Featured images: Ian Knight (@ianknightphotography) / Tans Photography
Alicia Froling and Anzac Rissetto for the Knox Raiders, Chloe Bibby and Zac Dunmore for the Ballarat Miners, and Shaneice Swain's 40 points for Geelong United were among Sunday's standout NBL1 South performances.
The three Sunday's NBL1 South women's matches saw the Knox Raiders beat the Launceston Tornadoes 99-78, the Ballarat Miners defeat the Ringwood Hawks 89-78 and Geelong United down the Nunawading Spectres 106-73.
The men's match ups then saw the Raiders beat the North West Tasmania Thunder 95-70, the Miners defeat the Hawks 108-99, and Geelong down Nunawading 75-74.
RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 11 SATURDAY
RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 11 FRIDAY
WOMEN
Knox Raiders (99) defeated Launceston Tornadoes (78)
Alicia Froling dominated again and the Knox Raiders made it eight straight wins to move further clear in a top two position with the 99-78 victory at home to the Launceston Tornadoes.
The Raiders were back home at Knox Basketball Stadium on the back of beating the Frankston Blues by 23 points on Saturday while hosting a Tornadoes team missing Keely Froling and coming off a 24-point defeat at the hands of the Eltham Wildcats.
It was a high tempo opening to the contest with Knox leading 34-29 by quarter-time but the Tornadoes were hanging in there with the Raiders only managing to lead 56-49 by the half-time break.
Knox then took further control throughout the second half with 24 points to 13 in the third period, and 19 to 16 in the fourth on the way to the 21-point win to make it eight victories in-a-row to remain clear in second place at 16-2.
While missing out on a battle with her sister with Keely away with the Opals, Alicia Froling dominated for the Raiders once more with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists on 10/19 shooting from the field and 11/15 at the foul line.
Paige Bradley also put up 16 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals with Rachel Bell contributing 12 points, Kiera Rowe nine points, seven rebounds and two steals and Paige Burrows nine points, four assists and three steals.
Launceston has now lost six in-a-row to have a 4-13 record on the season with Trinity Oliver producing 23 points, nine rebounds and two steals on 11/16 shooting.
Macey Crawford added 21 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Lore Devos 18 points, three boards, two assists and two steals.
The Raiders don’t play again until being away to the Nunawading Spectres next Sunday with the Tornadoes at home to the Diamond Valley Eagles on Friday.
KNOX RAIDERS 99 (Froling 31, Bradley 16, Bell 12)
LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 78 (Oliver 23, Crawford 21, Devos 18)
Ringwood Hawks (78) lost to Ballarat Miners (89)
Chloe Bibby and Jaz Shelley combined for 49 points and 10 three-pointers to lift the Ballarat Miners to the 89-78 road victory over the Ringwood Hawks to close in on a playoff position.
It's been a rollercoaster ride all season for Ballarat mostly just due to player availability but the Miners did arrive at The Rings on Sunday on a three-game winning streak up against a Ringwood team having lost its past three.
Both teams are still in playoff contention, though, so the stakes were high for the Sunday match up with the Miners opening up a 26-18 lead by quarter-time.
It was another 26 points to 18 in the second stanza for Ballarat which saw them go into the half-time break leading 52-36.
The lead for the Miners did get out to as much as 19 points in the second half and while the Hawks kept on fighting including scoring 11 straight points, Ballarat held firm for the eventual 11-point win.
The result makes it four consecutive wins for Ballarat to improve them to a 9-8 record to be knocking on the door of the top eight while the Hawks fall further outside now 9-10 with the four straight defeats.
Chloe Bibby shook off a tough shooting night against Nunawading to knock down 6/10 from behind the three-point arc on her way to 27 points, three assists and two rebounds.
Jaz Shelley also had 22 points and six rebounds on 4/7 three-point shooting with Mehryn Kraker contributing 12 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for a triple-double.
Alex Bunton also put up 11 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in the win for the Miners.
Digna Strautmane finished with 20 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals for Ringwood on the back of shooting 3/5 from downtown with Jack Animam adding 15 points, seven boards, three steals and two assists.
