Abbey Wehrung helped end the Ballarat Miners losing streak while Jack Davidson's return sparked their men with Dane Pineau nailing the winner for the Sandringham Sabres, and the Bendigo Braves scoring two impressive wins to stop the hot streaks of both Geelong United Supercats teams.
Saturday night's women's NBL1 South Round 8 matches saw the Bendigo Braves defeat the Geelong United Supercats 92-75 while the Nunawading Spectres beat the Melbourne Tigers 77-60, Ballarat Miners down the Casey Cavaliers 79-66, and the Frankston Blues beat the Keilor Thunder 79-61.
The Dandenong Rangers also defeated the Kilsyth Cobras 89-69, the Mount Gambier Pioneers downed the Knox Raiders 88-80, the Eltham Wildcats prevailed 97-61 against the Launceston Tornadoes and the Diamond Valley Eagles beat the Sandringham Sabres 75-70.
In the men's action, the Sabres beat the Eagles 85-84, the Braves defeated the Supercats 109-97, the Spectres downed the Tigers 103-64, the Miners won 94-91 against the Cavs, the Blues defeated the Thunder 106-103, the Rangers downed the Cobras 107-73, the Raiders beat the Pioneers 77-63, and the North West Tasmania Thunder defeated the Wildcats 94-86.
NBL1 SOUTH RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 8
WOMEN
Bendigo stay perfect with win over in-form Geelong
Amy Atwell knocked down seven three-pointers to help keep the Bendigo Braves undefeated this NBL1 South season with the 92-75 victory at home to the Geelong United Supercats.
The Supercats did arrive at Red Energy Arena in some hot form themselves having won five straight to set the stage for a fascinating match up with the unbeaten league-leaders.
Bendigo did open up an eight-point lead in the opening quarter but Geelong was able to bring it back to three by quarter-time.
It remained a tight tussle through the second period and by half-time scores were all tied at 34-apiece.
Bendigo was able to pull away throughout the second half, though, outscoring Geelong 58 points to 41 to end up winning by 17 and to improve to a perfect 11-0 on the season.
The loss sees the five-game losing run come to an end for the Supercats who are now 7-4.
Fresh off re-signing for the Perth Lynx in the WNBL, Amy Atwell delivered 32 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals for Bendigo on the back of knocking down 7/16 of her three-point attempts.
Megan McKay was a dominant presence again with 24 points and nine boards with Kelly Wilson contributing another 15 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Cassidy McLean 13 points, four boards, four assists and two steals.
Chantel Horvat delivered 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in the loss for Geelong with Sarah Elsworthy contributing 18 points, eight boards and three assists, Eve Braslis 14 points and three assists, and Agnieszka Skobel nine points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Shot clock going down? no problem for Megan McKay ?
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Kunek leads Spectres to win over Tigers
Alice Kunek led the Nunawading Spectres back to the winning list in the NBL1 South on Saturday night even if she didn’t have the best shooting night in the 77-60 victory over the Melbourne Tigers.
The Spectres played host to the Tigers with both teams looking to stop their losing slides at Nunawading Basketball Centre.
Nunawading started well with 22 points to 18 in the opening quarter before another 19 to 11 in the second on the way to the 41-29 half-time advantage.
The Spectres went on with the job in the second half to end up winning by 17 points to snap their two-game losing streak to improve to 6-6 on the season with the Tigers now 4-8 having lost their last two.
Alice Kunek might have shot just 9/26 for the game and 4/16 from downtown, but still was instrumental in the win for Nunawading finishing with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Rachel Brewster added 14 points and seven rebounds, Isabel Feller 15 points, three boards and two boards, and Emma Pearce nine points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Hannah Giddey delivered 19 points, five rebounds and three blocks for the Tigers with Lily Carmody adding 14 points and seven boards, and Sam Simons 14 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Wehrung fires Miners to drought breaking win
The Ballarat Miners snapped a 10-game losing streak by beating the Casey Cavaliers on the road 79-66 on Saturday night.
The Miners arrived at Casey Stadium having lost their last 10 matches in the NBL1 South but Casey had also won just the two games so far this season.
Ballarat started well to lead Casey already 21-18 by quarter-time before pulling away further in the second term with another 18 points to 11 to go into the main break leading 39-29.
The Miners maintained their advantage throughout the second half to end up winning by 13 points to snap that 10-game losing streak to improve to 2-10 on the season. The Cavs now are on an identical 2-10 record too.
