NBL1 South Round 12 Thursday Women’s Recap

Catch up on what transpired in an action filled Thursday night game in the NBL1 South.

Sandringham Sabres 90 def Waverley Falcons 86
The Sandringham Sabres have won a thrilling Thursday night contest on the back of some late game heroics against the Waverley Falcons at home.
After a close first term, Waverley pulled ahead, never trailing for the remaining three quarters.
Falcons guard Kelly Bowen put together her best game of the season, tallying 25 points and 17 rebounds to help the visitors lead by as many as 14 points mid-way through the fourth quarter.
Needing a major turnaround to end its three game losing streak, Sandringham, led by Amy O’Neill and her triple-double (26 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds), kicked into gear late, going on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to just three points, before slowly getting itself into a position to tie the contest.
Trailing by four points with less than 20 seconds remaining, Sabres forward Cassandra Hill (13 points) came up with a huge steal, which resulted in a Katie Jewell triple to cut the lead to just one with 10 seconds remaining.
However, the home side would have to manufacture some more magic to send the game into an extra period after Waverley’s Meg Crupi nailed her two attempts at the line to push the lead back out to three.
With barely any time left on the clock, the responsibility would ultimately fall on Morgan Riley (16 points) to take the three-pointer, having already nailed a pair of triples in the final period.
With O'Neill inbounding the ball, Riley flashed towards the corner, where she found the space to let loose a good shot that splashed through the net and sent the game into OT.
Riding a wave of momentum following the fourth quarter fireworks, the Sabres led throughout the extra period, outlasting Waverley by four points.
The loss is the Falcons’ sixth in a row, as well as its second consecutive overtime loss.