Annabel Deerbon added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Lana Hollingsworth 10 points, seven assists and four boards.
Ringwood will now play host to the Waverley Falcons next Monday with Ballarat to host the Melbourne Tigers on Saturday.
RINGWOOD HAWKS 78 (Strautmane 20, Animam 15, Deerbon 14)
BALLARAT MINERS 89 (Bibby 27, Shelley 22, Kraker 12)
Nunawading Spectres (73) lost to Geelong United (106)
Shaneice Swain knocked down eight three-pointers on her way to the 40 points in a 106-73 win for Geelong United over the Nunawading Spectres to put them inside the top eight.
Geelong had left themselves a lot of work to do to stay in playoff contention this NBL1 South season but upon arrival on Sunday at Nunawading Basketball Centre they had won the past five matches including the previous night against the Hobart Chargers.
The Spectres were back home attempting to snap an eight-game losing streak and to get out of bottom spot but United arrived on a mission and already were leading 32-24 by the end of the first quarter.
Geelong was still leading 48-42 by half-time with Nunawading doing well to stay in the contest, but United were able to pull away through the second half and blew the game open with 34 points to 17 in the final stanza.
That saw Geelong score the 33-point win in the finish to improve to a 10-7 record in seventh position with six straight wins with Shaneice Swain catching fire with 40 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals.
She shot 12/25 from the field, 8/16 from three-point territory and 8/8 from the free-throw line.
Eva Braslis added 20 points and four rebounds, Lasha Petree 19 points, nine boards, six steals and three assists, Jada Rice 12 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots, and Sarah Elsworthy 10 points, three boards and three assists.
Nunawading remains in bottom spot having lost nine in-a-row with a 2-15 record with Rachel Brewster top-scoring with 23 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Isabel Feller added 15 points and five assists, Batabe Zempare 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Kate Tanner eight points, 10 boards and two assists.
The Spectres will play host to the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday with Geelong at home to the Casey Cavaliers on Friday.
NUNAWADING SPECTRES 73 (Brewster 23, Feller 15, Zempare 15)
GEELONG UNITED 106 (Swain 40, Braslis 20, Petree 19)
MEN
Knox Raiders (95) defeated North West Tasmania Thunder (70)
The Knox Raiders moved back into a playoff position with the defending champions beating the North West Tasmania Thunder 95-70 at home on Sunday with Anzac Rissetto putting up 30 points.
The Raiders were back home at Knox Basketball Stadium looking to hit back from Saturday's loss to the Frankston Blues while North West Tasmania scored a heart stopping victory over the Eltham Wildcats.
Knox made a flying start knowing every game from now would be crucial to its hopes of making the playoffs as part of its championship defence, and the Raiders went on a 12-0 scoring run in the first quarter.
That helped Knox to the 29-17 advantage by quarter-time with the lead continuing to grow throughout the afternoon with the Raiders ending up leading by 16 points in the second frame and then 25 in the fourth.
Knox would go on to score the 25-point victory to return to eighth position with a 10-8 record on the season with Anzac Rissetto producing a stunning performance with 30 points and nine rebounds on shooting 9/9 from the floor, 2/2 from downtown and 10/11 at the free-throw line.
Brody Nunn added 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Raiders, KJ Feagin 17 points and six assists, Malith Machar 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Austin Rapp nine points, eight boards, two assists and two steals.
North West Tasmania return home having split their two games this weekend to sit at 7-10 on the season with Tre Armstrong putting up 17 points after his game winning three the previous night.
Sekou Sylla also had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, Archer Woodhill 13 points and four boards, and Seth Swalve 11 points and four assists.
The Raiders don’t play again until being away to the Nunawading Spectres next Sunday with the Thunder at home to the Diamond Valley Eagles on Friday.
KNOX RAIDERS 95 (Rissetto 30, Nunn 18, Feagin 17)
NORTH WEST TASMANIA THUNDER 70 (Armstrong 17, Sylla 16, Woodhill 13)
Ringwood Hawks (99) lost to Ballarat Miners (108)
Zac Dunmore delivered a breakout performance with seven three-pointers and 35 points as the Ballarat Miners beat the Ringwood Hawks to consolidate a top four position and stay in touch of the top two.