Abbey Wehrung was the major difference between the two teams as she delivered 35 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists for Ballarat on the back of shooting 11/20 from the floor, 4/9 from three-point range and 9/10 from the free-throw line.
Emma Karamovic also produced 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Miners, and Kristy Rinaldi seven points, three boards and two assists.
Rachel Bell top-scored for Casey with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists with Steph Blicavs contributing 18 points, four boards and three assists, Taylah Simmons 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Taylah Gillam 11 points, three boards, three steals and two assists.
Bibby, Brown lead Frankston over Keilor
The one-two punch of Chloe Bibby and Louise Brown helped to lead the Frankston Blues to the 79-61 victory against the Keilor Thunder.
The Blues were at home to the Thunder on Saturday night at Dreamstreet Lending Arena attempting to break into the NBL1 South's top four while Keilor was just looking to get back to winning.
It was a tight contest in the opening half with no more than five points separating the two teams with Frankston leading by three points at quarter-time and then stretching the advantage to four at intermission.
The Blues did extend their advantage to eight by three quarter-time and then took over further in the fourth period with 20 points to 10 to end up winning by 18.
The victory improves Frankston to an 8-4 record on the season with consecutive wins while Keilor is 3-8 having lost three straight.
Chloe Bibby delivered 26 points, five rebounds and three assists in the win for the Blues with Louise Brown producing 18 points, 18 rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and a steal.
Micaela Cocks added 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, Chelsea D'Angelo 12 points and seven boards, and Ella Batish 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Ai Yamada put up 18 points and six assists on 4/8 three-point shooting for Keilor with Juna Umezawa adding 15 points and 11 rebounds, Lana Hollingsworth nine points and six assists, and Eva Kristjansdottir eight points, six rebounds and four steals.
Rangers continue good form with win against Cobras
The Dandenong Rangers have continued their improving form this NBL1 South season beating the Kilsyth Cobras 89-69 at home on Saturday night.
The Rangers had won their past two games on the back of a four-game losing run coming into the clash with Kilsyth at Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.
Dandenong started well at home with 23 points to 16 in the first quarter before the Rangers added another 22 to 15 in the second period to go into the half-time break leading 45-31.
While Kilsyth put up a big third quarter with 27 points to 17, Dandenong responded with 27 to 11 in the fourth to romp to the eventual 20-point victory.
The win improves the Rangers to a 7-7 record on the season with the three straight wins while Kilsyth slips to 3-9.
Nyadiew Puoch has been instrumental to the recent good form of Dandenong and finished with another 24 points, six rebounds and two assists on 8/14 field shooting and going 6/7 at the free-throw line.
Amber Smith also had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists with Sarah Boothe contributing 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals, Elly Morgan 12 points and six boards, and Briahna Whatman nine points, six rebounds and five assists.
Nikita Young finished with 19 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists for Kilsyth while Georgia Booth contributed 14 points and six boards, Alisia Jenkins 11 points and six rebounds, and Alexa Hart 10 points.
Goodchild keeps Mount Gambier's winning run going
The Mount Gambier Pioneers are picking up some momentum this season again after a hot start set up their 88-80 home win against the Knox Raiders.
It's no surprise that the return of Miela Goodchild has sparked the Pioneers back to form after they won the opening five matches of the season and then lost three straight, but had won their last two coming into Saturday night's clash at home with the Raiders.
Knox had lost three in-a-row coming into the contest as well and it was the Pioneers who started on fire with 32 points to 16 in the opening quarter on their home floor.
Mount Gambier would lead by as much as 26 points and then had to withstand a strong finish from Knox to end up winning by eight to improve to an 8-3 record with the three straight wins.
The Raiders have now lost four straight to be 8-5 after their lone appearance of the weekend.
Miela Goodchild continued her standout form for Mount Gambier with 28 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals on shooting 10/17 from the field and 7/8 from the foul line.
Haliegh Reinoehl added 19 points, four rebounds and three steals, Cassandra Brown 14 points, nine boards, three assists and two steals, and Isabella Brancatisano 13 points, four assists and two steals.
Alicia Froling ended the night with 22 points and 12 rebounds for Knox on 7/13 shooting from the floor and 8/12 at the charity stripe.
Kiera Rowe added 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Emilie Hesseldal 18 points, nine boards and three steals, and Leah Santomaggio eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Miela Goodchild swishes it ?
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Forsyth fires and Wildcats complete Tasmanian double
The Eltham Wildcats completed their perfect weekend double in Tasmania with an emphatic performance to beat the Launceston Tornadoes 97-61 on Saturday night.
