Featured images: Ian Knight Photography
Alice Kunek starred in the NBL1 South on Sunday as the Casey Cavaliers upset the Mount Gambier Pioneers with Steph Reid and Lou Brown starring for Frankston Blues and Isaac Atuer hit the winner for North West Tasmania Thunder over Kilsyth Cobras.
In the Sunday women's NBL1 South action, the Casey Cavaliers beat the Mount Gambier Pioneers 96-87 while the Keilor Thunder defeated the Nunawading Spectres 79-67, the Frankston Blues beat Geelong United 72-60, and the Knox Raiders won 90-69 over the Hobart Chargers.
The Launceston Tornadoes also defeated the Kilsyth Cobras 86-71 and the Dandenong Rangers beat the Bendigo Braves 90-78.
The men's results then saw the Rangers beat the Braves 79-72, North West Tasmania defeat the Cobras 81-80, the Raiders down the Chargers 91-80, the Blues beat Geelong United 115-83, the Spectres win 98-77 against Keilor, and the Pioneers defeat the Cavaliers 82-70.
RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 7 SATURDAY
WOMEN
Casey Cavaliers (96) defeated Mount Gambier Pioneers (87)
Alice Kunek put up 36 points to lead the Casey Cavaliers to the impressive 96-87 home victory over the Mount Gambier Pioneers.
The Cavaliers were back home at Casey Stadium looking to snap a three-game losing run but it was never going to be easy up against a Pioneers team arriving with a 9-1 record.
Mount Gambier had beaten the Knox Raiders the previous evening as well by 18 points but it was a Cavs team on a mission on Sunday afternoon.
The home team opened up a 12-point lead in the first quarter before leading 30-23 by the end of one.
It was a double-figure advantage most of the rest of the way too with Mount Gambier unable to lead the entire contest.
Casey would end up leading by 13 points in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth on the way to the eventual nine-point victory to improve to a 3-8 record on the season.
Alice Kunek was the star of the victory for the Cavaliers with 36 points, six rebounds and three assists on the back of knocking down 7/11 from three-point territory.
Taylah Simmons added 22 points and four boards for the Cavs, Lauren Van Kleunen 17 points and four rebounds, and Alex Wittinger 10 points and eight boards.
Mount Gambier is now 9-2 with the defeat despite getting 30 points, 11 rebounds and three assists out of Zitina Aokuso.
Sherrie Calleia also put up 26 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Sam Fatkin 11 points, two boards and two assists, Haileigh Reinoehl 11 points and five rebounds, and Isa Brancatisano nine points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Cavaliers will remain at home to play host to the Hobart Chargers this coming Saturday night while Mount Gambier will be hosting the Eltham Wildcats on Friday.
CASEY CAVALIERS 96 (Kunek 36, Simmons 22, Van Kleunen 17)
MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 87 (Aokuso 30, Calleia 26, Reinoehl 11, Fatkin 11)
Nunawading Spectres (67) lost to Keilor Thunder (79)
Keilor Thunder completed a statement weekend to remain clear on top of the NBL1 South with the 79-67 road victory against the Nunawading Spectres.
Keilor made it four straight wins on Saturday night with the win at home to the Hobart Chargers ahead of taking on the Spectres on Sunday at Nunawading Basketball Centre.
Nunawading came into the contest having lost in Geelong the previous night but the Spectres did well sticking with the league-leaders throughout the opening half.
Keilor was only leading 22-18 by the end of the first quarter and then the Spectres outscored the Thunder 23 points to 16 in the second term to go into the half-time break leading 41-38.
That set up an intriguing second half and Keilor was able to work its way on top firstly outscoring the Spectres 14 points to eight in the third period, and then 27 to 18 in the fourth on the way to the 12-point.
The victory improves the Thunder to an 11-1 record on the season with five straight wins with Maddy Rocci the star with 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals on shooting 9/16 from the field and 8/10 at the free-throw line.
Issie Bourne backed up her standout performance the night before with another 20 points and seven rebounds with Penina Davidson contributing 16 points, 10 assists and four boards, and Lilly Rotunno nine points and three rebounds.
Nunawading now sits at 2-9 with the three consecutive defeats with Isabel Feller finishing with 16 points, two assists and two steals.
Louise Forsyth added 15 points and three rebounds, Batabe Zempare eight points, 10 boards and six assists, and Tayha Watkins eight points and two assists.
