Frankston Blues NBL1 South 2023 Round 11 Recap

Boothe fires Rangers to important win over Blues

An impressive night from Sarah Boothe has helped the Dandenong Rangers keep their NBL1 South playoffs hopes alive by holding out the fast finishing Frankston Blues for a 78-72 victory.

Dandenong had lost its past two games so were slipping from playoff contention as they hosted the fourth placed Frankston on Saturday night who were on their own five-game winning streak.

However, the Blues were without Chloe Bibby who is with the Australian Opals for the FIBA Asia Cup and after falling down five early, it was the Rangers who caught fire.

The home team scored 11 straight points to open up a 14-point lead in the first quarter and to still be up seven at quarter-time.

Dandenong maintained that seven-point advantage by half-time before building on it with 24 points to 18 in the third quarter. The Rangers then pulled away further to lead by 22 early in the fourth.

From there they did have to hold out a fast finishing Blues team but the Rangers did enough to win by six and keep their playoff dream alive at 8-9. Frankston's winning run ended as they slip to 11-5.

Sarah Boothe finished the evening with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists for Dandenong on 10/16 shooting from the floor and 5/5 at the foul line.

Nyadiew Puoch had another 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, Amber Smith 17 points, five boards and two assists, and Briahna Whatman eight points, four rebounds and three assists.

Chelsea D'Angelo delivered 22 points to top-score for Frankston with Louis Browne delivering 13 points, 12 rebounds and five assists despite shooting just 2/13 from the floor. She did go 8/8 from the free-throw line.

Micaela Cocks added 11 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Courtney Wilkins 11 points, three boards and two steals.

Frankston hold off fast finishing Dandenong

The Frankston Blues opened up a 22-point lead in the third quarter and then withstood a fast finish from the Dandenong Rangers to win 95-90 to maintain top position in the NBL1 South.

With both the Knox Raiders and Sandringham Sabres hot on their tail, the Blues did need to keep winning to stay in that top spot as they took on the Rangers at Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.

Scores were level by quarter-time and by half-time it was Dandenong leading by two points, but in the third quarter Frankston got on a roll with a 16-0 run to have a lead of 22 points in their favour.

The Blues were still on top by as much as 21 points in the final stanza but still the Rangers refused to give up the ghost. Dandenong scored 34 points in the last quarter to make things interesting but Frankston still held on for the five-point win to stay in top position.

Daniel Trist produced a tremendous performance for Frankston finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 8/16 shooting from the floor and 13/15 at the free-throw line.

Igor Hadziomerovic produced 20 points and eight rebounds as well, and Lucas Barker 20 points, nine assists, six steals and four boards. 

Jack Roberts finished with 26 points, four rebounds and three assists for Dandenong with Mike Amius adding 18 points and three rebounds, Lawson Eales 11 points, five boards, four steals and three assists, and Jesse Ghee 10 points, five assists, four steals and two rebounds.

Blues fire back to beat Tigers

The Frankston Blues bounced back from a loss the previous night to beat the Melbourne Tigers 88-75 on Sunday with Ella Batish and Chelsea D'Angelo combining to hit nine three-pointers.

The Tigers were attempting to snap a six-game losing streak and started well at home against the Blues with 24 points to 19 in the first quarter and then to lead by as much as 11 during the second.

The Tigers were still leading 47-40 at half-time and even by nine points again in the third and then by five in the fourth, but the Blues eventually wore them down and overrun them.

Frankston dominated the fourth quarter with 27 points to 12 to end up winning by 13 points to improve to a 12-5 record and bounce back from the previous night's loss to the Dandenong Rangers. The Tigers slip further from the playoff hunt at 4-13.

Chelsea D'Angelo finished up top scoring for Frankston with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals while knocking down 4/6 from three-point territory.

Ella Batish also hit 5/10 from behind the three-point line on her way to 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks with Tori Jackson adding 19 points, four assists and three boards, and Louise Brown 14 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Sam Simons once again top-scored for the Tigers with 23 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists while Nikki Metcalfe added 17 points, three boards and two assists, Lily Carmody 13 points and six rebounds, and Tylah Hooper 10 points, seven boards and six assists.