The Wildcats begin their trip south on Friday night beating the Hobart Chargers to give them four wins in-a-row ahead of their match up on Saturday with the Tornadoes at Elphin Sports Stadium.
Eltham kept its momentum going from the previous night with another 22 points to eight in the opening period. The Wildcats remained in charge throughout the evening to end up leading by 22 at half-time, 35 at three quarter-time and to win by 36 in the finish.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to a 7-5 record having won five in-a-row while Launceston is now 4-8 unable to back up last week's win against the Sandringham Sabres.
Louise Forsyth came up huge in the win for Eltham with 32 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 11/15 shooting from the floor, 4/6 from beyond the arc and 6/6 at the foul line.
Bec Pizzey also produced 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Lily Scanlon 14 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Hailey Leidel 14 points and four assists.
Keely Froling delivered 13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals in the loss for the Tornadoes with Olivia West contributing 13 points and four boards, and Macey Crawford nine points and three rebounds.
Eagles continue winning form at expense of Sabres
The Diamond Valley Eagles held out the Sandringham Sabres for the 75-70 victory on Saturday night to maintain their place in the top eight with a second straight win.
The Eagles opened up a handy edge early in the contest on their home floor before Sandringham hit back to score eight consecutive points.
Diamond Valley still managed to lead by two at quarter-time and then pushed that advantage out to eight points in the second term before leading 32-27 at half-time.
However, Sandringham hit back to grab the lead briefly in the third period before the Eagles took back control to lead by a game-high 10 points, and then hold on for the five-point victory.
The win sees Diamond Valley make it consecutive wins to improve to a 7-5 record while Sandringham has now lost four in-a-row to sit at 5-8.
Jennie Rintala led the change for the Eagles with 15 points, five rebounds and two steals but she had plenty of help with Allison Day putting up 14 points, six boards and three assists.
Ivana Vasiljevic also had 11 points, four boards and two assists, Sophie Burrows 11 points and four rebounds, and Sophie Byrnes 10 points and three assists.
Britt Smart produced 25 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals for Sandringham with 4/9 three-point shooting.
Georgia Pineau added 25 points and 14 boards, and Klara Wischer 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
MEN
Braves hit 19 threes and Johnson stars in win over Supercats
Bijan Johnson delivered a spectacular performance to play match winner for the Bendigo Braves as they put up 19 three-pointers to defeat the in-form Geelong United Supercats 109-97.
The Braves played host to the Supercats at Red Energy Arena as they looked for a win to stay in the playoff hunt against a Supercats team in their best patch of form for the season having won six in-a-row.
The Supercats were continuing on with the form to lead 55-51 by half-time, but Bijan Johnson then took over the contest in the second half and put the Braves on his back, and as a result they outscored Geelong 58 points to 42.
As a result of that, Bendigo secured the 12-point win for their best result of the season to improve to 4-7. Geelong's six-game winning run comes to an end with them now sitting at 6-5.
Bijan Johnson was unstoppable as the game unfolded for Bendigo to end up delivering 38 points and seven assists on the back of 13/19 shooting from the floor, 7/10 from beyond the arc and 5/5 at the free-throw line.
Luke Rosendale added 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals while hitting 5/9 from three-point range with Lat Mayen contributing 19 points and seven boards, and Christiaan Jones 14 points and four assists.
George Blagojevic put in a terrific performance for Geelong United with 31 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on 14/21 field goal shooting with Gabe Hadley adding 25 points, five boards, five assists and three steals, and DeMarcus Gatlin 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Spectres make statement with 39-point win over Tigers
The Nunawading Spectres enhanced their top four prospects in the NBL1 South with a commanding 103-64 victory at home to the Melbourne Tigers.
The Spectres played host to the Tigers on Saturday night and started off in dominant fashion with 33 points to 19 in the opening period.
Nunawading still led 52-38 at intermission before the Spectres outscored the Tigers 51 points to 26 in the second half on the way to the eventual 39-point triumph.
Nunawading improves to an 8-4 record as a result of the win while with the loss, Melbourne slips to 4-8 with a fourth consecutive defeat.
Jack Gandolfo finished with 19 points, eight assists and three rebounds for Nunawading and Jalen Gibbs 19 points, two boards and two assists with the pair combining for 8/17 three-point shooting landing four apiece.
Will Carius also put up 18 points and five rebounds for the Spectres, Daniel Baxter 15 points and 13 boards, and Kingsley Box 12 points and eight rebounds.
