Sam Simons, Bec Cole, Chloe Bibby, Daniel Trist, Dillon Stith, Dexter Kernich-Drew and Wayne Stewart Jr were among Sunday's NBL1 South standout performers with two wins for the Waverley Falcons while the Knox Raiders and Melbourne Tigers, and Casey Cavaliers and Frankston Blues split their match ups.
Sunday's NBL1 South women's results saw the Waverley Falcons beat the Dandenong Rangers 94-82 while the Melbourne Tigers defeated the Knox Raiders 77-74 and the Casey Cavaliers downed the Frankston Blues 84-80.
Then in the men's action, it was the Falcons beating the Rangers 87-79, the Raiders defeating the Tigers 93-80 and the Blues downing the Cavs 90-78.
NBL1 SOUTH RECAP | SATURDAY PINK ROUND
NBL1 SOUTH RECAP | FRIDAY PINK ROUND
WOMEN
Cole helps Falcons take charge in bounce back win
The Waverley Falcons bounced back from their opening loss of the NBL1 South season on Friday night to hand the Dandenong Rangers a fourth straight loss with the 94-82 victory.
It was quite the daunting weekend for Dandenong as they prepared to take on the two teams who were undefeated coming into Round 6 in the NBL1 South.
Bella Niven-Brown gets the heave to fall from just inside half-court ??
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The Rangers lost to the Bendigo Braves by nine points on Saturday night but that was an encouraging performance as they prepared to take on a Falcons team who returned home determined to respond to losing their first game of the season on Friday to the Mount Gambier Pioneers.
The Falcons got off to a good start to open up a 12-point lead after seven minutes on the back of a three-pointer from Bec Cole.
However, Dandenong responded with the last 13 points of the first quarter and that saw them lead 26-25 by quarter-time in a stunning turnaround.
The Rangers kept it going by scoring the first five points of the second quarter as well to complete the 18-0 run, but from there the Falcons responded and outscored Dandenong 22 points to 11 the rest of the half.
That saw Waverley lead 47-42 by half-time and then with 34 points to 19 in the third period, the Falcons took control of the contest to end up winning by 12 points to bounce back from that loss on Friday.
The result sees Waverley improve to an 8-1 record on the season with the Rangers now 4-7 after their competitive showings against the league's top two teams this weekend.
Bec Cole was outstanding for Waverley in the win with 31 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals while hitting 5/8 from downtown.
Maddi Utti added 12 points, 12 boards, four steals and three assists, Amelia Todhunter 13 points and four rebounds, Carley Ernst 11 points, five boards and three assists, Renae Mokrzycki 11 points and five rebounds, and Sophia Locandro 10 points and three boards.
Sarah Boothe finished up top-scoring for Dandenong with 22 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals on 10/17 shooting from the floor and 2/2 from the land of plenty.
Nyadiew Puoch delivered 17 points, four assists and three rebounds as well for the Rangers with Bella Niven-Brown contributing 15 points and Sophie Taylor nine to go with 10 rebounds.
Nyadiew Puoch banks home the TOUGH buzzer beater ?
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Tigers beat Raiders for another Sunday upset
For the second straight Sunday afternoon, the Melbourne Tigers have delivered a stunning upset this time beating the Knox Raiders 77-74 in a terrific contest on their home floor.
Last Sunday and the Tigers handed the Mount Gambier Pioneers a third successive defeat. While they struggled to open Round 6 on Saturday night with a 29-point loss on the road to the Eltham Wildcats, they were ready to hit back when hosting Knox on Sunday.
The Raiders were fresh off a hard fought six-point loss as well on Saturday over the Ballarat Miners to hit back from last week's loss to the Sandringham Sabres.
Knox did start well and scored eight straight points to lead by that margin during the opening period, and still by six at quarter-time. The Raiders stretched that advantage to nine points during the second period before still being on top 41-36 at intermission.
Knox pushed that advantage out to double-figures in the third quarter too but the Tigers weren’t going away. The home team put up a tremendous fourth quarter and with 27 points to 16, the Tigers came from eight points down at three quarter-time to overrun the Raiders.
Two late threes for the Raiders to Zoe Rakogiannis kept the visitors in the contest, but the Tigers had the answers down the stretch to score the three-point win and improve to 4-6 on the season. The Raiders are now 7-3 after splitting their weekend as well.
Sam Simons produced a huge performance in the win for the Tigers with 24 points, four rebounds and two assists on 7/13 field goal shooting to go with hitting 4/10 from downtown and 6/6 at the foul line.
Leila Davis added 15 points and five rebounds, Nikki Metcalfe 10 points and six boards, and Jade Odom 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Alicia Froling put in a huge performance despite the loss for the Raiders with 35 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals on 12/19 shooting.
Emilie Hesseldal added 10 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists, Kiera Rowe 10 points and three assists, and Zoe Rakogiannis nine points on 3/6 three-point shooting.
Cavs overcome Bibby's 36 for win at home
There was a reversal in fortunes from the previous night for both Casey and Frankston with the Cavs scoring the Sunday 84-80 victory at home to the Blues.
Both teams played on Saturday night with the Cavaliers losing at home to the Nunawading Spectres while the Blues won on the road to the Ringwood Hawks.
The Cavs were then back at Casey Stadium on Sunday to host the visiting Blues with the home team ending up leading by six at quarter-time before stretching that lead out to eight in the second period.
However, Frankston turned the tide with a 9-0 run to head into the half-time break leading narrowly 43-40.
Frankston pushed its advantage out to 12 in the third quarter but the Cavaliers were able to work back into the contest and levelled scores up by three quarter-time.
