Chloe Bibby and Tyler Rudolph starred in two Sunday NBL1 South wins for the Ballarat Miners while the Knox Raiders scored a pair of victories, Issie Bourne shone for Keilor Thunder and Tom Koppens did the same for Sandringham Sabres.
RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | FIRST NATIONS ROUND SATURDAY
RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | FIRST NATIONS ROUND FRIDAY
WOMEN
Ballarat Miners (94) defeated Casey Cavaliers (61)
The Ballarat Miners kept their hot form going to make it eight consecutive wins with the thumping home 94-61 win on Sunday against the Casey Cavaliers.
The Miners were back on their home floor at Selkirk Stadium on a seven-game winning run including against the Sandringham Sabres on Friday night as they played host to a Cavaliers team having lost their past six and without Alice Kunek and Taylah Simmons.
It was a tight battle in the first quarter with scores tied at 22-22 by quarter-time but then Ballarat took complete control by scoring 19 consecutive points to end up taking a 17-point lead during the second period.
The Miners continued to build on that the rest of the afternoon with the lead out to 32 points in the third frame and then 37 in the fourth before settling on the eventual 33-point victory.
Ballarat has now won eight straight matches to improve to a 13-8 record with Chloe Bibby outstanding once more with 26 points, four rebounds and two assists on shooting 10/14 from the field and 6/8 from three-point land.
Abbey Wehrung also had 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists on 4/8 three-point shooting with Jaz Shelley providing 15 points, five boards and four assists, Mehryn Kraker 12 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Ella Gordon 10 points and four rebounds.
The Cavs are now in bottom spot at 4-17 having lost seven consecutive matches on an afternoon where they had just seven players suiting up with Alex Wittinger finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Lauryn Hippolite 11 points and seven assists, and Lauren Van Kleunen nine points and eight rebounds.
The Miners finish their season away to the Eltham Wildcats on Saturday with the Cavaliers hosting the Melbourne Tigers also on Saturday.
BALLARAT MINERS 94 (Bibby 26, Wehrung 18, Shelley 15)
CASEY CAVALIERS 61 (Wittinger 19, Hippolite 11, Van Kleunen 9)
Knox Raiders (97) defeated Geelong United (90)
The Knox Raiders further consolidated themselves in top spot but they had to fight hard to hold out Geelong United for the 97-90 Sunday home victory.
The Raiders were back home at Knox Basketball Stadium on a 10-game winning streak including in a thriller two nights earlier over the Mount Gambier Pioneers to remain clear in top spot.
Geelong, meanwhile, arrived looking to hit back from losing to Dandenong the night before that ended their seven-game winning streak, and needing to still lock away a playoff position.
It turned out to be a fascinating match up with Geelong leading 29-27 by quarter-time but the Raiders then began to take over in the second term to open up a double-figure advantage and being on top 56-53 at half-time.
Knox again pulled away in the third quarter to lead by as much as 16 points with that lead getting out to 17 in the fourth frame before they had to hold off the fast finishing Geelong for the eventual seven-point win.
The win is an 11th in-a-row for the league-leading Knox who are 19-2 with Alicia Froling again an imposing presence with 26 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots on 8/15 shooting from the floor and 10/12 from the foul line.
Rachel Bell also delivered 23 points on 5/6 three-point shooting with Paige Bradley contributing 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, Paige Burrows 13 points and six assists, and Kiera Rowe 11 points and seven rebounds.
Geelong is now clinging to eighth position with the two losses this weekend with an 11-9 record with Lasha Petree having a big afternoon with 31 points, five rebounds and two assists on 13/21 shooting from the field and 3/6 from three-point land.
Shaneice Swain also provided 27 points, seven steals, three rebounds and two assists on 6/11 three-point shooting with Jada Rice adding 10 points and eight boards, and Eve Braslis 10 points, three rebounds and two steals.
The Raiders take on Keilor Thunder to close their regular season on Saturday at home while Geelong is hosting the Waverley Falcons on Saturday before being away to the Diamond Valley Eagles on Sunday.
KNOX RAIDERS 97 (Froling 26, Bell 23, Bradley 19)
GEELONG UNITED 90 (Petree 31, Swain 27, Braslis 10, Rice 10)
Sandringham Sabres (68) lost to Keilor Thunder (88)
Keilor Thunder maintained hope of still ending up as regular season champions with the 88-68 road victory against the Sandringham Sabres.
Keilor had its 10-game winning streak ended last week at the hands of the Dandenong Rangers, but they bounced back on Friday beating the Diamond Valley Eagles ahead of taking on the Sabres on Sunday.
Sandringham were home at Southern Basketball Stadium trying to snap a three-game losing slide and they did welcome back Britt Smart while still being without Funda Nakkasoglu.
The Thunder also had Maddy Rocci back for the match up and they were already able to get out to a 13-point lead during the first quarter.
Keilor were able to continue to build on that lead the rest of the way with it growing to 16 points in the second term, 17 in the third and 22 in the fourth before they went on to score the 20-point victory.
The win improves the Thunder to an 18-2 record on the season to be in second spot and within striking distance of the Knox Raiders heading into the last round.
Issie Bourne produced another standout performance for Keilor with 29 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists while Penina Davidson contributed 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, and Maddy Rocci 14 points, four boards, three assists and two steals.
Sandringham does remain in fourth place at 13-7 despite having lost four straight with Klara Wischer top-scored with 13 points and six rebounds while Britt Smart marked her return with 10 points and two boards.
Isis Lopes also had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Sabres, and Keeley Frawley nine points on 3/5 three-point shooting to go with five rebounds.
The Sabres now host the Frankston Blues on Tuesday and the Hobart Chargers on Saturday while Keilor is at home to Eltham on Thursday and away to Knox on Saturday.
