NBL1 South recap: Round 1- Friday 22 April

NBL1 South continued on Friday night, with the Casey Cavaliers, Knox Raiders, Frankston Blues, Melbourne Tigers, Dandenong Rangers, and Ringwood Hawks joining the party. Headlining the action were the Cavaliers, who made their NBL1 South debut in scintillating fashion over the Tigers. Dandenong’s Sam Woosnam also made history, becoming the first woman to coach an NBL1 South men’s team. Check out how each game went below:

WOMEN

Casey Cavaliers (94) def Melbourne Tigers (44)

The Casey Cavaliers got their NBL1 South campaign off to a perfect start, dismantling the young Melbourne Tigers by 50 points in front of their home fans. It all began with a prolific first quarter, scoring 26 points to nine. The Tigers then fought back to score double figures in the second term but Casey piled on another 28. The Cavaliers powered on in the third period, again keeping the Tigers to single figures. However, it was the fourth period that will leave Warrick Giddey’s side holding their heads high, coming within two points of winning the quarter.

A whopping six players scored in double figures for Casey, with Monique Conti and Rachel Bell leading the way with 20 points each. Nunawading product Louise Brown was huge on the boards, pulling down 16 rebounds. A familiar name in Hannah Giddey was the shining light for Melbourne with eight points and 10 boards.

CASEY 94 (Bell 20, Conti 20, Gilliam 16)

MELBOURNE 44 (Hurley 9, Giddey 8, Prince 7)

Knox Raiders (39) def by Ringwood Hawks (55)

The Ringwood Hawks were able to go two from two in two nights, defeating the Knox Raiders by 16 points to follow up their Thursday night victory over Kilsyth. The Hawks dominated from the get-go, outscoring the Raiders by 11 points in the first period. The Raiders then fought back to win the second period by a point before the Hawks again stamped their authority in the second half.

Marena Whittle and Digna Strautmane are already proving to be one of NBL1 South’s finest dynamic duos, after both getting their second straight double-doubles. New recruit Alicia Froling also put up double figures in points and rebounds, with 11 and 19 for the night.

KNOX 39 (Froling 11, Santomaggio 9, Dawson 9)

RINGWOOD 55 (Strautmane 11, Whittle 10, Trotto 10)

Frankston Blues (72) def Dandenong Rangers (60)

In a side missing Darcee Garbin, Frankston showed no Blues, getting the job done over Dandenong in special ANZAC-themed jerseys. After a slow start, the home side was able to open up a seven-point buffer at the main break. The Rangers responded to the pressure in the second half, outscoring the Blues by one point in the third period. However, Frankston took over in the fourth with 21 points to 15 to claim a 12-point win.

Tessa Lavey returned with a bang for the home side with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists but it was Chelsea D’Angelo who shone brightest. After struggling with injury and plying her trade with the Southside Flyers, the youngster put up 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Fellow WNBL player Lauryn Hippolite and Rangers sharpshooter Tenya Sooalo led the way for the visitors with 12 points each. 

FRANKSTON 72 (D’Angelo 24, Lavey 19, Hill 9)

DANDENONG 60 (Hippolite 12, Sooalo 12, Vincent-Lord 11)

MEN

Casey Cavaliers (84) def Melbourne Tigers (79)

The Casey Cavaliers made it two from two over the Tigers, but the away side put up a fight. The home side faced a one-point deficit at the end of the first period before both sides scored 23 points apiece in the second and third periods. It took until the final period for Casey to take the game away, outsourcing Andrew Gaze’s team by six to win by five. 

The Cavaliers contingent worked hard throughout the night, with five players scoring in double figures. It was Jordan Bell who top-scored for the home side with 17 points to go with 15 rebounds. Mitchell Riggs was impressive off the bench with 16 points. Felix von Hofe put his Melbourne Tigers on his back with a whopping 28 points to go with nine rebounds on 48 percent field-goal shooting. 

CASEY 84 (Bell 17, Riggs 16, McKay 14)

MELBOURNE 79 (von Hofe 28, Chehhal 9, Gaze 8, Elyazar 8)

Knox Raiders (60) def by Ringwood Hawks (66)

The Ringwood Hawks men followed the lead of their women’s team and went two from two to start their NBL1 South season. It was a close game throughout with no team outscoring the other by five points at the end of each period. Knox’s downfall came in the second term, when they could only score eight points to Ringwood’s 13.

Shaun Clarke flew highest for the Hawks with 18 points while Kyle Daggett had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. For Knox, Alex Robinson led the way with 22 points, four boards and three assists while former Bendigo guard Jacob Foy pitched in with 13 points.

KNOX 60 (Robinson 22, Foy 13, Hare 8)

RINGWOOD 66 (Clarke 18, Daggett 11, Barry 9)

Frankston Blues (81) def Dandenong Rangers (74)

Coming into this game as one of the championship favourites, the Frankston Blues proved why they hold that title. However, the Dandenong Rangers can be proud of keeping within striking distance of the home side, especially under a new coach in Sam Woosnam. It was the first period that proved to be Dandenong’s downfall. After being outscored by six in that term, they managed to outscore the Blues 21-20 in the second period before just being outscored by two in the third. In the final period, each side scored 19 apiece, showing how crucial the start was for the win.

After a big off-season winning Prahran Summer Jam and working on his 3x3 game, Dillon Stith took his game to another level with 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. Will Peirce was also impressive with 17 points at 57 percent from the field. Dyson King-Hawea led the way for the Rangers, also scoring 17 points.

FRANKSTON 81 (Stith 24, Peirce 17, Cleary 16)

DANDENONG 74 (King-Hawea 17, Soukup 15, Perry 11)