Feature images: Xavier Papadakos / Ian Knight Photography
The Ringwood Hawks women produced a big finish to beat the Frankston Blues with Keilor Thunder beating the Melbourne Tigers in overtime while Bryton Hobbs lifted the Diamond Valley Eagles to a first home win of NBL1 South season.
Saturday night's women's results saw the Bendigo Braves beat the Ballarat Miners 95-67 while the Ringwood Hawks defeated the Frankston Blues 69-65, Keilor Thunder downed the Melbourne Tigers 77-70, and the Waverley Falcons won 81-57 against the Nunawading Spectres.
The Eltham Wildcats also beat the Diamond Valley Eagles 84-75 and the Knox Raiders defeated the Kilsyth Cobras.
Then in the men's match ups, the Raiders beat the Cobras 99-84, the Eagles downed the Wildcats 87-80, the Falcons defeated the Spectres 104-91, Keilor beat the Tigers 82-69, the Blues downed the Hawks 88-70, and the Miners defeated the Braves 76-75.
RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | HERITAGE ROUND FRIDAY
WOMEN
Bendigo Braves (95) defeated Ballarat Miners (67)
The NBL1 South's regional powers locked horns on Saturday night with the Bendigo Braves too strong for the shorthanded Ballarat Miners with the 95-67 victory.
The defending champion Braves were back home at Red Energy Arena looking to rebound from a last up loss to the Sandringham Sabres while the Miners arrived still missing Chloe Bibby, Micah Simpson and Mehryn Kraker.
Bendigo might also still be without Megan McKay for the foreseeable future, but they started on fire in front of their home fans to lead 24-12 by quarter-time.
The Braves went on with the job from there to lead 47-26 by half-time before blowing the lead out to 37 points in the second half and then ending up scoring the 28-point victory.
The win sees the Braves improve to a 10-5 record on the season with Amy Atwell finishing with 28 points and five rebounds on 10/21 shooting from the field and 6/7 from the foul line.
Ally Wilson also ended up with 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals, the remarkable Kelly Wilson 13 points, 12 boards, eight assists and two steals, and Cassidy McLean 14 points, five rebounds and four assists on 7/11 shooting.
Ballarat has now lost its past three games with a shorthanded roster by an average of 39 points with Abbey Wehrung returning to top-score with 18 points and eight assists while hitting 4/11 from three-point range.
Alex Bunton also contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Milly Sharp 11 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals.
Ballarat is next in action at home to the Dandenong Rangers on Saturday June 15 and on that same evening, Bendigo is on the road to the Knox Raiders.
BENDIGO BRAVES 95 (Atwell 28, A Wilson 19, K Wilson 13)
BALLARAT MINERS 67 (Wehrung 18, Bunton 15, Sharp 11)
Frankston Blues (65) lost to Ringwood Hawks (69)
The Ringwood Hawks produced a stunning finish with the last seven points to come from behind and beat the Frankston Blues 69-65.
Frankston were still without superstar Steph Reid who is with the Australian Opals in China, but they welcomed in another big name with Lauren Scherf joining them for the clash with the Hawks at Dreamstreet Lending Arena.
Ringwood arrived also looking to back up its last up win against the Dandenong Rangers and it would prove a tight contest the entire evening.
Ringwood were leading by just four points at quarter-time but Frankston managed 19 points to 15 in the second period and that left the scores tied at 31-31 at half-time.
By early in the fourth quarter, the Hawks managed to open up a game-high eight-point advantage when Ahlise Hurst knocked down a three-pointer, but Frankston turned the tide starting with a three ball from Chelsea D'Angelo.
The Blues would then be leading 65-62 following a three-pointer from Lou Brown with two minutes to play, but from that point on it was all the Hawks.
Jack Animam brought the visitors back within a point before it was Digna Strautmane who scored going to the basket to put them in front with just over a minute to play.
