There's no longer an undefeated men's NBL1 South team after the Geelong United Supercats beat the Mount Gambier Pioneers in the most dramatic of finishes while 19 assists from Kelly Wilson helped keep the Bendigo Braves unbeaten in 2023.
The Saturday night Round 5 women's NBL1 South matches saw the Geelong United Supercats beat the Mount Gambier Pioneers 85-74 with the Nunawading Spectres defeating the Eltham Wildcats 74-71, the Casey Cavaliers downing the Launceston Tornadoes 84-60, and the Knox Raiders beating the Ringwood Hawks 93-47.
Keilor Thunder also beat the Kilsyth Cobras 74-60 with the Diamond Valley Eagles beating the Ballarat Miners 74-70, the Sandringham Sabres defeating the Dandenong Rangers 87-77, and the Bendigo Braves winning 110-76 against the Hobart Chargers.
In the corresponding men's match ups, the Chargers beat the Braves 106-79, the Supercats defeated the Pioneers 106-105, the Spectres downed the Wildcats 93-80 and the North West Tasmania Thunder won 111-79 against the Casey Cavaliers.
The Raiders also beat the Hawks 81-71 with Keilor beating Kilsyth 98-89, Diamond Valley defeating Ballarat 87-75 and the Sabres downing the Rangers 103-74.
WOMEN
Supercats hand Pioneers back-to-back defeats
The Geelong United Supercats have given the Mount Gambier Pioneers back-to-back losses by winning 85-74 on Saturday night at The Arena.
The Pioneers suffered their first loss of the season last week at home to the Ringwood Hawks but they weren’t able to hit back on the road in Geelong on Saturday with the Supercats also attempting to respond to last week's defeat to the Frankston Blues.
It was in the second quarter when the Supercats got rolling as they put up 28 points to 25 to see them take a 51-40 lead into intermission against the Pioneers.
Geelong was then able to go on with the job in the second half to win by 11 and improve to 3-3 on the season with the Pioneers now 5-2 after their five-game winning streak.
Eve Braslis was super impressive for the Supercats with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 9/13 shooting with Chantel Horvat delivering 22 points, nine boards, four assists and two steals.
Monica Okoye also ended up with 13 points and six rebounds, Agnieszka Skobel 11 points, four boards, three assists and three steals, Sarah Elsworthy nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Ella Tofaeono seven points, 14 boards and five assists.
Despite the loss, Isabella Brancatisano had a huge performance for Mount Gambier and put up 35 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Sherrie Calleia also had 24 points, six boards and four assists, and Haliegh Reinoehl 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Spectres produce huge fightback to beat Wildcats
The Nunawading Spectres produced a stirring finish at home on Saturday night to come from 10 points down early in the fourth quarter to beat to the Eltham Wildcats 74-71.
The Wildcats put themselves in a strong position to record their third victory of the NBL1 South season when Bec Pizzey nailed a jumper a minute into the fourth quarter to give them the 62-52 advantage.
The onus was right back on the Spectres to respond if they were to pull out the victory and the home team produced a spectacular last nine minutes to turn that 10-point deficit into a three-point victory.
In the space of a minute and-a-half Cassidy Mihalko scored seven quick points for Nunawading to suddenly make it a three-point ball game. A couple of minutes later and Emma Pearce made it a one-point margin.
It set up for a frantic last few minutes beginning with Devon Brookshire hitting from long-range for the Spectres to tie scores up with 3:30 to play.
Another and-one play from Mihalko a minute later tied scores up for the Spectres before Rachel Brewster gave them a lead.
They would never surrender that advantage and a pair of free-throws each from Mihalko and Pearce secured the three-point win for Nunawading to improve them to 4-3 on the season with Eltham slipping to 2-5.
Mihalko ended the night with 22 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists for Nunawading while Pearce added 19 points and six boards, Brookshire 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Brewster 11 points and five boards, and Rachel Antoniadou 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Bec Pizzey ended the evening with 19 points and 15 rebounds for Eltham while Hailey Leidel had 18 points, five boards and five assists, Louise Forsyth 13 points and eight rebounds, and Taylah Wynne 13 points and five assists.
