NBL1 South Recap | Friday Women's Round 16

The Launceston Tornadoes fired back in the second half to all but lock away an NBL1 South Women's playoff position by beating the Hobart Chargers while the Ballarat Miners also scored a Friday night victory.

There were two matches on Friday night to open the last round of the NBL1 South regular season for 2022 and it was a winning occasion for the two visiting teams, the Launceston Tornadoes and Ballarat Miners.

The Hobart Chargers threw everything at getting a win to close their season at home on Friday night with a dominant first half, but the Tornadoes were able to fire back and end up winning 76-67.

The victory improves Launceston to a 14-8 record on the season to be guaranteed of taking part in the playoffs having now played their last game of the regular season.

Kelsey Griffin was phenomenal in the eventual win for the Tornadoes with 32 points, 18 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Keely Froling also produced 25 points and 10 rebounds with Paige Bradley finishing with 24 points and seven assists for Hobart, and Angela Tompkins 20 points and 11 boards.

The Ballarat Miners then put themselves right in a good position to join the Tornadoes in the playoffs by beating the third placed Mount Gambier Pioneers 69-54 at The Ice House.

That improves Ballarat to 13-8 on the season with a game on Sunday in Bendigo to go to determine their finals place or not.

Only six players suited up for the Miners with Zitina Aokuso delivering 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the change on 9/11 shooting.

Only six players hit the court for at least a minute too for the Pioneers with Cassandra Brown ending up with 17 points and seven rebounds.

The final round in the 2022 NBL1 South regular season continues on Saturday afternoon with the Frankston Blues hosting the Diamond Valley Eagles while in the evening the Sandringham Sabres are home to the Eltham Wildcats, and the Nunawading Spectres play the Melbourne Tigers.

The Dandenong Rangers also play the Waverley Falcons with the Keilor Thunder facing the Casey Cavaliers, Kilsyth Cobras taking on the Bendigo Braves, and the Ringwood Hawks battling the Knox Raiders.

The regular season then wraps up on Sunday with the Ballarat Miners facing the Bendigo Braves with the Knox Raiders at home to Keilor Thunder, Eltham Wildcats facing the Dandenong Rangers, Melbourne Tigers taking on the Frankston Blues, and Waverley Falcons playing the Mount Gambier Pioneers.

NBL1 SOUTH – 2022 WOMEN'S SEASON
ROUND 16 – FRIDAY NIGHT

HOBART CHARGERS 67 lost to LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 76

The Launceston Tornadoes had to come from behind but they were able to do it to beat the Hobart Chargers to close the regular season and lock in a playoff berth.

The two Tasmanian teams did battle at Kingborough Sports Centre on Friday night to open Round 16 in the NBL1 South and to bring to an end their regular season with the Tornadoes needing a win to guarantee a finals appearance starting next weekend.

However, the Chargers were determined to finish their season on a high on their home court as well and Hobart would end up leading by six at quarter-time, and then with another 21 points to 10 in the second term they went into half-time leading 41-24.

With their season on the line, Launceston had to respond and they did with a 10-0 run during the third quarter on the way to outscoring the Chargers 27 points to 14.

They still couldn’t quite overtake Hobart, though, but they did in the fourth term when they turned that into a 13-0 run and by the final buzzer had overrun the exhausted Chargers to win 76-67.

The win means that the Tornadoes finish the regular season with a 14-8 record to lock away a playoff spot on the back of 32 points, 18 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots from Kelsey Griffin on the back of shooting 14/27 from the field.

Keely Froling was also outstanding with 25 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two assists for Launceston with Maria Payne scoring 10 points and Charli Kay finishing with six points, four rebounds and three assists with only two players hitting the floor from the bench for a total of seven minutes.

The Chargers also only had two players who hit the floor from the bench with all their starters playing well in excess of 30 minutes as they finished their season with a 4-18 record.

Paige Bradley finished with 24 points and seven assists for Hobart with Angela Tompkins contributing 20 points and 11 boards, Sharna Thompson 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Kyle McCauley 10 points, seven boards and three assists.

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 54 lost to BALLARAT MINERS 69

The Ballarat Miners kept their playoff dreams alive in the NBL1 South with a road win over the third placed Mount Gambier Pioneers on Friday night.

It was the opening night of the last round of the regular season with the Miners needing two wins this weekend to be a chance of playing finals, but knocking off the Pioneers at The Ice House was always going to be a big task.

It was a tight opening to the contest with Ballarat leading by just a point at quarter-time before the visitors went on an 8-0 run in the second term to lead by as much as nine points, and still 33-26 by the half-time break.

The Miners then pushed that lead out further in the third term by scoring 12 consecutive points to lead by as much as 19, and in the end they closed the deal to score the crucial 69-54 victory.

The win improves Ballarat to a 13-8 record on the season with a game to come on Sunday against the Bendigo Braves which they have to win to be any chance of reaching the playoffs still.

Zitina Aokuso produced an impressive performance for Ballarat in the win with 20 points and 13 rebounds on 9/11 shooting from the field. 

Jade Melbourne added 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists, Isabella Brancatisano 16 points and five rebounds, and Stephanie Gorman eight points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Mount Gambier still sits in third position despite the loss with a 15-6 record before finishing the regular season against the Waverley Falcons on Sunday.

Cassandra Brown finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for the Pioneers with Sherrie Calleia adding 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Haileigh Reinoehl 10 points and 10 boards with coach Matthew Sutton running with a six woman rotation.