Then following a shot clock violation from Frankston, Aneta Bandilovska nailed a three-pointer for Ringwood to extend their advantage to four which would remain the final score.
The victory improves the Hawks to a 9-6 record on the season with Lana Hollingsworth delivering 17 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Digna Strautmane added 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, Jack Animam 12 points and seven boards, and Ahlise Hurst 12 points, five assists and three rebounds.
The Blues are now 5-7 with the defeat despite Lauren Scherf delivering 22 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks, three assists and two steals.
Chelsea D'Angelo added 19 points, four rebounds and four assists, Emily Monaghan 11 points and four boards, and Lou Brown 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
The Hawks will now be on the road to the Sandringham Sabres on Thursday night while Frankston will be away to the Dandenong Rangers on Friday.
FRANKSTON BLUES 65 (Scherf 22, D'Angelo 19, Monaghan 11)
RINGWOOD HAWKS 69 (Hollingsworth 17, Strautmane 12, Animam 12, Hurst 12)
Melbourne Tigers (70) lost to Keilor Thunder (77)
Keilor Thunder dug deep without Maddy Rocci to overcome the Melbourne Tigers 77-70 in overtime with Tera Reed stepping up to score 24 points.
The Tigers were back home at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre looking to back up last week's win against the Nunawading Spectres while Keilor arrived in top spot having won six straight and having kept that going even minus Rocci.
She was again absent on Saturday night while in China with the Australian Opals and it turned out being a tremendous contest between the two teams that needed overtime to be decided.
It was a tight battle throughout the first half with Melbourne leading just 19-17 at quarter-time and then 34-31 by half-time.
The Tigers did go on a 17-0 scoring run completed in the third quarter, though, to open up a game-high 13-point advantage but the Thunder were able to work back into the contest to set up the finish.
The Tigers were back out to an eight-point lead with 2:30 remaining following a three-point play from Cierra Dillard, but the Thunder weren’t going to throw away their lead atop the standings.
They cut the margin in half with buckets to Penina Davidson and Lilly Rotunno before Tera Reed knocked down a pair of free throws.
In the end, it was another free-throw from Reed that tied scores up with 30 seconds to go and neither team could break the deadlock from there with scores locked at 65-65 by the end of regulation.
It was then all Keilor in the overtime period with 12 points to five to see them win by that seven-point margin to make it seven consecutive wins and a 13-1 record on the season.
Tera Reed produced 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win for Keilor on shooting 8/13 from the floor and 7/8 at the foul line.
Penina Davidson added 20 points and 15 rebounds, Issie Bourne 13 points, seven boards, four steals, two blocks and two assists, and Lily Carmody 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Melbourne is now 6-7 following the loss with Sam Simons top-scoring with 21 points while Cierra Dillard added 17 points and nine rebounds, and Chantel Horvat 16 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals.
The Tigers will now play host to the Casey Cavaliers on Thursday night with Keilor back at home to host the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Friday.
MELBOURNE TIGERS 70 (Simons 21, Dillard 17, Horvat 16)
KEILOR THUNDER 77 (Reed 24, Davidson 20, Bourne 13)
Nunawading Spectres (57) lost to Waverley Falcons (81)
Carley Ernst knocked down five three-pointers to help the Waverley Falcons to a third straight win with the 81-57 road victory over the Nunawading Spectres.
The Falcons had started to build some momentum this season with the last two wins ahead of arriving at Nunawading Basketball Centre to take on a Spectres team trying to snap a four-game losing streak.
It was a remarkable opening to the game with Waverley scoring the first 19 points with Nunawading not able to score for more than the first five minutes until Tayha Watkins got them on the board.
However, that start set the tone for the evening with the Falcons ending up on 34 points to 16 at quarter-time.
Waverley would end up leading 47-25 at half-time and then went on with the job in the third quarter with another 27 points to 16 to open up a lead as big as 34 points early in the fourth.