Nunawading will be hosting the Melbourne Tigers now on Saturday night with Keilor also at home to the Kilsyth Cobras.
NUNAWADING SPECTRES 67 (Feller 16, Forsyth 15, Watkins 8, Zempare 8)
KEILOR THUNDER 79 (Rocci 29, Bourne 20, Davidson 20)
Frankston Blues (72) defeated Geelong United (60)
With WNBL stars Steph Reid and Lou Brown combining for 54 points, the Frankston Blues made it four straight wins with the 72-60 home victory against Geelong United.
Frankston were back home on Sunday afternoon at Dreamstreet Lending Arena on a three-game winning streak ahead of hosting a Geelong team also having won its last two including a win over the Nunawading Spectres the previous night.
The Blues ended up leading 19-11 by the end of the first quarter and then when Frankston completed a run of scoring 20 consecutive points, the home side was leading by 15 in the second period.
Frankston were still up 32-26 at the half-time break but Geelong fired back in the third quarter and even briefly grabbed the lead to set up the final term.
However, it was the Blues who proved too strong with 22 points to 15 in that last quarter which saw them claim the 12-point victory and improve to 5-5 on the season with four straight wins as a result.
Steph Reid produced another spectacular performance in the win for Frankston made up of 32 points, five rebounds and five assists with Lou Brown adding 22 points and 19 boards.
Geelong United are now 4-7 following the defeat with Shaneice Swain producing 21 points and two assists while Lasha Petree contributed 17 points and six rebounds, and Eva Braslis 15 points, seven boards and two steals.
Frankston will remain at home against the Sandringham Sabres on Saturday night with Geelong United to play host to the Launceston Tornadoes.
FRANKSTON BLUES 72 (Reid 32, Brown 22, Jackson 8)
GEELONG UNITED 60 (Swain 21, Petree 17, Braslis 15)
Knox Raiders (90) defeated Hobart Chargers (69)
The Knox Raiders bounced back in style from their defeat the night before with the 90-69 home win on Sunday against the Hobart Chargers.
Knox came into the weekend on a six-game winning streak before a slip up to the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday night meaning they were motivated to hit back against the visiting chargers at Knox Basketball Stadium on Sunday.
Hobart came into the contest having lost three straight including the previous night to Keilor Thunder.
The Raiders were already leading by 11 points by the end of the first quarter and then pushed that advantage out to as much as 22 in the second frame, and were still up 52-37 at the half-time interval.
Knox maintained that control of the contest throughout the second half before ending up winning by 21 points to improve to a 9-2 record on the season.
Rachel Bell was tremendous for the Raiders with 23 points, seven rebounds and four steals on the back of shooting 10/17 from the floor and 3/6 from three-point land.
Alicia Froling delivered another 20 points, 13 rebounds and five assists with Paige Burrows contributing 15 points, Paige Bradley 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and Kiera Rowe nine points and three boards.
Hobart now sits at 3-8 following four consecutive defeats with Cierra Walker finishing with 24 points and three steals on 6/14 three-point shooting.
Kayla Steindl delivered 21 points, 10 rebounds and three assists with Jayda Jansen contributing 16 points and six assists.
The Raiders will be away to the Ballarat Miners on Saturday night with Hobart also on the road to the Casey Cavaliers.
KNOX RAIDERS 90 (Bell 23, Froling 20, Burrows 15)
HOBART CHARGERS 69 (Walker 24, Steindl 21, Jansen 16)
Kilsyth Cobras (71) lost to Launceston Tornadoes (86)
Lore Devos has made quite the immediate impact on the Launceston Tornadoes as she led them to another 86-71 win on the road to the Kilsyth Cobras on Sunday.
Devos was also instrumental the night before with the Tornadoes starting their weekend on the road beating the Ringwood Hawks as they arrived at Kilsyth Sports Centre on Sunday to take on the Cobras.
Kilsyth was hunting a third win of the season and were on top for most of the afternoon starting with holding a 21-15 advantage by quarter-time.
That lead got out to 11 points for the Cobras in the second quarter before Launceston fired back to be holding a two-point lead themselves at half-time.
However, Kilsyth took back over in the third quarter to lead again by 10 points before still being up by that margin with eight minutes to play.
From that moment, though, Launceston turned on some scintillating basketball to outscore the Cobras 31 points to six in a remarkable finish to turn that 10-point deficit into the eventual 15-point victory.