The Miners had lost two of their past three matches after sitting in top spot including losing by 15 points to the Nunawading Spectres on Saturday ahead of arriving on Sunday at The Rings.
Ringwood came into the match up at home having lost eight straight including falling to the Diamond Valley Eagles on Saturday, but the Hawks took it right up to the Miners and were in front by three points at quarter-time.
Ballarat did manage to respond with a 13-0 scoring run in the second quarter to open up an eight-point lead of its own, and to go into half-time on top 56-54.
The Miners were then able to build on that advantage throughout the second half to lead by as much as five points in the third quarter, and 13 in the fourth before they secured the important nine-point win.
The victory keeps Ballarat in third position with a 12-5 record with Zac Dunmore putting on a stunning performance hitting 7/12 from behind the three-point arc on his way to 35 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Luke Rosendale also had 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds, Tyler Rudolph 19 points and 11 boards, and Nick Stoddart 11 points and two rebounds.
Ringwood has now lost nine straight to be 6-13 on the season with Harry Sealey having a huge afternoon with 33 points on 11/19 shooting from the field, 4/8 from deep and 7/10 at the foul line.
Tom Carroll added 21 points and six rebounds on 4/7 three-point shooting with Jonathan Lawton adding 17 points, five boards and four assists, and Braeden Bridges 12 points and nine rebounds.
Ringwood will now play host to the Waverley Falcons next Monday with Ballarat to host the Melbourne Tigers on Saturday.
RINGWOOD HAWKS 99 (Sealey 33, Carroll 21, Lawton 17)
BALLARAT MINERS 108 (Dunmore 35, Rosendale 24, Rudolph 19)
Nunawading Spectres (74) lost to Geelong United (75)
Geelong United secured a second heart stopping win of the weekend this time beating the Nunawading Spectres 75-74 on the road to stay in touch of a playoff position.
Geelong won a thriller at home on Saturday night against the Hobart Chargers thanks to a big three from George Blagojevic and then steal and bucket to DeMarcus Gatlin.
They backed that up at Nunawading Basketball Centre on Sunday with the Spectres coming into the contest on a three-game winning streak having also won on Saturday by 15 points over the Ballarat Miners.
Both teams are locked in the battle over one of the bottom places in the top eight heightening the stakes for the contest with the Spectres opening up a three-point lead by quarter-time.
Nunawading extended that advantage to eight points by half-time and it got out to as much as 13 points in the third quarter, but Geelong kept on fighting and set up a thrilling finish.
Liam Herbert hit two huge threes for Geelong to bring it back to a one-point ball game with 3:30 to play before Ma'alo Hicks put Geelong in front with just over 30 seconds to play.
Jalen Johnson drew a foul for Nunawading going to the rack and made both his free throws to put his team back in front with 18 seconds to play before George Blagojevic responded up the other end with two foul shots to have Geelong back up one.
The Spectres still had a chance with nine seconds to play but the best look was a contested mid-range jumper that was short from Trendon Hankerson with Geelong winning a second game of the weekend by a total of three points.
Geelong improves to an 8-9 record to still be a playoff chance with Liam Herbert top-scoring with 14 points, three rebounds and two assists on going 3/8 from three-point range.
DeMarcus Gatlin added 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, Latrell Jones 13 points and two boards, George Blagojevic 12 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Ma'alo Hicks nine points, 10 boards, two assists and two blocked shots.
Nunawading is now outside the top eight at 9-8 with the defeat with Kingsley Box top-scoring with 17 points and five rebounds while Jalen Johnson added 12 points, five boards, two assists and two steals.
Trendon Hankerson also had 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists, Nicolas Tata 11 points and three boards, and Christian D'Angelo 10 points and four rebounds.
The Spectres will play host to the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday with Geelong at home to the Casey Cavaliers on Friday.
NUNAWADING SPECTRES 74 (Box 17, Johnson 12, Hankerson 12)
GEELONG UNITED 75 (Herbert 14, Gatlin 13, Jones 13)
