There was a pair of Sunday NBL1 South wins at home for the Eltham Wildcats while the Waverley Falcons and Nunawading Spectres split their match ups to bring an end to Round 4.
The two women's matches to close Round 4 in the NBL1 South on Sunday saw the Eltham Wildcats beat Keilor Thunder 82-62 and then the Waverley Falcons defeated the Nunawading Spectres 72-67.
The corresponding men's match ups saw the Wildcats also beat the Thunder 102-66 while the Spectres downed the Falcons 78-73.
WOMEN
Leidel leads Wildcats to second win of season
Both Eltham and Keilor were hunting their second wins of the NBL1 South season on Sunday and it was the Wildcats who got what they were after with the 82-62 victory.
Eltham played host to Keilor at Montmorency Secondary College with both teams entering on three-game losing slides, and it was a tight affair for three quarters to wrap up Round 4 on Sunday afternoon.
Bec Pizzey is getting it DONE on both ends for the @elthamwildcats ?
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Eltham led just by a point at quarter-time and then by two at half-time, and only by seven at three quarter-time but the Wildcats then blew the game open in the fourth term with 26 points to just 13 from the Thunder to win by 20.
The result means Eltham improves to 2-4 this season snapping a three-game losing run while Keilor is now 1-5 having lost four in-a-row.
Hailey Leidel had a terrific afternoon in the win for Eltham with 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals on shooting 10/19 from the floor.
Taylah Wynne added 16 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals with 4/9 three-point shooting along with Louise Forsyth producing 14 points, four boards and four assists, and Hayley Munro 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Lana Hollingsworth put up 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals for Keilor with Macey Boyle contributing 14 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals, and Meg Lucas 12 points and five rebounds.
A piece of individual brilliance by Lana Hollingsworth ? @KeilorThunder
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Falcons hold out Spectres to remain undefeated
The Waverley Falcons had a dominant first half and then held out the fast finishing Nunawading Spectres for the 72-67 Sunday victory at home.
The Falcons hosted the Spectres at Waverley Basketball Stadium as they attempted to continue their undefeated start to the NBL1 South season and they started on fire.
Emma Pearce with the DENIAL ? @NunaBball
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Waverley outscored Nunawading 25 points to 14 in the opening quarter before another 20 to 16 in the second which saw the Falcons head into half-time leading 45-30.
The lead was again out to 17 points in the third quarter but the Spectres threw everything at a comeback and outscored the Falcons 37 points to 27 after half-time, but it wasn’t quite enough with Waverley holding on to win by five.
It's a sixth consecutive win to start the season for the Falcons with the Spectres now 3-3 following the defeat.
Bec Cole starred in the win for Waverley with 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds on 9/16 shooting from the floor with Renae Mokrzycki contributing 18 points, six boards and two steals on 8/10 shooting.
Maddi Utti added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Carley Ernst 10 points, seven boards and five assists.
Cassidy Mihalko did all she could try and lift Nunawading to the win finishing with 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals including going 5/8 from beyond the arc.
Rachel Brewster added 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, Rachel Antoniadou 10 points, four boards and four assists, and Emma Pearce seven points, three boards and three steals.
What a dime from Tayha Watkins ? @NunaBball
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MEN
Wildcats hit back emphatically from first loss of season
The Eltham Wildcats dominated Keilor Thunder from start to finish at home on Sunday afternoon to romp to the commanding 102-66 victory.
Eltham came into the clash to close Round 4 at Montmorency Secondary College looking to hit back from their first loss of the season the night before.
What a way to end the half from Ovie Magbegor! He steals the inbounds for the dunk, while getting busy on the defensive end a few plays earlier ?? @elthamwildcats
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The Wildcats won their first four games of 2023 but had a slip up on the road to the Sandringham Sabres on Saturday night, and took out that frustration on the Thunder on Sunday.
Eltham continued to extend its lead right throughout the contest leading by seven points at quarter-time, 17 at half-time, 25 at three quarter-time and then going on to beat the Thunder by 36.
The victory improves the Wildcats to a 5-1 record on the season with the Thunder slipping to 3-3 with the defeat.
Dunks ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) April 30, 2023
Blocks ?
Josh Sykes utilises his athleticism on both ends of the floor ? @elthamwildcats
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Owen Foxwell continues to thrive on the confidence he gained from NBL23 with the South East Melbourne Phoenix. He produced another 26 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals on 10/14 field goal shooting.
Callum Dalton also put up 21 points, four boards and two assists, Angus Glover 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, Sam Short seven points and four assists, and Josh Sykes seven points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks including a spectacular early dunk.
Oliver Hayes-Brown delivered a strong performance for Keilor despite the loss with 24 points and nine rebounds while knocking down 4/6 from three-point range showing the work he's been putting in on his outside game.
Cirkook Riak added 16 points and six rebounds, Zac Triplett 12 points and five boards, and William Jenkins III nine points and 11 rebounds.
FLY HIGH ANGUS GLOVER ?
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The @SydneyKings star had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the @elthamwildcats today ?
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Spectres prevail to continue early struggles for Falcons
The Nunawading Spectres kept the Waverley Falcons at the foot of the NBL1 South standings with Sunday 78-73 road victory.
While it was a tight contest the entire afternoon with never more than eight points separating the two teams, it was Nunawading on top most of the way, and ending up scoring the five-point win at Waverley Basketball Centre.
Dillon Stith protects the basket ? @WaverleyFalcons
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The Spectres have now won four of their past five matches this season to improve to a 4-2 record while Waverley continues to struggle having now lost four in succession to sit in last spot at 1-5.
Neither team had a shooting afternoon to remember with Nunawading going at just 39.7 per cent overall and 6/38 from three-point range, but Waverley also struggled with 44.3 per cent shooting from the floor and then going 4/17 from beyond the arc.
However, the Spectres pulled down 53 rebounds to 38 and that helped them take an eight extra field goals which was instrumental in the end result.
Jalen Gibbs ended up top-scoring for Nunawading with 25 points and five rebounds with Josh Tomasi contributing 12 points and 13 boards, Jack Gandolfo 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Will Carius 10 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals.
Tristan Forsyth ended up top-scoring for Waverley with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals while Dillon Stith contributed 17 points, seven boards and two blocks, Dexter Kernich-Drew 15 points and three assists, and Michael Harper 10 points and six rebounds.
CLUTCH ? Jalen Gibbs delivers the DAGGER for @NunaBball in a big road W ?
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