The result improves the Tornadoes to the 4-7 record on the season with Lore Devos outstanding with 31 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Josie Pinkerton added 15 points and nine rebounds, Macey Crawford 13 points, six boards and four assists, Trinity Oliver 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Sarah O'Neill 11 points and three boards.
Kilsyth did plenty right throughout the afternoon but now sits at 2-10 with the defeat and Tegan Cunningham finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Georgia Booth also added 12 points and two rebounds, Paige Price 11 points and eight boards, Nikita Young 10 points and three assists, and Tyra Whitehead eight points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Kilsyth is on the road on Saturday night to Keilor Thunder while Launceston is back away to Geelong United also on Saturday.
KILSYTH COBRAS 71 (Cunningham 13, Booth 12, Price 11)
LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 86 (Devos 31, Pinkerton 15, Crawford 13)
Dandenong Rangers (90) defeated Bendigo Braves (78)
The Dandenong Rangers were able to take full advantage of the Bendigo Braves being shorthanded once more on Sunday to end up prevailing 90-78 against the defending champions.
The Braves did score the Saturday night win over the Casey Cavaliers having welcomed back Amy Atwell and Ally Wilson despite still being without Megan McKay.
McKay was still missing on Sunday and so was Ally Wilson going out again as they took on the Rangers at Dandenong Basketball Stadium.
Dandenong were looking to back up their win the previous night against the Diamond Valley Eagles but it was Bendigo leading 26-21 by quarter-time.
The Braves pushed out to an eight-point lead in the second term too and by half-time scores were all level at 47-47.
It was just a two-point advantage for Dandenong by three quarter-time, but the Rangers ended up overrunning the Braves in the final period with 25 points to 15 to score the 12-point victory.
The win improves Dandenong to a 10-3 record on the season with Manuela Puoch continuing to shine alongside her sister with 22 points, 17 rebound and five assists on 9/16 shooting.
Nyadiew Puoch also had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists with Imogen Rock contributing 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Amber Smith 15 points and six boards, and Teyla Evans 10 points and four rebounds.
The Braves are now 8-4 having lost three of their past four with Kelly Wilson finishing with 21 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Cassidy McLean also had 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals with Amy Atwell contributing 17 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals, and Kasey Burton 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
The Rangers will now host the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday night while the Braves are at home to the Diamond Valley Eagles.
DANDENONG RANGERS 90 (M Puoch 22, N Puoch 20, Smith 15)
BENDIGO BRAVES 78 (K Wilson 21, McLean 17, Atwell 16)
MEN
Casey Cavaliers (70) lost to Mount Gambier Pioneers (82)
The Mount Gambier Pioneers made it a pair of road wins this weekend with the 82-70 victory against the Casey Cavaliers.
The Pioneers beat the Knox Raiders the previous evening while the Cavaliers went down to the Bendigo Braves before returning home on Sunday at Casey Stadium to play host to Mount Gambier.
The two teams came into the match up with totally opposite records with the Pioneers 8-2 and Cavs 2-8, and by quarter-time Mount Gambier had already opened up a 26-14 lead.
The Pioneers continued to pull away throughout the afternoon to lead by as much as 19 points in the second quarter with that advantage growing to 22 in the third, and then to end up winning by 12 with Casey at least finishing the game strongly.
Mount Gambier improves to a 9-2 record with the win to remain on top of the NBL1 South on a five-game winning streak with Akech Aliir delivering 20 points and 11 rebounds on 7/10 shooting.
Nick Marshall also had another 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists with Christian Peevy contributing 17 points, six boards, two assists and two steals, and Dylan Marshall nine points, two rebounds and two steals.
Casey remains in bottom place at 2-9 having now lost six straight despite getting 22 points and eight rebounds on 4/5 three-point shooting from Dillon Stith.
Adam Thoseby also had 17 points and three assists, Preston Bungei 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals, and Anthony Karabatsos eight points, three boards and three assists.
The Cavaliers will remain at home to play host to the Hobart Chargers this coming Saturday night while Mount Gambier will be hosting the Eltham Wildcats on Friday.
CASEY CAVALIERS 70 (Stith 22, Thoseby 17, Bungei 15)
MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 82 (Aliir 20, N Marshall 18, Peevy 17)
Nunawading Spectres (98) defeated Keilor Thunder (77)
Jalen Johnson inspired the Nunawading Spectres to the bounce back 98-77 victory at home to the Keilor Thunder.