Nunawading did at least finish the game well with 16 points to seven in the final period but Waverley still cruised to the 24-point win to make it three in-a-row to improve to a 5-8 record.
Carley Ernst did it in Game 3 of the WNBL Grand Final earlier this year and caught fire from deep again for the Falcons making 5/7 from behind the three-point line on the way to 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.
Bec Cole added 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals with Renae Mokrzycki contributing 11 points, three boards and two assists, and Amelia Todhunter nine points, five assists and two steals.
It's a fifth straight loss for the Spectres who are now 2-11 with Batabe Zempare producing 15 points, five rebounds and two assists with Bride Kennedy-Hopoate contributing 14 points and five boards, and Louise Forsyth eight points and two rebounds.
The Spectres will be away to the Casey Cavaliers on Friday night with the Falcons at home to the Sandringham Sabres on Friday as well.
NUNAWADING SPECTRES 57 (Zempare 15, Kennedy-Hopoate 14, Forsyth 8)
WAVERLEY FALCONS 81 (Ernst 23, Cole 13, Locandro 9, Todhunter 9)
Diamond Valley Eagles (75) lost to Eltham Wildcats (84)
With all five starters scoring in double-figures, it was the all-round talents of the Eltham Wildcats that saw them score the 84-75 road victory over the Diamond Valley Eagles.
The Eagles did beat the Ballarat Miners last weekend but had yet to win at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre this season ahead of hosting the Wildcats who arrived having won their past two matches.
Eltham took control of the contest early on and by quarter-time were leading 23-13 but Diamond Valley stayed in touch through the second quarter to limit the Wildcats lead to 40-33 at half-time.
The Wildcats, though, were able to pull away again in the third quarter to build that lead back out to 16 points before ending up securing the nine-point victory despite a 10-0 run in the last quarter from the Eagles.
The win is a third in-a-row for Eltham who improve to a 7-6 record on the season with Erin Riley delivering 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Lily Scanlon also had 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Bec Pizzey 14 points, 13 boards, six assists and two blocked shots, Hailey Leidel 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Shannon Dufficy 13 points, five boards and two assists.
Diamond Valley slips to a 4-8 record with the defeat with Naomi Mbandu finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.
Carly Turner also contributed 17 points and six rebounds, Gemma Potter 15 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals, and Jennie Rintala six points to go with 11 rebounds.
The Wildcats back up to play host to Geelong United on Sunday afternoon while the Eagles are away to the Knox Raiders on Friday night.
DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 75 (Turner 17, Mbandu 17, Potter 15)
ELTHAM WILDCATS 84 (Riley 15, Pizzey 14, Scanlon 14)
Knox Raiders (76) defeated Kilsyth Cobras (74)
The Knox Raiders overpowered the Kilsyth Cobras in the final five minutes to score the thrilling 76-74 home victory against the bottom placed Kilsyth Cobras.
The Raiders were back home at Knox Basketball Stadium and despite it being second against last in the standings coming into Round 9 in the NBL1 South, it turned out to be quite the tremendous contest.
Knox did manage to lead 25-20 by quarter-time but Kilsyth stayed in touch and had cut that lead for the Raiders to just 40-37 at the main break.
Kilsyth then took charge during the third frame hunting a third win of the season going on a 12-0 scoring run to open up a 10-point advantage.
The Cobras were then still leading by nine points on the back of a pair of free throws from Sarah Haberfield with six minutes to play.
Paige Bradley knocked down a three-pointer to begin the charge back for Knox with Paige Burrows then bringing the margin back to four, and Bradley made it two at the free-throw line.
In the end, it was a crucial offensive rebound from Alicia Froling and when she scored on the back of it with 30 seconds to go, Knox were in front by a point and from there secured the two-point come from behind victory.
The win improves the Raiders to an 11-2 record on the season with three straight wins and Alicia Froling ended the night with 23 points, 13 rebounds and three steals for Knox.