Cavs beat Froling-less Tornadoes for first win
The Casey Cavaliers took full advantage of a Launceston Tornadoes team missing Keely Froling to score the 84-60 win at home on Saturday night.
With Froling unavailable for Launceston for this weekend's double-header on the road due to taking part in Australia's 3x3 World Cup Qualifier in Israel, the job was ahead of the Tornadoes starting against the Cavs at Casey Stadium this weekend.
Casey were able to take full advantage and it started when they put up 30 points to 15 in the opening quarter. A dominant 24-point to seven second period saw the Cavaliers in control leading 54-22 at half-time.
They went on to score the 24-point victory from there to open their account for the season after six straight losses with the Tornadoes slipping to 3-4 with the defeat.
Esra McGoldrick produced a standout performance for Casey with 25 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks while shooting 9/11 from the field and 6/8 from the foul line.
Lauren Van Kleunen added 19 points, six rebounds and two assists, Taylah Gillam 13 points and eight assists, and Taylah Simmons six points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Macey Crawford top-scored for Launceston with 17 points and five rebounds with Olivia West contributing 15 points, three boards and three assists, and Riley Lupfer 12 points, two assists and two steals.
Knox take advantage of Whittle-less Hawks for big win
The Knox Raiders took full advantage of the shorthanded Ringwood Hawks to score the commanding 93-47 victory at home on Saturday night.
The defending champion Ringwood were without last year's Grand Final MVP Marena Whittle who is with Australia's 3x3 team in Israel and the Raiders were able to take full advantage at the State Basketball Centre.
Knox scored 26 points to 13 in the opening quarter and went on with the job from there to be leading by 21 points at half-time, 37 at three quarter-time and win by 46.
The result improves the Raiders to a 6-1 record on the season with the Hawks 5-2 in their championship defence.
Alicia Froling delivered another 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals to lead the charge for Knox with Leah Santomaggio adding 19 points, three boards and two assists while knocking down 5/7 from three-point land.
Kiera Rowe also had 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, Emilie Hasseldal 12 points, 12 boards and five assists, Aneta Bandilovska 10 points, five assists and three rebounds, and Paige Burrows 10 points and four boards.
New Ringwood import Ariel Jones put up 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals with Hailey Wynd adding 10 points, and Shelby Britten six points and five assists.
Keilor beat Kilsyth for second win of season
Both Keilor and Kilsyth were attempting to breathe some life into their NBL1 South seasons and it was the Thunder on their home floor who scored the 74-60 victory.
Neither team found much flow in the opening quarter combining for just the 23 points, but Keilor got going in the second term with 20 points to 10 to head into the half-time interval leading 32-21.
The Thunder were able to maintain their advantage throughout the second half to claim the 14-point win to improve to 2-5 with the Cobras 2-6 following the defeat.
Lana Hollingsworth produced a tremendous performance for Keilor with 25 points and six assists on 8/13 shooting from the floor, 3/5 from beyond the arc and 6/6 from the free-throw line.
Juna Umezawa also had 13 points and eight rebounds, Meg Lucas 12 points and two boards, and Jaz Salon 10 points and three assists.
Isis Lopes did what she could for Kilsyth finishing with 21 points and six rebounds on 4/6 three-point shooting with Georgia Booth adding 18 points and three boards, Nikita Young eight points and three steals, and Alexa Hart six points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Eagles set up win over Miners in third quarter
A standout third quarter was where the Diamond Valley Eagles set up their eventual 74-70 home win on Saturday night against the Ballarat Miners.
The Miners started well away from home and led 21-20 by quarter-time and then 37-31 at the half-time break.
That meant the Eagles had to dig deep coming out of half-time and they did so on their home floor putting up 23 points to 13 in the third quarter.
That ultimately was where Diamond Valley set up the four-point victory that sees them improve to a 4-3 record with Ballarat slipping to 1-7 with a seventh consecutive defeat.
Sophie Burrows top-scored for Diamond Valley with 21 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals with Jennie Rintala adding 16 points, 11 boards, and three steals, Monique Andriuolo 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals, and Kara Tessari 14 points and six assists.
