NBL1 South Round 12 Friday Women’s Recap

Catch up on all the action on an evening dominated by the home sides in the NBL1 South Women's competition.

Geelong Supercats 80 def Mt Gambier Pioneers 75
The Geelong Supercats have withstood an impressive comeback attempt from the Mt Gambier Pioneers to secure an important home victory.
The Supercats were hot in the first quarter, connecting on five of its 10 three-point attempts to open up a 14-point advantage going into the break.
After Geelong extended its lead to as many as 19 points within the first few minutes of the second term, Mt Gambier kicked into gear.
Led by Jasmin Howe (27 points), the Pioneers chipped away at the lead across the remainder of the game, reducing the deficit to just three points thanks to a Howe three-point-play with under 20 seconds remaining.
Following a pair of made free-throws from Steph Blicavs (23 points), the visitors were searching for a miracle, however, Antoniette Emma-Nnopu erased all hope for the visitors, blocking Mt Gambier’s final attempt of the game and securing the win for Geelong.
Blicavs was matched in the scoring department by sister-in-law Sara, who added 19 rebounds to her 23-point outing.
The loss is the fourth in a row for the Pioneers and will keep the side in the bottom four of the competition.

Albury-Wodonga Bandits 71 def Diamond Valley Eagles 54
The string of good form continued for Albury-Wodonga, as the Bandits’ notched its third win in four games, this time against the visiting Diamond Valley Eagles.
Coming off its first win of the year, the Eagles started the game positively, going on a 7-0 run to open the slow-scoring first quarter.
However, Albury-Wodonga seemed to wake up after falling behind, outscoring the visitors 10-1 for the remainder of the term on its way to holding the lead for the remainder of the game.
Emma Mahady (18 points) led the Bandits in the way of scoring, while Amelia Hassett flexed her muscles on the interior, dominating the glass to the tune of 17 rebounds.
An inability to connect on its outside shots was the major pitfall for Diamond Valley, as the Eagles managed to hit just four of its 28 three-point attempts.
The Bandits pulled away by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, before cruising to victory in the final term.
Albury-Wodonga will look to continue its winning ways tomorrow evening when it hosts Hobart.

Nunawading Spectres 88 def Hobart Chargers 70
The Nunawading Spectres have leant on strong opening and closing quarters against the Hobart Chargers in a comfortable home victory.
The Spectres came out firing in front of its fans at The Graveyard, blitzing Hobart in the opening five minutes to pull ahead by 12 points.
The Chargers were able to stop the margin from growing across the remainder of the term before putting together a run of its own in the second quarter.
Hobart outscored the home side 10-0 to start the term, reducing the deficit to just two points before Nunawading wrestled back control of the game, returning its lead to 12 points at the main break.
Coming out of the half-time break, the quarter played out similarly to the preceding one, as the Charges pushed within reach of taking the lead, only to have Nunawading hold the visitors off.
Ellie Collins did her best for Hobart, scoring 21 points to lead the side as Madeleine Garrick struggled to find consistency shooting the ball (14 points, 6-21 field goals).
On the other side, the trio of Penina Davidson (23 points, nine rebounds, five assists), Izzy Wright (20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) and Louise Brown (17 points, six rebounds) steered the home side towards a dominant final quarter.
Leading an interior attack with the help of Rachel Brewster (15 points, 15 rebounds), Nunawading’s stars were able to help the Spectres pull away from Hobart, outscoring the Chargers 24-16 across the final 10 minutes and lock down the win.
The victory in the Spectres’ fourth in a row.

Eltham Wildcats 73 def Dandenong Rangers 71
The Eltham Wildcats have completed an impressive fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Dandenong Rangers at home on Friday evening.
The visitors started the game aggressively, attacking Eltham inside and out to take a 17-7 lead before the Wildcats hit back, taking a slim three-point lead into the first break.
Despite picking up some momentum to close the first term, Eltham struggled to keep up with the Rangers across the following two quarters as Dandenong outscored the home side 43-30 and led by as many as 15 points late in the third quarter.
Emilee Harmon (20 points, eight rebounds, four assists) played an attacking game for Dandenong, while Alison Dowie (14 points, seven rebounds, two steals) helped keep Eltham at bay after connecting on all four of her three-point attempts.
Despite holding the lead for the majority of the contest, the Rangers failed to find an answer to Anneli Maley (30 rebounds, 14 points), who dominated the contest on the glass and helped the Wildcats put together its fourth-quarter push.
Led by the one-two punch of Maley and Lily Scanlon (20 points), Eltham stifled the Rangers, holding the visitors to just six fourth-quarter points and taking the lead in the final minutes of action.
Able to hold on for the victory, Eltham registered its ninth win of the season, pushing the Wildcats into a top-four position. 

Picture: Rachel Louise Photography