Paige Bradley delivered 19 points, four assists, three boards and three steals while Kiera Rowe added 13 points, five rebounds and two steals before fouling out late with Paige Burrows contributing 12 points, four assists and three boards.
It was an encouraging performance from Kilsyth despite having now lost five in-a-row and to remain in bottom place at 2-12 on the season.
Georgia Booth produced 20 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Cobras with Tyra Whitehead contributing 11 points and 19 boards, Nikita Young 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Paige Price 10 points, three boards and two assists.
Knox remains at home to host the Diamond Valley Eagles on Friday night with Kilsyth to host the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday June 15.
KNOX RAIDERS 76 (Froling 23, Bradley 19, Rowe 13)
KILSYTH COBRAS 74 (Booth 20, Young 17, Whitehead 11)
MEN
Bendigo Braves (75) lost to Ballarat Miners (76)
There's always that little bit of added feeling when the two teams do battle and Saturday night was no different with the Ballarat Miners escaping with the thrilling 76-75 win over the Bendigo Braves.
Ballarat arrived at Red Energy Arena sitting on top of the NBL1 South but winning in Bendigo is never an easy task and that would prove to be the case.
The Braves have been significantly more competitive since having Mitch Clarke, Andrew Robinson and Rowan Mackenzie all together in the line-up and it was a blow-for-blow contest throughout the night.
The Miners did keep on threatening to pull away from the Braves, but they could never quite do so despite leading by four points at quarter-time and three at half-time.
It was Bendigo who managed to open up a five-point lead in the third quarter, but then either side of three quarter-time it was Ballarat who went on a 17-0 scoring run to lead by a game-high 11 points.
Bendigo fired back once more, though, to set up the thrilling finish and Ballarat was back up four with 13 seconds remaining when Majok Majok grabbed the offensive rebound off his own miss and put it back in.
Mitch Clarke has already shown what he can do to pull off miracle comebacks including a remarkable game winning effort for the Perry Lakes Hawks in the NBL1 West last season so the ball was in no better hands for the Braves.
He knocked down a massive triple to bring it back to a one-point game with seven seconds remaining, but the problem for the Braves was they had too many fouls to give before sending Ballarat to the line to have one more shot at the winner.
It ended up using the remaining time with Bendigo trying to rack up the fouls and Ballarat would hold on for the one-point victory to improve to 10-3 on the season to remain in top spot.
Majok Majok delivered 17 points and 14 rebounds in the win for Ballarat with Tyler Rudolph contributing 11 points and five boards, Nick Stoddart 11 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Luke Rosendale nine points, four steals, three boards and two assists.
The Miners are now 6-9 on the season despite a strong showing against the league-leaders with Mitch Clarke finishing with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Rowan Mackenzie added 16 points, five assists, five steals and three rebounds, and Andrew Robinson 13 points and seven boards.
Ballarat is next in action at home to the Dandenong Rangers on Saturday June 15 and on that same evening, Bendigo is on the road to the Knox Raiders.
BENDIGO BRAVES 75 (Clarke 22, Mackenzie 16, Robinson 13)
BALLARAT MINERS 76 (Majok 17, Rudolph 11, Stoddart 11)
Frankston Blues (88) defeated Ringwood Hawks (70)
The Frankston Blues returned to winning at home on Saturday night with the 88-70 victory against the Ringwood Hawks.
The Blues went down by 19 points to the Sandringham Sabres also at home last Saturday night ahead of returning to Dreamstreet Lending Arena to host a Ringwood team on a four-game losing slide.
Frankston opened up an eight-point lead during the first quarter but that was back to just three at quarter-time and it was still a tight affair going into the half-time break with the Blues leading 40-36.
Frankston were able to take further control throughout the second half, though, outscoring the Hawks 20 points to 13 in the third period, and 28 to 21 in the fourth.
The Blues' lead grew to as much as 21 points and they would end up scoring the 18-point victory to improve to a 7-5 record on the season.