The Spectres were back home at Nunawading Basketball Centre attempting to snap a three-game losing run while Keilor arrived hot off the win the previous night against the Hobart Chargers with Deng Acouth and Junior Madut into the line-up.
Nunawading were leading by five points at quarter-time before the Spectres blew the game open in the second term with 27 points to 18 to lead by as much as 19, and still be on top 50-36 by the half-time break.
The advantage for the Spectres continued to grow in the second half as well with it getting out to as much as 24 in the final quarter before they went on to score the 21-point victory.
The win improves the Spectres to a 6-5 record on the season with Jalen Johnson the standout on the afternoon with 27 points and nine rebounds while shooting 9/17 from the floor, 4/5 from beyond the arc and 5/6 at the foul line.
Kingsley Box added 15 points and five rebounds, Trendon Hankerson 15 points and seven assists, Jack Gandolfo 12 points, Jordan Geer nine points and four assists, and Ellis Biggar seven points and 10 rebounds on 3/3 shooting.
Keilor is now 7-5 following the defeat with Kuany Kuany ending up top-scoring with 18 points and five rebounds.
Deng Acouth also produced 16 points and 11 rebounds, Kyle Zunic 14 points, four boards and three assists, Jalen Gibbs 10 points and three rebounds, and Junior Madut eight points, six rebounds and five assists.
Nunawading will be hosting the Melbourne Tigers now on Saturday night with Keilor also at home to the Kilsyth Cobras.
NUNAWADING SPECTRES 98 (Johnson 27, Box 15, Hankerson 15)
KEILOR THUNDER 77 (Kuany 18, Acouth 16, Zunic 14)
Frankston Blues (115) defeated Geelong United (83)
The troops were back and the Frankston Blues put together an emphatic Sunday performance at home to beat Geelong United 115-83.
With a large chunk of the regular Frankston team away in India last week, the going was tough in a loss to the Bendigo Braves, but the group was back together against Geelong on Sunday at Dreamstreet Lending Arena.
Frankston were already leading 26-20 by quarter-time before pulling away further in the second term to lead by as much as 18 points, and be on top 54-40 at the half-time break.
The Blues went on with the job from there with the lead growing to 28 points in the third quarter and 33 in the fourth before the home team secured the eventual 32-point triumph.
The victory improves Frankston to a 6-4 record on the season with Lachlan Barker leading the charge with 23 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals on 6/8 shooting from three-point territory.
Daniel Trist added 21 points and nine rebounds, Lucas Barker 17 points, eight assists, four boards and two steals, Klay Brown 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals, Igor Hadziomerovic 13 points, three boards and two assists, and Stokley Chaffee 13 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
Geelong United are now 4-7 following the loss with George Blagojevic putting up 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
DeMarcus Gatlin also had 12 points, six assists and four rebounds, Ma'alo Hicks 12 points and five boards, and Latrell Jones 10 points and three rebounds.
Frankston will remain at home against the Sandringham Sabres on Saturday night with Geelong United to play host to North West Tasmania Thunder.
FRANKSTON BLUES 115 (Lachlan Barker 23, Trist 21, Lucas Barker 17)
GEELONG UNITED 83 (Blagojevic 24, Hicks 12, Gatlin 12)
Knox Raiders (91) defeated Hobart Chargers (80)
The Knox Raiders got back to the winner's list with the defending champions scoring the 91-80 home victory against the Hobart Chargers.
Both teams were coming off Saturday night defeats with Knox falling by 21 points to the Mount Gambier Pioneers while the Chargers started their road double with the eight-point defeat at the hands of Keilor Thunder.
The last two champions of the NBL1 South did battle at Knox Basketball Stadium with Hobart getting the better of the start to be leading 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Hobart's lead got out to nine points in the second period and still by half-time they were on top 40-37.
Knox were able to turn the tide emphatically in the third quarter with 31 points to 17 and from there the Raiders would open up a 21-point lead and then hold out the Chargers in the finish to score the 11-point win.
The victory improves the Raiders to the 6-5 record on the season in their championship defence with Brody Nunn knocking down 5/9 from three-point range on the way to 22 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Austin Rapp also produced 19 points and four rebounds for Knox, Kyle Bowen 15 points, 12 boards and nine assists, KJ Feagin 13 points and seven assists, and Anzac Rissetto 12 points and six rebounds.