Tayanna Jones had a massive performance for the Miners despite the loss with 26 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks with Abbey Wehrung producing 20 points, seven boards and three assists, and Jemma Amoore 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Sabres keep on building momentum after coaching change
The Sandringham Sabres made it consecutive wins since making a change in coach beating the Dandenong Rangers 87-77 at Dandenong Basketball Stadium.
Following a 32-point home loss to the Waverley Falcons, Sandringham decided to part ways with coach Jacqui O’Neill.
Assistant Simon Giovannoni took charge in last week's 23-point win against Eltham and with Kerryn Mitchell appointed for the rest of the season, the Sabres kept the momentum going with a strong showing on Saturday night in Dandenong.
Sandringham started strongly with 22 points to 16 in the opening quarter and then the Sabres outscored the Rangers 41 points to 33 in the second half to secure the eventual 10-point victory.
The result improves the Sabres to a 4-4 record on the season with the Rangers falling to 4-4 with the defeat on their home floor.
The experienced Klara Wischer led the charge for Sandringham with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals while hitting 3/6 from long-range.
Funda Nakkasoglu added 18 points, four boards, two assists and two steals, Morgan Ili 15 points, three rebounds and three steals, Eilidh Simpson 11 points and 10 assists, and Georgia Pineau 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
It was a tough loss for Dandenong but Nyadiew Puoch continued her standout form with another 29 points and eight rebounds. Amber Smith added 19 points and three assists, and Sarah Boothe nine points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Braves keep winning run going on Wilson's 19 assists
The Bendigo Braves had no trouble maintaining their perfect start to the NBL1 South season beating the Hobart Chargers 110-76 at home on Saturday night.
The Braves were back at Red Energy Arena having won their opening seven matches of the season by an average of 21.4 points so the job was in front of the Chargers to put up a challenge.
Hobart did its best to stick with Bendigo limiting the home team to a four-point lead by quarter-time and to 14 at half-time, but the Braves blew the game open in the second half with 56 points to 36.
That saw the Braves score the emphatic 34-point victory to improve to 8-0 on the season with four wins at home and four away. The Chargers slip to 2-5 with the defeat.
Bendigo was without the services of WNBA draftee and Perth Lynx WNBL star Amy Atwell, but it didn’t deter them with Megan McKay putting up 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists on 8/11 field goal shooting and 9/9 from the foul line.
Cassidy McLean added 25 points, three rebounds and two steals while Kelly Wilson was brilliant once more with 11 points, 19 assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
Madeline Sexton also had 11 points and five rebounds, Poppy Blanch 11 points, and Caitlin Richardson 12 points and eight boards.
Sarah O'Neill finished with 25 points for Hobart with Paige Bradley contributing 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Kayla Steindl 15 points, six boards and five assists.
MEN
Supercats hand Pioneers first loss in dramatic finish
There is now no longer any unbeaten teams in the NBL1 South men's competition with the Geelong United Supercats stunning the Mount Gambier Pioneers 106-105.
If the Pioneers' winning run to start the season was going to come to an end it was always going to be in dramatic fashion, and that was certainly the case at The Arena on Saturday night.
Geelong United broke through for a first win of the season last week against the Frankston Blues, but it was going to be another thing to try and hand Mount Gambier their first defeat of 2023.
It was a terrific contest all evening in front of a raucous Geelong crowd and it felt destined to be going down to the wire, and that's what happened.
The biggest shot of the night appeared to be a three for the Supercats to DeMarcus Gatlin with just over a minute to play that put the home team up by four.
But Nick Marshall responded with the next four points for Mount Gambier to level scores up again before Will Mayfield missed the attempted winner with a corner three for the Pioneers after Chris Seeley grabbed the offensive board on Marshall's missed free-throw.
Geelong had possession after the missed three and out of a timeout, had the chance to run a play for a winning shot. However, that shot was never needed when a remarkable call was made before the ball was thrown in by Gatlin.
The referee judged Seeley went too close guarding Gatlin on the pass and Gabe Hadley drained the subsequent technical free-throw, and the Supercats then got the ball in and ran out the time to score the one-point win.
It was the most dramatic way for Geelong to end Mount Gambier's winning streak with George Blagojevic delivering 30 points and 10 rebounds on 6/10 three-point shooting.
