There was two more wins for the Geelong Supercats in the NBL1 South on Saturday while Angus Glover inspired the Eltham Wildcats, Wayne Stewart Jr sparked the Knox Raiders' fightback, Kelly Wilson had another triple-double for the Bendigo Braves and Alice Kunek starred for Nunawading Spectres.
Saturday night's women's results saw the Keilor Thunder defeat the Sandringham Sabres 97-94, the Diamond Valley Eagles beat the Kilsyth Cobras 82-71, the Nunawading Spectres down the Casey Cavaliers 73-69, and the Knox Raiders prevail 77-71 against the Ballarat Miners.
The Frankston Blues also beat the Ringwood Hawks 77-71 while the Eltham Wildcats defeated the Melbourne Tigers 85-56, the Bendigo Braves downed the Dandenong Rangers 91-82, and the Geelong United Supercats won 86-55 over the Launceston Tornadoes.
Then the men's action saw the Sabres beat the Thunder 125-89, the Eagles defeat the Cobras 89-80, the Spectres defeat the Cavaliers 87-72, the Raiders downed the Miners 99-92, and Geelong beat the North West Tasmania Thunder 98-72.
Frankston also beat Ringwood 88-81 while Eltham defeated Melbourne 100-91 and the Braves beat the Rangers 89-85.
WOMEN
Keilor hold out spirited late Sandringham fightback
A stunning late comeback from the Sandringham Sabres just fell short on Saturday night with the Keilor Thunder holding on for the 97-94 victory.
The Sabres came into the match at Southern Basketball Stadium having won three straight since making their change in coach while Keilor arrived needing a win to stay in touch for a playoff position.
Scores were tied by quarter-time but then the Thunder caught fire in the second period by putting up 33 points to 21 to end up going into half-time on top 55-43.
Keilor would end up leading by as much 20 points early in the fourth quarter but Sandringham wouldn’t lie down under new coach Kerryn Mitchell.
The Sabres got back within three points on the back of a Funda Nakkasoglu three-pointer with just under a minute to play. The home team had all the momentum at that point, but Keilor was able to respond with a triple of their own from Macey Boyle and from there were able to secure the eventual three-point win.
The victory sees Keilor improve to a 3-5 record while it's a first loss since Sandringham made its change in coach with the Sabres now sitting at 5-5.
Juna Umezawa finished the evening with 23 points and 13 rebounds for Keilor on 10/18 field goal shooting and going 3/3 at the charity stripe.
Lana Hollingsworth added 19 points and six rebounds, Ai Yamada 18 points, four assists and three boards, Anna Clephane 10 points and four rebounds, and Eva Kristjansdottir 10 points and six boards.
Funda Nakkasoglu had a tremendous night despite the loss for Sandringham with 33 points, four steals, two rebounds and two assists while shooting 11/18 from the field, 4/9 from beyond the arc and 7/8 at the foul line.
Georgia Pineau added 23 points and 11 rebounds, Britt Smart 16 points, two boards and two steals, and Klara Wischer 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
Diamond Valley down Kilsyth on the back of second quarter
The Diamond Valley Eagles lit up Kilsyth Sports Centre in the second quarter to set up the eventual 82-71 win on Saturday night to hand the Kilsyth Cobras a seventh consecutive loss.
The Cobras were able to stick with the Eagles in the opening quarter and even led 17-16 by quarter-time, but Diamond Valley dominated the second period with 25 points to nine.
That saw the Eagles lead 41-26 by half-time and from there they were able to score the nine-point road victory to improve to 5-4 on the season with the Cobras now 2-7 having lost their past seven matches.
Jennie Rintala has been a tremendous addition to the Diamond Valley team as she continues to show why she's been able to create a WNBL career for herself for what she provides in the frontcourt. She put up another 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Sophie Burrows top-scored for Diamond Valley with 18 points and 11 rebounds too with Kara Tessari contributing 15 points, four assists and three boards, Allison Day 13 points and six rebounds, and Monique Andriuolo 12 points and 16 boards.
Alexa Hart top-scored for Kilsyth with 19 points and 10 rebounds with Georgia Booth contributing 18 points and three boards, Isis Lopes 15 points and four assists, and Nikita Young 10 points and nine rebounds.
Kunek shines on return as Spectres hold off Cavs
Alice Kunek wasted no time settling back into life in the NBL1 South returning from Poland and leading the Nunawading Spectres to the hard fourth 73-69 road win over the Casey Cavaliers.
