A hard-hit virus and two late withdrawals wasn’t enough to stop the Salties women’s team from going 7-0 while a star pair fired against their former team in an exciting men’s win.
The Round 7 matches were dedicated to Territory mums as players and officials wore pink for Mother’s Day.
Bollmann stepped up for one of the best NBL1 performances of the season at a time when it was badly needed with regular starters Catherine MacGregor (ankle) and Ruby Porter (illness) late withdrawals from the game while a viral gastro infection swept through the team during the week.
It was revealed post-game that just two out of the 14 listed players were unaffected by the infection as the women’s squad were reduced to limited preparations leading into the game.
But they showed no sign of the challenging situation as the Salties charged out to a 25-4 lead in the first nine minutes against Mackay with Bollmann leading the fast start.
The 29-year-old guard had 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks in the game including 10 points, three rebounds and two steals in the first quarter which led her side to the magnificent opening.
The American-born Saltie was shooting at a smooth 75 per cent from the field and set a new season record for the most individual points by a female Saltie.
Darwin Salties guard Erin Bollmann was on fire against Mackay.
Co-captain Chelsea Brook was also influential in the Salties biggest win of the season, 82-56, with 19 points and five rebounds, including the first bucket which was the first of a trio of three-balls for the forward.
Salties women’s coach Rod Tremlett was stoked with the 24-point win considering the challenges with illness they faced ahead of the match.
“To be honest with you, we kept it quiet all week but a lot of the group has been really sick with gastro and stuff that has been going around town,” Tremlett said.
“All of them had it so we didn’t really know who was turning up tonight so to get that win was really impressive and I mean Erin Bollmann was amazing tonight I thought.
“We knew with Ruby and Cath out, that’s leaving some points on the sideline for us so we knew Chelsea and Erin were going to have to be good tonight and I thought they really were.
Darwin Salties forward Chelsea Brook shooting an open three during last night’s game against MacKay.
“Then the role players came in and did their bit and I thought our defence was great tonight.
“I just felt a little bit at times we got our hands on the ball with rebounds, lost it or fumbled it.
“I think them being a little bit unwell through the week probably didn’t help but sometimes you got to win in tough spots and I think they were really good tonight.”
The win for the Salties women’s side keeps them in second position just one win behind Northside Wizards who have played an extra game.
In the men’s encounter, a statement was made as former Meteors, Jerron Jamerson and Viliami Foketi, showed off against their old side in an impressive 14-point victory to go to fourth on the NBL1 North ladder.
Forward Deng Riak was also among the top performers in the Salties’ third-straight win after dominating in a fast start to the game which saw 8-0 and 25-5 advantages within the first seven minutes.
Riak scored seven points in the opening two minutes of the encounter to make it a 10-2 lead on a night where he finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Following Riak’s thrilling start, Foketi kept the momentum going with a stunning block to maintain a Saltie 10-4 lead before he went on to net back-to-back threes to make it 20-5 against his former side.
Salties skipper Jamerson was also key in the 60-36 first-half onslaught against a Meteors side who lost the night before to Cairns by seven points.
Jamerson had 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals for the game which included 16 points and four assists in the first half.
Viliami Foketi had a brilliant game against his former side Mackay. Picture Pema Tamang Pakhrin
The third quarter saw a little comeback from the Meteors who won the quarter by a point, cutting the margin to 23 points after going on a seven and two run to finish the period.
But in the final quarter, two clutch three-balls from Foketi kept the Salties ahead by more than 20 points early in the term and ended any chance of a miracle Meteors comeback.
Foketi had a stunning night from beyond the arc with five three pointers making up his 15 points for the game where he went at 41.67 per cent from long range.
Sean Macdonald was also noticeable with 16 points in the game including his third and final three-ball for the game which came at an important moment to seal the win in the final quarter.
Deba George and Makuach Maluach were equally as influential on the night where contributions were evenly spread across the team.
Salties men’s coach Matt Flinn was pleased with the spread of contributors in the top win for the Salties who swap positions with the Meteors on the ladder from sixth to fourth.
“We always talk about you got to star in your role and sometimes we got players here who can really score it but they take a back seat due to the scout or someone else is going,” Flinn said.
“That’s a sign of a good team when people are willing to enjoy the success of others rather than just worrying about themselves.”
Flinn was glad his side’s fifth win of the season came against a classy opposition in the Meteors.
“They are a really good team so it was a good win for us,” he said.
“We still probably haven’t strung together four quarters of the way we can play at this stage but anytime you beat a quality side like that and they are extremely well coached, (we’re) really happy.
“We put a lot of work into that and now we will play them again in seven days time.”
NBL1 North: Darwin Salties to wear pink against MacKay in Mother’s Day honour
Darwin Salties’ women’s team will look to maintain their unbeaten NBL1 record in pink when they play hosts to MacKay in honour of Territory mum’s ahead of Mother’s Day at the Croc Pot on Saturday.
The Salties are coming off double-header wins against the Brisbane Capitals when they wore the special jersey to raise awareness for breast cancer last weekend.
In addition, the women will also be aiming for their seventh straight win to start the season against a 14th placed Meteorettes while the men will go for three victories in a row against a fourth placed Meteors.
After Round 6, the Saltie women’s side sit in second position and the men’s team is in sixth with four wins.
It will be a race against the clock for two key Saltie guards in Catherine MacGregor and Ruby Porter, who will need to pass fitness tests just hours before the encounter to prove their readiness for play.
MacGregor went down with an ankle injury in the seventh minute of last week’s game but could make an impressive recovery.
Porter could also rejoin the team after missing last week’s match with illness.
She said she was “getting better day by day” and her return was going to be a “game time decision” alongside Macgregor’s.
Both Salties have been important contributors this season with more than 20 minutes of game time in each of their matches, except for the games they were injured in.
Darwin Salties players Jessica Boundy, Erin Bollmann and Ruby Porter at the Croc Pot wearing their pink jerseys ahead of Saturday’s match honouring Territory mum’s ahead of Mother’s Day.
American-born Salties guard Erin Bollmann is set to play the match with her mother watching from back home.
“I’m from America so my mum’s going to be back home but she usually wakes up at four in the morning to watch it live so it’s going to be great to know that she is watching, especially on Mother’s Day,” Bollmann said.
Speaking about the reasons for her side’s successful 6-0 start to the season, the 29-year-old put it down to having a common goal of “playing team basketball” and “having fun.”
“I know that personally I have a blast playing with these girls and we’re just having so much fun out there playing as one and playing together,” she said.
Bollmann has put together an outstanding campaign so far with the fourth most assists and blocks in the competition while also fighting through a partial tear in her wrist.
Darwin Saltie Jessica Boundy alongside her mother Kate ahead of Saturday’s match honouring Territory mum’s ahead of Mother’s Day.
In the men’s clash, the Salties will take on MacKay who will be coming off a Friday night match against Cairns.
The clash will also have Saltie guard Jerron Jamerson facing his former club, which he said he looking forward to.
“It’s always fun whether we play MacKay here or going back to MacKay the following weekend for Round 2,” Jamerson said.
“They got quite a few new players but a couple of old faces.
“We try and approach it the same way as we do every game.
“We just do what we do, try and keep up pace, pressure on defence.
“We feel like if we do that, it will speak for itself.”