Klay Brown finished with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists with 5/7 three-point shooting in the win for Frankston while Lachlan Barker contributed 18 points on 4/9 shooting from downtown.
Stokley Chaffee also had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Daniel Trist 13 points, 14 boards and two steals, and Lucas Barker six points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Ringwood slips to 6-9 on the season with five straight defeats with Jonathan Lawton top-scoring with 22 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Lachlan Ahale also had 13 points on 3/6 three-point shooting with Braelen Bridges adding 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Sebastien Lees six points, five assists, four boards and two steals.
The Hawks will now be on the road to the Sandringham Sabres on Thursday night while Frankston will be away to the Dandenong Rangers on Friday.
FRANKSTON BLUES 88 (Brown 21, Lachlan Barker 18, Chaffee 16)
RINGWOOD HAWKS 70 (Lawton 22, Ahale 13, Bridges 12)
Melbourne Tigers (69) lost to Keilor Thunder (82)
Keilor Thunder shook off a slow start to snap the winning run of the Melbourne Tigers with the 82-69 victory.
The Tigers were back on their home floor at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on a four-game winning streak as they hosted a Keilor team arriving fresh off beating the Kilsyth Cobras last Saturday night.
Coming into the game on that winning run, the Tigers made a strong start too to lead by nine points at quarter-time.
That advantage grew to 12 points as well in the second quarter for Melbourne but then Keilor worked right back into the contest and would end up assuming the narrow 37-36 lead by the half-time break.
Keilor then kept that momentum going into the second half with another 25 points to 14 in the third period to open up a lead that was as big as 15 points in the final term on the way to the 13-point triumph.
The win improves the Thunder to a 9-5 record on the season with Jalen Gibbs leading the way with another 21 points to go with two rebounds and two assists on 6/11 shooting from the floor and 6/6 at the charity stripe.
Kyle Zunic added 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals for Keilor, Deng Acouth 14 points, 13 boards, three assists and two blocks, and Daniel Poelsma 10 points.
The Tigers are now 6-7 after a first loss in their past five matches with Mason Gaze top-scoring with 17 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Jack Whitbourn added 15 points and eight rebounds with Jack Purchase narrowly missing a triple-double with 11 points, 10 boards and nine assists despite shooting 5/23 from the field.
The Tigers will now play host to the Casey Cavaliers on Thursday night with Keilor back at home to host the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Friday.
MELBOURNE TIGERS 69 (Gaze 17, Whitbourn 15, Purchase 11)
KEILOR THUNDER 82 (Gibbs 21, Zunic 17, Acouth 14)
Nunawading Spectres (91) lost to Waverley Falcons (104)
The Waverley Falcons are now the hottest team in the NBL1 South after a sixth consecutive win with the 104-91 road victory against the Nunawading Spectres.
Waverley arrived at Nunawading Basketball Centre on a five-game winning streak as the Falcons took on a Spectres team looking to bounce back from losing their past two matches.
While Waverley raced out to a 12-point lead in the opening quarter, the Spectres fired back to cut the deficit to just two by quarter-time.
Again the Falcons got out to a 10-point lead in the second period but once more Nunawading responded with an 8-0 scoring run and that cut the Waverley advantage to 55-54 at half-time.
Waverley pulled away once more in the third quarter with 27 points to 15, and this time it was for good with the Falcons ending up leading by as much as 20 before going on to score the 13-point victory.
The win is a sixth in-a-row for Waverley as they improve to a 9-4 record on the season with DJ Vasiljevic leading the charge with 27 points, five rebounds and three assists on 12/23 shooting from the floor.
Malik Meunier also contributed 24 points, six rebounds and six steals, Mason Forbes 19 points and 11 boards, and Matthew McCarthy 16 points and seven rebounds.
Nunawading has now lost three straight matches to be 6-7 with Jalen Johnson doing all he could to keep his team in the contest with 27 points, six rebounds and two steals on 6/10 three-point shooting.