Kunek is fresh off helping Polish club Arka Gdynia claim a bronze medal and returned home to suit up for the Spectres at Casey Stadium on Saturday night.
She wasted no time settling back in either and had 20 points and nine rebounds already to half-time to help the Spectres build a 44-34 lead at the break on the back of 27 points to 12 in the second period.
However, the Cavs did hit the front with five minutes to play thanks to a bucket to Lauren Van Kleunen, but immediately the Spectres responded thanks to Cassidy Mihalko.
From there, Nunawading was able to answer the challenge from Casey and ultimately it was two late free-throws from Kunek that sealed the deal for the Spectres to claim the four-point win.
The victory improves Nunawading to a 5-4 record on the season with Casey slipping to 1-8 despite the encouraging showing.
On the back of that huge first half, Kunek ended the night with 27 points and 12 rebounds in the win for the Spectres with Rachel Antoniadou contributing 11 points, seven boards and four assists.
Cassidy Mihalko also had 11 points and three rebounds, Emma Pearce 11 points and five boards, Rachel Brewster seven points and six rebounds, and Devon Brookshire six points and nine boards.
Rachel Bell top-scored for Casey with 22 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists with Lauren Van Kleunen adding 19 points, seven boards and four assists.
Alice Kunek is back ?
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Froling takes charge in Raiders win in Ballarat
A dominant performance from Alicia Froling has led the Knox Raiders to a tight 77-71 win on the road on Saturday night against the Ballarat Miners.
The Miners were back on their home floor at Selkirk Stadium to host the Raiders attempting to snap an eight-game losing streak, and they did give it a good crack..
Knox only had a one-point lead by quarter-time but the Raiders pulled away in the second term with 17 points to nine to lead 42-33 with Froling putting up 16 points and four rebounds on 7/9 shooting going into the break.
However, the Miners did put up an impressive fight in the second half but the Raiders did enough to hold firm for the six-point win to improve to 7-2 on the season and bounce back from last week's loss to the Sandringham Sabres.
Alicia Froling was the star of the night for Knox delivering 33 points, 10 rebounds and three steals on 14/17 shooting from the floor, including 7/8 in the second half.
Emilie Hesseldal added 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Raiders with Aneta Bandilovska contributing 11 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals.
Abbey Wehrung put up 25 points and six rebounds while shooting 6/10 from three-point territory for the now 1-9 Ballarat with Tayanna Jones contributing 19 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.
MVP-level footwork from Alicia Froling ?
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Bibby helps Frankston make a statement in win over Hawks
The Frankston Blues made if five wins in-a-row and made quite the statement by beating the defeating champion Ringwood Hawks who had Marena Whittle back in their line-up.
Ringwood was back at home and welcomed back last year's Grand Final MVP Whittle who was fresh off representing Australia at the 3x3 World Cup Qualifiers.
It presented a chance for Frankston to make a statement with the Blues coming in with a four-game winning streak, and they started promisingly with 18 points to 12 in the opening period.
However, the Hawks hit back with 26 points to 19 in the second quarter to set up a thrilling second half.
It was the Blues who worked their way on top, though, and would outscore the Hawks 40 points to 33 through the second half to end up winning by six points and make it five straight wins to sit on a 6-3 record. The Hawks are now also 6-3.
Chloe Bibby was the star on the night for Frankston delivering 30 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals but she had plenty of support too.
Louise Brown contributed 19 points, 14 rebounds and three steals, Micaela Cocks 12 points, eight assists and four rebounds, and Ella Batish five points, five boards and five assists.
Marena Whittle returned to put up 28 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals for Ringwood including hitting 4/6 from three-point range.
Ariel Jones added 22 points and three assists, and Toni Farnworth eight points and five assists.
Wildcats score big win at home over Tigers
The Eltham Wildcats proved too strong for the Melbourne Tigers at home on Saturday night scoring the emphatic 85-56 victory.
The Wildcats came into the contest at Montmorency Secondary College looking to back up its win against the Dandenong Rangers while the Tigers were also attempting to back up a victory last week over the Mount Gambier Pioneers.
It was Eltham who got off to the better start with 24 points to 11 in the first quarter. Another 26 to 17 in the second and the Wildcats were in control leading 50-28 at the half-time interval.
Eltham went on to outscore Melbourne 35 points to 28 as well in the second half to end up winning by 29 and improve to 4-5 on the season with the Tigers slipping to 3-6.
Louise Forsyth finished the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists on 8/14 shooting from the field, 3/4 from beyond the arc and 3/3 at the free-throw line.