Gatlin added 25 points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds with 4/5 long-range shooting for the Supercats, Hadley 23 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Nick Velasquez 11 points and four assists.
The Pioneers are now 6-1 on the season despite Nick Marshall's 37 points, six rebounds and two assists while hitting 6/9 from three-point land.
Austin Shelley added 27 points and two steals, and Will Mayfield 16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Pioneers are producing their own highlights reel tonight ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 6, 2023
Watch #NBL1South via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/mS3RKXpOl5
Spectres keep winning form going at expense of Eltham
The Nunawading Spectres made a real statement of their intentions by beating the Eltham Wildcats 93-80 at home on Saturday night.
The Wildcats arrived at Nunawading Basketball Centre having won five of six matches this NBL1 South season but the Spectres were on a three-game winning run, and they kept their momentum rolling.
Nunawading continued to extend its lead throughout the evening to be on top by four points at quarter-time, six at half-time and 13 at three quarter-time before going on to score the 13-point victory.
The win gives the Spectres four in-a-row to improve to a 5-2 record with the Wildcats now 5-2 following the loss.
Jalen Gibbs put up 25 points, nine rebounds and assists while hitting 4/11 from long-range for Nunawading with Will Carius contributing 20 points and 11 boards, Kingsley Box 16 points and six rebounds, and Josh Tomasi 11 points, seven boards and five assists.
Sam Short top-scored for Eltham with 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals with Callum Dalton adding 20 points and two boards, and two-time Sydney Kings NBL championship winner Angus Glover 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
North West Tasmania dominate Casey away from home
The North West Tasmania Thunder returned to winning form in emphatic fashion by hammering the Casey Cavaliers 111-79 to start their road double-header.
North West Tasmania arrived at Casey Stadium on a three-game losing streak to take on a Cavs team also looking to bounce back from losing to Knox, and it was the visitors who would produce a spectacular performance.
While only leading by three at quarter-time, the Thunder started to pull further away to lead 52-45 by half-time and they were then able to dominate the second half, outscoring the Cavs 59 points to 34.
That saw North West Tasmania record the 32-point victory to snap the losing run and improve to a 3-4 record with Casey now having lost two straight at 2-5.
Sekou Sylla was superb for the Thunder with 26 points and 12 rebounds on 10/19 shooting from the field and 6/7 at the free-throw line.
Venky Jois also delivered 24 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 11/16 shooting with Tre Armstrong putting up 19 points and six assists with 5/7 three-point shooting, and Vionte Daniels 16 points and six assists.
Malcolm Bernard top-scored for Casey with 26 points, five rebounds and two assists with Preston Bungei contributing 20 points, five boards and three assists, and Sidy Djitte 18 points and nine rebounds.
Raiders overpower Hawks in last three quarters
The Ringwood Hawks couldn’t maintain their hot start with the Knox Raiders taking charge over the last three quarters to end up winning 81-71.
Ringwood's attempts to return to the winner's list couldn’t have got off to a better start with the Hawks outscoring the Raiders at the State Basketball Centre 24 points to 10 in the opening quarter.
However, the Hawks couldn’t keep the momentum going and for the rest of the evening the Raiders outscored them 71 points to 47 to turn that 14-point deficit into an eventual 10-point victory.
The win improves Knox to a 4-3 record on the season with the Hawks now 2-5 with three losses in-a-row.
Deng Acouth led the charge inside for Knox finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks on 6/9 shooting.
Wayne Stewart added 15 points and 11 rebounds, Austin Rapp 14 points, five boards and three blocks, Dylan Hare 13 points and two steals, and Madut Akec 10 points, six boards, four steals and two assists.
Jonathan Lawton top-scored for Ringwood with 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals with Adrien Sturt producing 15 points and three boards, and Kyle Daggett 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Thunder give Cobras fourth straight loss with big second half
The Keilor Thunder handed the Kilsyth Cobras a fourth successive NBL1 South defeat by winning 98-89 at home on Saturday night.
Keilor was attempting to bounce back from a 36-point defeat from the Eltham Wildcats while Kilsyth arrived at Keilor Stadium looking to end its own three-game losing slide after winning the first four matches of 2023.
