after a long season ended one game earlier than they would have hoped. The Sabres leave Adelaide with a win; the Senators return to Perth with a conference title and a clear picture of the national standard.