Bec Pizzey added 22 points and eight rebounds on 9/12 shooting with Taylah Wynee contributing 12 points and seven assists, and Lily Scanlon 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Sam Simons top-scored for the Tigers with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists with Mikayla Peterson contributing 12 points and three boards, and Nikki Metcalfe nine points and four rebounds.
Love to see it ?
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After an achilles injury with the @MelbBoomers, Lily Scanlon is back on the court in #NBL1 ?
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Wilson's triple-double helps keen Bendigo perfect
Another triple-double from Kelly Wilson has helped the Bendigo Braves remain the lone undefeated team in the NBL1 South with the 91-82 home win against the Dandenong Rangers.
Bendigo put its unbeaten record this season on the line at home to Dandenong on Saturday night with the Rangers looking to hit back from two straight losses.
The Braves started well once again with 29 points to 22 in the first quarter and they managed to remain in the lead the entire game including by as much as 15 points in the second half.
Bendigo went on to win by nine to improve to a perfect 9-0 record while the Rangers slip to 4-6 with the three successive defeats.
Kelly Wilson's form remains remarkable as the point guard for the Braves with the evergreen veteran producing another triple-double consisting of 11 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.
Megan McKay was a dominant force too for Bendigo with 26 points and 13 rebounds while Amy Atwell contributed 19 points and four boards, Cassidy McLean 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Erin Condron 10 points and three boards.
Nyadiew Puoch top-scored once more for Dandenong with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists with Briahna Whatman adding 16 points and eight assists, Sarah Boothe 19 points and five rebounds, and Amber Smith 14 points and 10 boards.
? Triple Double Alert ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 13, 2023
Kelly Wilson finishes with 1??1?? points, 1??0?? rebounds & 1??5?? assists ?
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Braslis shines again as Supercats win in Launceston
The Geelong Supercats made sure of a perfect weekend trip to Tasmania with the 86-55 victory against the Launceston Tornadoes at Elphin Sports Stadium.
The Supercats were fresh off beating the Hobart Chargers by eight points on Friday night to begin their weekend on the road as they came up against a Tornadoes team who welcomed back Keely Froling and trying to bounce back from last week's double loss on the road.
Geelong United started strongly in their second game of the weekend with 24 points to 12 in the opening quarter. The Supercats then dominated the third term with 25 points to five to end up leading by as much as 34 points and winning by 31.
The Supercats have now four straight matches to sit on a 6-3 record with Launceston slipping to 3-6 with three consecutive defeats.
Eve Braslis starred once again for Geelong United with another 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 12/16 shooting from the field.
Chantel Horvat put up 20 points and 15 rebounds, Agnieszka Skobel 14 points and four boards, and Sarah Elsworthy seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Keely Froling returned for Launceston after representing Australia last weekend at the 3x3 World Cup Qualifiers. She put up 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Olivia West added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Macey Crawford nine points, four boards, three assists and two steals.
MEN
Ayre fires Sabres to win over Thunder
Ben Ayre put up 30 points and the Sandringham Sabres scored a commanding 125-89 win at home to the Keilor Thunder.
The Sabres came into the clash at Southern Basketball Stadium looking to bounce back from last week's loss to the Knox Raiders while the Thunder were out to consolidate their top eight position.
However, it didn’t take long for Sandringham to signal its intentions and the home team put up 30 points to 23 in the opening quarter.
The Sabres had another 31 to 19 in the second term and went into the half-time break leading 61-42.
It was more of the same in the second half with Sandringham outscoring Keilor 64 points to 47 and that saw them record the 36-point win to improve to 6-4 on the season with the Thunder now 4-4.
Ben Ayre ended up with 30 points and six rebounds for Sandringham on 9/13 shooting from the floor, 3/5 from three-point range and 9/9 at the foul line.
Campbell Blogg added 21 points and three assists, Dane Pineau 17 points and 11 rebounds, Nic Gabsch 15 points and three boards, and CJ Asuncion-Byrd 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.
Robbie Heath top-scored for Keilor with 24 points and six rebounds while Zac Triplett put up 21 points, Oliver Hayes-Brown 19 points and six boards, and William Jenkins III 11 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists.
Manyang shoots Diamond Valley to win over Kilsyth
Ngor Manyang played like a man possessed to lead the Diamond Valley Eagles to the 89-80 victory against the Kilsyth Cobras on the road on Saturday night.