The Chargers are now 6-5 having lost twice this weekend with Terrell Brown top-scoring with 24 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Jacob Richards added 16 points and six rebounds, Clint Steindl 11 points and four boards, and Vionte Daniels eight points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Raiders will be away to the Ballarat Miners on Saturday night with Hobart also on the road to the Casey Cavaliers.
KNOX RAIDERS 91 (Nunn 22, Rapp 19, Bowen 15)
HOBART CHARGERS 80 (Brown 24, Richards 16, Steindl 11)
Kilsyth Cobras (80) lost to North West Tasmania Thunder (81)
Isaac Atuer hit his only three-pointer of the afternoon and it was the game winner with a second to go as the North West Tasmania Thunder beat the Kilsyth Cobras 81-80.
The Cobras were back home at Kilsyth Sports Centre attempting to avoid a third straight defeat hosting a North West Tasmania team fresh off a road win the night before against the Ringwood Hawks.
Kilsyth managed to lead by four points to quarter-time and then extended that advantage out to 13 in the second period but a run of 10 straight points from the Thunder cut the Cobras lead back to three at half-time.
No more than six points ever separated the two teams the entire second half as it became shot for shot down the stretch, and with 5.4 seconds to go it was a crafty floater down the lane from Adrian Tomada that put the Cobras on top by two.
Coming out of a timeout, Isaac Atuer made the inbounds pass to Sekou Sylla, he got the ball back and jacked up the three-pointer that he made in style to give North West the one-point lead with 1.3 seconds remaining.
Atuer had just four points prior to that shot on 2/4 shooting but there was still a chance for the Cobras coming out of a timeout.
The ball was always going to Kyle Adnam but he had to chuck up a prayer with his left hand that he did almost bank in. However, it rimmed out and the Thunder won by a point to make it a double win weekend.
North West Tasmania improves to 5-6 on the season as a result with Sekou Sylla outstanding with 30 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals on 11/21 shooting from the floor and 7/9 from the free-throw line.
Archer Woodhill added 21 points and seven rebounds, Seth Swalve 12 points, two boards and two assists, and Tre Armstrong 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Kilsyth is now 3-9 following the defeat with Kyle Adnam putting up 15 points and six assists with Adrian Tomada adding 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, Mitch Dielemans 13 points and two assists, and Deng Riak 12 points and nine rebounds.
Kilsyth is on the road on Saturday night to Keilor Thunder while North West is back away to Geelong United also on Saturday.
KILSYTH COBRAS 80 (Adnam 15, Tomada 15, Dielemans 13)
NORTH WEST TASMANIA THUNDER 81 (Sylla 30, Woodhill 21, Swalve 12)
Dandenong Rangers (79) defeated Bendigo Braves (72)
The Dandenong Rangers made it a double win weekend with the 79-72 home victory on Sunday against the Bendigo Braves.
Both teams came into the Sunday match up at Dandenong Basketball Stadium having played the previous night with the Rangers beating the Diamond Valley Eagles while the Braves scored the victory against the Casey Cavaliers.
It was Dandenong who got the better of the start to be leading 22-14 by the end of the first quarter and once the Rangers worked their way on top of the contest, they never looked back.
The lead for Dandenong would get out to 11 again during the second term and they would still be leading 41-37 at the half-time break.
Dandenong pulled away once more in the third quarter to go out to a 14-point advantage and then that lead got out to 15 in the final stanza with the Rangers on the way to the eventual seven-point victory.
The win improves the Rangers to an 8-5 record on the season with the two wins this weekend with Jack Roberts outstanding knocking down 4/7 from behind the three-point line for 24 points and three rebounds.
Jacob Tryon also had 15 points and seven rebounds, Tad Dufelmeier 10 points, five boards, four assists and four steals, Brandon Betson 14 points and six assists, and Mason Peatling nine points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
The Braves are now 5-7 on the season having split their two games this weekend with Mitch Clarke fitting back in nicely on the back of his first season playing in England for Reading. He finished with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Rowan Mackenzie also had 14 points, three rebounds and three steals for Bendigo with Billy Smythe contributing 10 points and six boards, and Lachlan O'Brien eight points.
The Rangers will now host the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday night while the Braves are at home to the Diamond Valley Eagles.
DANDENONG RANGERS 79 (Roberts 24, Tryon 15, Betson 14)
BENDIGO BRAVES 72 (Clarke 17, Mackenzie 14, Smythe 10)