Kingsley Box added 11 points and six assists, Christian D'Angelo 11 points, Daniel Baxter 11 points and four boards, and Nicolas Tata 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.
The Spectres will be away to the Casey Cavaliers on Friday night with the Falcons at home to the Sandringham Sabres on Friday as well.
NUNAWADING SPECTRES 91 (Johnson 27, Box 11, D'Angelo 11, Baxter 11)
WAVERLEY FALCONS 104 (Vasiljevic 27, Meunier 24, Forbes 19)
Diamond Valley Eagles (87) defeated Eltham Wildcats (80)
The Diamond Valley Eagles scored their first home win of the season with the impressive 87-80 victory against the Eltham Wildcats.
The Eagles had lost their opening six matches of the season on their home floor at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre ahead of them playing host to a Wildcats team also trying to bounce back from a loss to the Hobart Chargers.
It was just a one-point lead in favour of Eltham by quarter-time but the Wildcats then opened up a 10-point lead thanks to scoring nine straight points in the second period.
Eltham were still leading 44-37 by half-time and that edge for the Wildcats got back out to 11 points in the third quarter, but then the Eagles began to work back into the contest and they were able to pile on 31 points in the term to grab the lead.
Dynamic point guard Bryton Hobbs would end up being the major difference between the two teams as he led the Eagles to win and to final win at home for the first time in 2024.
Diamond Valley improves to 3-9 on the season with the win with Hobbs the star finishing with 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Jock Perry also came up big for the Eagles with 24 points and 11 rebounds with Jesse McIntosh contributing 12 points and seven boards, and Erik Kafritsas eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Eltham slips to 6-7 on the season with the defeat with Angus Glover top-scoring with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Ralph Bissainthe also had 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals on 4/7 three-point shooting, Sam Short 14 points, five boards and five assists, and Josh Sykes 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Wildcats back up to play host to Geelong United on Sunday afternoon while the Eagles are away to the Knox Raiders on Friday night.
DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 87 (Hobbs 25, Perry 24, McIntosh 12)
ELTHAM WILDCATS 80 (Glover 17, Bissainthe 16, Short 14)
Knox Raiders (99) defeated Kilsyth Cobras (84)
Austin Rapp continued his emergence with 24 points and nine rebounds with the defending champion Knox Raiders beating the Kilsyth Cobras 99-84.
Knox were back home at Knox Basketball Stadium looking to bounce back from last week's loss to the Ballarat Miners with the Cobras arriving on a four-game losing run of their own.
The reigning champions came into the weekend outside a playoff position so can't afford too many more slip ups the rest of the season and they started like that going on an 11-0 run in the first quarter to open up a 10-point lead.
That lead would grow out to as much as 25 points in the second period as well for the Raiders and they went into the half-time interval leading 53-36.
Knox maintained control throughout the second half as well with the lead getting back out to as much as 24 points before they scored the important 15-point victory.
The Raiders now improve to 7-6 on the season with the win with Austin Rapp the star of the night with 24 points and nine rebounds.
He had plenty of help too with KJ Feagin finishing with 19 points with 5/7 three-point shooting while Anzac Rissetto had 15 points and four boards, Brody Nunn 13 points and five assists, and Kyle Bowen 11 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
The Cobras have now lost five straight to sit with a 3-11 record with Deng Riak ending up top-scoring with 25 points and seven rebounds on 10/15 shooting from the floor and 4/7 from behind the three-point arc.
Adrian Tomada added 20 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Nicholas Feller 13 points on 3/3 three-point shooting and 5/5 overall.
Knox remains at home to host the Diamond Valley Eagles on Friday night with Kilsyth to host the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday June 15.
KNOX RAIDERS 99 (Rapp 24, Feagin 19, Rissetto 15)
KILSYTH COBRAS 84 (Riak 25, Tomada 20, Feller 13)