That set up a tantalising match up and even more so when Kilsyth started on fire with 32 points in the opening quarter to lead by as much as 16 points during the second term before Keilor managed to claw back into the contest.
While still trailing by seven points at half-time, Keilor dominated the second half by outscoring Kilsyth 54 points to 38 to turn that 16-point deficit in the second period to an eventual nine-point victory.
The result improves the Thunder to a 4-3 record on the season with the Cobras now 4-4 with four straight defeats.
Keilor had three stars in the win with Zac Triplett finishing with 27 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Robbie Heath also had 25 points and five boards, and Will Jenkins 24 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Jamie Ahale finished with 27 points and six rebounds for Kilsyth while Mitch Dielemans knocked down 6/7 from behind the three-point line on his way to 31 points.
Diamond Valley snaps winning run of Ballarat
Despite the continued absence of Sydney Kings superstar DJ Vasiljevic, the Diamond Valley Eagles defeated the Ballarat Miners 87-75 at home on Saturday night.
The Eagles had lost two of their past three matches ahead of hosting a Ballarat team who had won three in-a-row, and it was a tight contest in the opening half with the Miners going into intermission leading 40-35.
Diamond Valley was able to dominate the second half from their on their home floor outscoring Ballarat 52 points to 35 to end up winning by 12.
The result improves the Eagles to a 4-3 record on the season while Ballarat slips to 5-3 with its three-game winning run coming to an end.
Jock Perry delivered 15 points, five rebounds and two assists in the win for Diamond Valley while shooting 3/5 from beyond the arc.
Mandrell Worthy added 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, Erik Kafritsas 12 points, four assists and three boards, and Joel Capetola 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Tyler Rudolph produced 21 points and 11 rebounds for Ballarat while Nic Pozoglou added 17 points and four boards, Adam Thoseby 16 points and four assists, and Jake Lloyd nine points and four steals.
Ayre lifts Sabres to fifth consecutive win
The Sandringham Sabres made it five wins in-a-row with a commanding 103-74 road win against the Dandenong Rangers.
The Sabres arrived at Dandenong Basketball Stadium having won four straight against a Rangers team looking to snap their own four-game losing slide.
Dandenong started strongly on its home floor with 26 points to 23 but Sandringham turned the tide in the second period with 23 points to 14 to go into the half-time break leading 46-40.
The Sabres were then able to dominate the second half from there with 57 points to 34 to end up beating the Rangers by 29 points to improve to 5-3 on the season with the Rangers now 2-6.
Fresh off his signing with South East Melbourne Phoenix for NBL24, Ben Ayre was outstanding for Sandringham with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists including hitting 6/9 from beyond the arc.
CJ Asuncion-Byrd also had 20 points, six boards, four assists and two steals, Dane Pineau 19 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals, Campbell Blogg 12 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Tom Koppens 10 points and two assists.
Mike Amius top-scored for Dandenong with 19 points and five rebounds with Jack Roberts contributing 18 points, six boards, two assists and two steals, and Harry Bowater 11 points and two steals.
Defending champs make a statement in Bendigo
The defending NBL1 South champion Hobart Chargers flexed their muscles on Saturday night beating the Bendigo Braves 106-79.
While the Braves came into the clash at Red Energy Arena on the back of beating the Kilsyth Cobras, the Chargers had been building momentum with two straight wins and were ready to make a statement.
Hobart put up 29 points to 23 in the opening period before another 31 to 20 in the second to go into the half-time break on top 60-43.
The Chargers went on with the job from there to win by 27 points to improve to 4-3 on the season with Bendigo now sitting at 2-6.
Devin Watson was outstanding for Hobart with 26 points and five assists as was last year's Grand Final MVP and new Brisbane Bullets signing Sam McDaniel who put up 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Jarred Bairstow added 17 points and six rebounds, Callum Boucher 13 points and eight boards, and Will Ferguson 11 points with 3/7 long-range shooting.
Lat Mayen finished with 21 points and six rebounds for Bendigo with Bijan Johnson contributing 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, Luke Rosendale 12 points and five boards, and Billy Smythe 12 points and four rebounds.
Bijan Johnson is a ????? in the paint ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 6, 2023
Watch #NBL1South via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/fcClgMCSh0