The Cavs were then able to secure the four-point win from there to see them improve to 2-8 on the season while the Blues are now 6-4 with both teams splitting their two games this weekend.
Esra McGoldrick finished the afternoon with 21 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots for Casey on 9/12 shooting from the floor and a perfect 3/3 from three-point range.
Rachel Bell added 13 points and two rebounds, Taylah Gillam 12 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Steph Blicavs nine points, four boards and two assists.
Despite the loss, Chloe Bibby produced a monster performance for Frankston with 36 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals while hitting 5/9 from downtown.
Ella Batish added 11 points and five assists for the Blues, and Louise Brown 10 points, 13 rebounds and two steals.
Steph Blicavs from DEEP range ?
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MEN
Stith, Kernich-Drew shine in Falcons win over Rangers
The Waverley Falcons are now building some momentum after a slow start to the NBL1 South season beating the Dandenong Rangers 87-79 at home on Sunday afternoon.
The Falcons started the season losing five of their opening six matches but they had been building coming into Sunday's clash on the back of victories against the North West Tasmania Thunder and Mount Gambier Pioneers.
Waverley was looking to keep that roll going on Sunday against a Dandenong team fresh off losing a tight one to the Bendigo Braves on Saturday night to remain anchored to bottom place in the NBL1 South.
What eventuated was a fascinating Sunday afternoon match up with the Falcons going on a 7-0 run in the first quarter to go into quarter-time leading 22-17.
The Falcons stretched their lead to five points at half-time but the Rangers were throwing everything at trying to get the win and worked back on top in the third period, and had limited Waverley's lead to 63-62 going into the final period.
It remained a tight tussle but after scores were tied at 70-70, Waverley made its move with the next seven points including a three-pointer from Dexter Kernich-Drew and a finish on the break from a steal to Dillon Stith.
That's where the Falcons blew the game open to end up winning by eight points to improve to a 4-5 record on the season with three straight wins while the Rangers slip to 2-8 with eight losses in-a-row.
Dillon Stith is looking to earn another contract in the NBL and he couldn't be playing more impressively for Waverley. He put up 27 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in Sunday's win.
Dexter Kernich-Drew added 17 points, eight assists and four boards, Tristan Forsyth 17 points and 10 rebounds, and new addition AJ Harris 11 points, five assists, two boards and two steals after he was part of Hobart's championship last season.
Jacob Eyman ended up top-scoring for Dandenong with 18 points and eight rebounds with Jesse Ghee contributing 12 points, five boards and four assists, Lawson Eales 11 points, four rebounds and two steals, Deng Puoch 11 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Jack Roberts 11 points, four boards, two assists and two steals.
Stewart stars again as Raiders beat Tigers
The Knox Raiders built up a 29-point lead against the Melbourne Tigers by the third quarter on Sunday afternoon before settling on the 93-80 victory.
The Raiders came into the clash at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on a four-game winning streak with the Tigers attempting to bounce back from a Saturday night loss to the Eltham Wildcats in a competitive showing after two straight wins.
After a tight first quarter between the two teams, the Raiders began to flex their muscles in the second period with a 9-0 run seeing their lead get out to as much as 15 points with the advantage 51-39 at the main break.
Another 29 points to 12 in the third quarter and Knox ended up leading by as much as 29 points. While Melbourne finished strongly with a 10-0 run in the last term, the Raiders still cruised to the 13-point victory.
The result sees Knox improve to 7-3 on the season with five consecutive wins while the Tigers are now 4-6 with the double loss weekend.
Wayne Stewart Jr was brilliant in Knox's win on Saturday against the Ballarat Miners and kept that form rolling on Sunday with another 27 points, five rebounds and two assists while shooting 9/15 from the field and 8/8 at the foul line.
Deng Acouth also put up 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for the Raiders, Madut Akec 16 points and six boards, and Austin Rapp 15 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Michael Wearne top-scored for the Tigers with 14 points and two assists with Taj Chehhal adding 12 points and two boards, Mason Gaze 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists, and Jack Purchase 12 points and five boards.
You just can't get past Deng Acouth ?
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Trist dominates as Blues maintain top place
The Frankston Blues ensured they maintained their hold on top spot in the NBL1 South by scoring a 90-78 victory on Sunday on the road to the Casey Cavaliers.
The Cavs were back home at Casey Stadium attempting to snap a four-game losing streak including a defeat to the Nunawading Spectres on Saturday night.
The job was ahead of them, though, against the league-leading Frankston who were fresh off another win the previous night against the Ringwood Hawks.
Frankston did open up a four-point lead by quarter-time before stretching that advantage out to 15 points on the back of scoring 10 straight points.
The Blues were on top 43-31 at half-time and then another 26 points to 18 in the third stanza saw the lead grow to 20 points, and they would end up winning by 12.
The victory improves Frankston to an 8-2 record on the season to retain top place while the Cavs are now 2-8 with five consecutive defeats.
Daniel Trist produced his most emphatic performance of the season for the Blues finishing the afternoon with 25 points, 18 rebounds and three assists with 11/11 free-throw shooting.
Lachlan Barker added 22 points with 4/9 three-point shooting for Frankston with Brad Newley contributing 13 points and five steals, Igor Hadziomerovic 12 points and four rebounds, and Lucas Barker eight points, five boards and four assists.
Mitch Riggs top-scored for Casey with 17 points while Mason Perry added 16 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, Hunter Marks 16 points on 7/11 shooting, Sean Biernacki 11 points and five assists, and Sidy Djitte 10 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.