The Eagles were still without Sydney Kings superstar DJ Vasiljevic as they arrived at Kilsyth Sports Centre with both teams coming into the clash on identical 4-4 records.
Diamond Valley did start well on the road with 24 points to 20 in the first quarter but it was a tight first half and Kilsyth had 23 points to 18 in the second term to go into half-time leading 43-42.
However, the Eagles blew the game wide open in the third quarter with 30 points to 15 and that's where they set up the eventual nine-point victory.
As a result, Diamond Valley improves to 5-4 on the season while Kilsyth slips to 4-5.
Ngor Manyang proved the star in the victory for the Eagles ending the night with 26 points and nine rebounds on 9/14 shooting from the field, 6/6 from three-point land and 2/2 at the free-throw line.
Mandrell Worthy added 14 points, four boards, three blocks and two steals, and BJ Symons 15 points and nine rebounds.
Ben Ursich top-scored for Kilsyth with 19 points and six rebounds on 5/9 shooting from three-point range.
Jamie Ahale also had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Adrian Tomada 17 points and five boards, Hamish MacDonald eight points and nine rebounds, Tim Lang seven points and eight boards, and Mitch Dielemans seven points, six assists and two steals.
Spectres dominate second half for fourth straight win
The Nunawading Spectres had to shake off a half-time deficit to overpower the Casey Cavaliers for the 87-72 road victory on Saturday night.
The Cavs were at home trying to snap a three-game losing slide while the Spectres arrived at Casey Stadium on a three-game winning run and trying to keep that momentum going.
It was Nunawading who started the better with 26 points to 17 in the opening period but then the Cavs got rolling in the second term with 27 points to 13 to be leading 44-39 at half-time.
The Spectres took charge throughout the second half, though, to outscore the Cavaliers 48 points to 28 to turn that five-point deficit into a 15-point victory.
As a result, Nunawading has won four straight to sit at 6-3 while Casey has lost four in-a-row at 2-7.
Jalen Gibbs delivered 29 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the win for the Spectres with 4/9 three-point shooting while Will Carius produced 24 points, five boards and five steals.
Jordan Geer also had 13 points, four rebounds and two assists while making 4/6 from beyond the arc.
Preston Bungei top-scored for Casey with 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists with Sidy Djitte adding 15 points and nine boards, Sean Biernacki 10 points and two assists, and Mason Perry eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
Jalen Gibbs with AUTHORITY ?? pic.twitter.com/9BhKrYoqFW
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Stewart inspires Raiders comeback in Ballarat
The Knox Raiders made it four consecutive wins on the back of a dominant second half to beat the Ballarat Miners 99-92 on the road on Saturday night.
The Miners had lost their last couple of games coming into the clash with the Raiders at Selkirk Stadium, and the home team made a flying start with a 38-point first quarter.
That saw Ballarat open up a lead as big as 18 points during the second quarter, but the Raiders were able to stem the tide and kept the deficit at 15 by half-time.
Knox then turned the momentum in their favour throughout the second half to outscore Ballarat 46 points to 24 to turn that 18-point first half deficit into the eventual seven-point victory.
The win is a fifth in-a-row for the Raiders as they improve to a 6-3 record with the Miners slipping to 5-5 having lost the past three.
Wayne Stewart Jr came up huge in the second half fightback for Knox and finished with 34 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals on 13/23 shooting from the floor and 8/10 at the foul line.
Bailey Nunn added 26 points and three assists with Deng Acouth contributing another six points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Tyler Rudolph ended up with 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks for Ballarat while hitting 3/5 from three-point land.
Ned Renfree added 21 points, three rebounds and two assists, Nic Pozoglou 18 points, 13 boards, five assists, three steals and three blocks, Zac Dunmore 14 points, two assists and two steals, and Adam Thoseby 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Newley helps Frankston maintain top spot
Brad Newley showed he still has plenty left in the tank by leading the Frankston Blues to the 88-81 victory against the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday night.
Frankston came into the clash at The Rings on top of the NBL1 South while Ringwood was looking to win consecutive matches for the first time this season.
The Hawks started well on their home floor with 24 points to 18 in the opening quarter but for most of the evening it was a tight contest with nothing more than seven points separating the two teams.
However, it was an 8-0 run from the Blues in the fourth quarter that saw them open up the game's first double-figure lead and end up claiming the seven-point victory.
As a result of the win, Frankston remains in top spot with a 7-2 record with Ringwood slipping to 3-6 following the defeat.