SANDRINGHAM SABRES 68 (Wischer 13, Lopes 13, Smart 10)
KEILOR THUNDER 88 (Bourne 29, Davidson 20, Rocci 14)
MEN
Ballarat Miners (94) defeated Casey Cavaliers (75)
Tyler Rudolph dominated with 35 points and the Ballarat Miners moved a game clear in second spot heading into the last round with the 94-75 home victory against the Casey Cavaliers.
Ballarat were back home at Selkirk Stadium fresh off beating the Sandringham Sabres back on Friday night to take the edge in the battle over second spot but the Miners needed to keep winning to stay there.
They were hosting the Cavaliers who are sitting clear in bottom place but have been more competitive than their position suggests.
Ballarat were able to build a seven-point lead by the end of the first quarter before then blowing the game wide open with 34 points to 20 in the second term.
That saw the Miners head into the half-time break leading 61-34 and they were able to go on with the job from there to lead by as much as 29 points and to win in the end by 19.
Ballarat stays in second spot following the win with a 15-6 record with the double win weekend with Tyler Rudolph dominating with 35 points, six rebounds and two assists on shooting 14/22 from the floor and 7/7 at the free-throw line.
Nick Stoddart added 12 points, eight assists, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks with Majok Majok contributing 11 points and 13 rebounds, Luke Rosendale eight points and eight assists, Zac Dunmore eight points and five rebounds, and Makuei Puondak eight points and four boards.
The Cavaliers now won't be able to avoid the wooden spoon for 2024 with the 3-18 record and just one game to go with Preston Bungei top-scoring with 19 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Adam Thoseby also contributed 16 points and three rebounds, Dillon Stith 13 points and three boards, and Anthony Karabatsos nine points and four assists.
The Miners finish their season away to the Eltham Wildcats on Saturday with the Cavaliers hosting the Melbourne Tigers also on Saturday.
BALLARAT MINERS 94 (Rudolph 35, Stoddart 12, Majok 11)
CASEY CAVALIERS 75 (Bungei 19, Thoseby 16, Stith 13)
Knox Raiders (88) defeated Geelong United (75)
The Knox Raiders made a fast start and turned that into the eventual 88-75 home win over Geelong United to keep the defending champions in the playoff hunt heading into the last round.
To be any hope of still making the playoffs the first job for Knox to do was to win on Sunday at Knox Basketball Stadium against Geelong.
United arrived fresh off beating the Dandenong Rangers the previous night while Knox lost to the Mount Gambier Pioneers back on Friday to leave them looking on at the top eight from the outside.
The Raiders started strongly to already be leading by 14 points at quarter-time before being able to maintain that advantage most of the rest of the way.
Knox would end up leading by 12 points at half-time, by 10 points at three quarter-time and then the lead got back out to as much as 15 points in the final term before the Raiders secured the eventual 13-point victory.
That result improves Knox to a 12-9 record and with the four teams above them inside the top eight also on 12 wins, the Raiders could still play finals should they win against Keilor on Saturday.
Malith Machar finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in the win for Knox while KJ Feagin added 23 points, four steals and three assists.
Brody Nunn also had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists with Austin Rapp contributing 11 points and three boards, and Kyle Bowen nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Geelong is out of the playoff hunt now sitting on a 10-10 record with Latrell Jones again top-scoring with 24 points with 3/6 three-point shooting.
Ma'alo Hicks also contributed 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists, DeMarcus Gatlin nine points, 12 boards, six assists and three steals, and Liam Herbert nine points, four rebounds and two steals on 3/5 three-point shooting.
The Raiders take on Keilor Thunder to close their regular season on Saturday at home while Geelong is hosting the Waverley Falcons on Saturday before being away to the Diamond Valley Eagles on Sunday.
KNOX RAIDERS 88 (Machar 23, Feagin 23, Nunn 14)
GEELONG UNITED 75 (Jones 24, Hicks 15, Herbert 9, Gatlin 9)
Sandringham Sabres (83) defeated Keilor Thunder (72)
Tom Koppens had a huge afternoon to lead the Sandringham Sabres to the 83-72 home win over Keilor Thunder to consolidate themselves a top four spot heading into the last round.
The Sabres were back home at Southern Basketball Stadium attempting to bounce back from losing their past two games up against a Thunder team fresh off a Friday win over Diamond Valley, but arriving minus Kyle Zunic and Junior Madut.
It was a close battle in the first quarter but then Sandringham began to pull away in the second term to lead by as much as 10 points and to go into the main break on top 37-30.
The Sabres continued to build on that advantage with the lead getting out to 14 points in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 11-point victory.
The win improves Sandringham to third position at 14-6 despite the absence of Shea Ili who is attempting to help the New Zealand Tall Blacks qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.
Tom Koppens was outstanding for the Sabres finishing with 30 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 10/13 shooting from the floor, 3/3 from three-point range and 7/9 at the foul line.
Campbell Blogg also produced 17 points and nine rebounds on 3/6 three-point shooting with CJ Asuncion-Byrd contributing 15 points and two boards, and Joel Foxwell nine points, five rebounds and four assists.
Keilor is clinging to eighth position with a 12-8 record following the defeat with Daniel Poelsma once again top-scoring with 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
Ryan Phillippe also had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Trevor Lakes 12 points, 13 boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
The Sabres now host the Frankston Blues on Tuesday and the Hobart Chargers on Saturday while Keilor is at home to Eltham on Thursday and away to Knox on Saturday.
SANDRINGHAM SABRES 83 (Koppens 30, Blogg 17, Asuncion-Byrd 15)
KEILOR THUNDER 72 (Poelsma 19, Phillippe 15, Lakes 12)