Michael Wearne finished with 12 points and four assists for Melbourne while Mason Gaze contributed 11 points and five rebounds, and Beau Koscak nine points and six boards.
They touched the sky with that DUNK ??
— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 27, 2023
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Davidson returns and Miners beat Cavs in OT
Two massive three-pointers in overtime from Tyler Rudolph proved huge in the Ballarat Miners snapping a four-game losing slide by beating the Casey Cavaliers 94-91.
The Cavs were at home to the Miners on Saturday night and with Jack Davidson back in the line-up, Ballarat started well with 23 points to 13 in the opening term.
Casey turned the tide in the second quarter with 31 points to 18, but the game remained a tight affair through the second half.
In the end, it was a Blake Taylor three-pointer for the Cavaliers with time running down that tied scores up at the end of regulation and sent the game into overtime.
Then in the extra five minutes, it was Tyler Rudolph who scored the first eight points for Ballarat including a pair of three-point bombs to give his team a six-point lead, and they were able to turn that into the three-point victory.
The win snaps a four-game losing slide for Ballarat to improve them to 6-6 on the season while Casey is now 3-9 despite the encouraging signs again.
It's no coincidence that the Miners returning to winning form went hand in hand with the return of Jack Davidson who put up 34 points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds while knocking down 8/12 from three-point territory.
Tyler Rudolph also hit 4/8 from beyond the arc for 30 points, 13 rebounds and five assists with Nic Pozoglou contributing 10 points, five boards and two steals.
Patrick Emilien was mighty impressive for Casey with 34 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals on 14/23 shooting from the floor and 6/10 from three-point range.
Sidy Djitte added 15 points and 17 rebounds, Mason Perry 10 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, and Blake Taylor 11 points, six boards, five assists and three steals.
Blues catch fire to overpower Thunder
The Frankston Blues had to dig deep but turned on a scorching second half performance to come from 13 points down to beat the Keilor Thunder 106-103.
Frankston were attempting to bounce back from last week's loss to the Knox Raiders but Keilor arrived at Dreamstreet Lending Arena ready to make their own statement and snap their losing streak.
Keilor put up 32 points to 24 in the opening quarter and during the second term were leading by as much as 13 points, and were still on top 57-53 going into the half-time break.
Frankston caught fire in stunning fashion with their three-point shooting in the third quarter, though, to put up 29 points to 17 to grab the lead, and then to lead by as much as 11 on the back of a 12-0 run going into the fourth term.
The Blues were able to lock away the three-point win in the finish in a dramatic end to the game with Igor Hadziomerovic draining a clutch three before the Thunder denied themselves a chance to level scores with a back court violation as Zac Triplett passed to Theus Evan Wardlow.
Frankston secured the win to improve to a 9-3 record on the season as a result while Keilor is now 4-7 with five straight defeats.
Lucas Barker had a massive performance for the Blues with 26 points, 16 rebounds and six assists with Igor Hadziomerovic adding 22 points, Lachlan Barker 20 points, six boards and five assists, Brad Newley 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Jordan Evans 12 points and six boards.
Robbie Heath produced 31 points and four assists for Keilor while draining 5/10 from the land of plenty with Zac Triplett adding 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds, William Jenkins III 17 points and four boards, and Oliver Hayes-Brown 14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Rangers hammer Cobras to snap losing run
The Dandenong Rangers produced their best performance of the season to beat the Kilsyth Cobras 107-73.
Dandenong had lost its past 10 matches ahead of hosting the Cobras at Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Saturday night with the visitors attempting to string consecutive wins together.
It was a hot start from both teams as they combined for 62 points with scores level at 31-31 at quarter-time. From there, Dandenong took charge with 28 points to 17 in the second quarter, 27 to 13 in the third and 21 to 12 in the fourth.
The Rangers would lead by as much as 36 points before winning by 34 to snap the 10-game losing run to improve to 3-11 on the season with Kilsyth now 5-7 following the loss.
Harry Bowater drilled 7/8 of his three-point attempts to put up 25 points for Dandenong while Deng Puoch also shot 5/9 from downtown for 25 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Jack Roberts contributed 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Jesse Ghee 15 points and six boards, and Lawson Eales 10 points and four rebounds.
Adrian Tomada top-scored for Kilsyth with 22 points and seven assists with Jamie Ahale contributing 18 points and four boards, and Auryn MacMillan nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
Raiders hand Pioneers fifth straight defeat
The Knox Raiders bounced back from a loss last week and handed the Mount Gambier Pioneers a fifth consecutive loss with Saturday night's 77-63 road win.