As he prepares for another season with Melbourne United to add to his 309-game NBL career, Brad Newley was tremendous for Frankston with 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals on 10/16 field goal shooting.
Daniel Trist added 16 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Blues, Lucas Barker 15 points, 13 assists and six rebounds, Igor Hadziomerovic 13 points, eight boards and four assists, and Lachlan Barker 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jonathan Lawton top-scored for Ringwood with 25 points, seven steals, four assists and three rebounds with Kyle Daggett contributing 15 points, nine boards and four assists, and Matthew Fennell 13 points and seven rebounds.
Glover, Foxwell lead Wildcats over Tigers
The Eltham Wildcats had to produce a strong second half performance to overpower the Melbourne Tigers for the 100-91 victory at home on Saturday night.
Eltham bounced back from losing two of the previous three matches to win big over the Dandenong Rangers last Sunday while the Tigers were in their best form of the season having won four of the past five matches coming into the clash with the Wildcats.
After Eltham led by a point at quarter-time, the Tigers took charge on the back of 21 points in the first half from Jack Purchase to take a 48-43 advantage into the half-time break.
The Wildcats responded in the second half to outscore the Tigers 57 points to 43 to claim the nine-point win and improve to 7-2 on the season with Melbourne now 4-5.
Angus Glover was brilliant for Eltham with the two-time NBL championship winning star with the Sydney Kings putting up 31 points, five rebounds and three assists while hitting 5/9 from three-point land.
Owen Foxwell added 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Callum Dalton 19 points, three boards and three assists, and Josh Sykes 17 points and nine rebounds.
Jack Purchase finished with 31 points sand five rebounds on 6/12 three-point shooting for the Tigers with Taj Chehhal delivering 18 points, Michael Wearne 14 points and three rebounds, and Mason Gaze 14 points, six boards and three assists.
JOSH SYKES FLYS ??
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Flying finish sees Braves overrun Rangers
Bendigo and Dandenong came into Saturday's clash determined to move clear of bottom spot in the NBL1 South and it was the Braves who dominated the fourth quarter to win 89-85.
The Braves and Rangers came into the contest occupying the bottom two spots in the NBL1 South with two wins apiece heightening the stakes for the Round 6 match up at Red Energy Arena.
Bendigo made a flying start on its home floor to lead by 13 points by quarter-time and stretch that advantage to 14 in the second term. But the Rangers worked into the contest and by half-time they had cut the Braves lead down to just two points.
It was then Dandenong's turn to open up a handy lead with 18 straight points seeing them turn a six-point deficit into a 12-point lead in the third quarter.
However, Bendigo wasn’t done with and the Braves produced 28 points to 17 in the last quarter to hit back and claim the four-point win to improve to 3-6 with the Rangers now 2-8.
Luke Rosendale threatened a triple-double with a tremendous all-round showing for Bendigo with 18 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Bijan Johnson added 19 points and five assists, Lat Mayen 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Billy Smythe 12 points and seven boards, and Christiaan Jones 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
Jesse Ghee did what he could to will Dandenong to the win with 28 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists while Deng Puoch contributed 17 points and 12 boards, Jack Roberts 13 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds, and Jacob Eyman 10 points and eight boards.
Supercats keep hot form rolling for fifth straight
The Geelong United Supercats made it the perfect weekend on the road across Bass Strait with a 98-72 victory against the North West Tasmania Thunder.
The Supercats opened the weekend beating the Hobart Chargers by 15 points to make it four wins on the trot after losing the first four of the season, and they kept the momentum going at Mazda BT-50 Thunder Stadium.
Geelong opened up a six-point lead by quarter-time and the Supercats from there continued to build on that lead throughout the evening to lead by 14 at half-time, 18 at three quarter-time and ending up winning by 26.
As a result, the Supercats have won five straight to sit on a 5-4 record with the Thunder slipping to 3-6.
Gabe Hadley continued on hit form for Geelong United fresh off his Cairns Taipans NBL season as a development player. He put up 32 points on 11/22 shooting from the field, 5/12 from long-range and 5/7 from the foul line.
New guard Nick Velasquez added 23 points and five rebounds while DeMarcus Gatlin is working into the season nicely too with 21 points, eight boards, five assists and five steals on 7/9 shooting including hitting 6/7 from the free-throw line.
Sekou Sylla top-scored for North West Tasmania with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 8/12 shooting with Tre Armstrong adding 10 points, five boards and two assists, and Ben Woolley 10 points and two rebounds.
Jay Posterino rattled that home! ?
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