Mount Gambier was back home attempting to snap a four-game losing slide while Knox arrived looking to hit back from last Sunday's narrow loss to the Waverley Falcons.
Knox pulled away in the second quarter to open up a 10-point advantage to head into the half-time break on top 38-30.
The Raiders then made sure of the win with 25 points to 19 in the final period to win by 14 points and improve to a 9-4 record as a result. The Pioneers have now lost five consecutive matches on the back of winning the first six of the season.
Wayne Stewart Jr was instrumental in the win once again for the Raiders with 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocks on 9/11 shooting from the floor.
Mason Peatling produced 14 points and 11 rebounds, Madut Akec 11 points and six boards, Bailey Nunn eight points, three rebounds and three assists, and Ke'Jhan Feagin seven points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals.
Kane de Wit finished with 16 points, two assists and two steals for Mount Gambier with Julian Pesava contributing 12 points and five rebounds, and Leonard Harper-Baker 10 points and 18 boards.
Thunder end Wildcats' winning run in OT
The North West Tasmania Thunder dominated their overtime period to knock off the league-leading Eltham Wildcats 94-86 on Saturday night.
Eltham began their weekend in Tasmania by beating the Hobart Chargers on Friday night ahead of arriving at Mazda BT-50 Thunder Stadium on Saturday to take on a North West Tasmania team needing a win to stay in touch of a playoff spot.
It turned out to be a wildly contrasting contest with the Thunder taking charge in the second quarter with 25 points to lead by as much as 15 and to go into half-time up 47-33.
Eltham responded by scoring 16 consecutive points to take a double-figure lead of its own in the third period but the Thunder hit back to set up a thrilling finish.
In the end, it was a Vionte Daniels jumper for the Thunder that tied scores up at the end of regulation and to send the game into overtime.
It was then in the extra period where North West Tasmania took charge by putting up 18 points in a spectacular five-minute performance to score the eight-point victory.
The Thunder improve to a 5-7 record as a result while the Wildcats see their four-game winning streak come to an end and slip to 9-3 on the back of it.
Vionte Daniels finished the night with 27 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists on 11/19 shooting from the field and 4/7 from three-point range for the winners.
Sekou Sylla added 19 points and 17 rebounds, Venky Jois 18 points, nine boards, four steals and two assists, Ben Woolley 10 points and five rebounds, and Joe Chilcott nine points, three assists and two boards.
Owen Foxwell ended the night with 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Eltham who were without two-time Sydney Kings championship winner Angus Glover.
Josh Sykes put up another 16 points and 12 rebounds, Sam Whelan 16 points on 4/6 three-point shooting, and Callum Dalton 10 points and five boards.
Pineau the hero as Sabres beat Eagles by a point
South East Melbourne Phoenix centre Dane Pineau played hero for the Sandringham Sabres with the game winning left handed floater to sink the Diamond Valley Eagles with the 85-84 win.
The Eagles played host to the Sabres at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre on Saturday night with both teams hunting a fourth consecutive victory.
It would prove to be quite the enthralling contest and at no point did more than seven points separate the two sides.
It was always destined to go down to the wire and in the final two minutes, Campbell Blogg scored to put Sandringham up four but BJ Symons responded for Diamond Valley with a three-pointer.
Erik Kafritsas then grabbed an offensive rebound shortly after and put it back to give the Eagles the two-point lead. The lead changes continued with CJ Asuncion-Byrd scoring for Sandringham and then Jock Perry regaining the lead for Diamond Valley.
Out of a timeout, Sandringham got the ball to Pineau, who backed down Perry, and threw up the little left-handed floater that might have been from further out than he ideally wanted, but it still went down.
That sealed the one-point win for Sandringham to see the Sabres having won four straight to improve to 9-4 on the season with the Eagles now sitting at 7-5.
On top of hitting the game winner, Pineau put up 23 points and 13 rebounds on 9/13 shooting for Sandringham with Campbell Blogg contributing 28 points, six boards and three assists while hitting 4/10 from beyond the arc.
CJ Asuncion-Byrd added 16 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Dave Barlow nine points, five assists and three rebounds.
BJ Symons top-scored for Diamond Valley with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists with Ngor Manyang contributing 13 points and six boards, Jock Perry 12 points and seven rebounds, Mandrell Worthy 10 points and four boards, and Erik Kafritsas nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
DANE PINEAU WINS IT WITH THE HOOK ?
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