NBL1 South Recap | Friday Round 9

Chloe Bibby helped the Frankston Blues to a strong win in Hobart while their men moved to top spot in the NBL1 South while Cassandra Brown dominated for the Mount Gambier Pioneers women on the same night their men returned to the winning list.

The three women's matches to open Round 9 in the NBL1 South saw the Launceston Tornadoes defeat the Ringwood Hawks 80-72 while the Frankston Blues beat the Hobart Chargers 94-59 and the Mount Gambier Pioneers defeated the Kilsyth Cobras 78-76.

Then in the men's match ups, the North West Tasmania Thunder beat the Ringwood Hawks 83-78 with the Blues defeating the Chargers 99-75 and the Pioneers downing the Cobras 102-80.

WOMEN

Tornadoes hit back at home over Hawks

The Launceston Tornadoes hit back with an important Friday night win at home to stay in the playoff hunt in the NBL1 South beating the Ringwood Hawks 80-72.

The Tornadoes were in need of a win back home at Mazda BT-50 Thunder Stadium on Friday night to open Round 9 in the NBL1 South, but it was never going to be easy against the defending champion Ringwood.

However, their cause was helped with Marena Whittle not there with the Hawks while she is currently in Austria representing Australia at the 3x3 World Cup.

On the back of the absence of last year's Grand Final MVP, Launceston took charge of the contest opening up a 10-point lead by quarter-time.

The Tornadoes continued to dominate and pushed that lead out to a 24-point advantage in the second quarter before going into half-time leading 49-26.

The lead for Launceston was 25 early in the second half too but then Ringwood shot themselves back into the contest in stunning fashion with 18 straight points.

However, the Tornadoes did well to steady even after Ringwood briefly grabbed the lead during the fourth quarter. The home team scored five straight points and would pull away once more to end up winning by eight.

The victory improves the Tornadoes to a 5-8 record on the season while with the loss, the Hawks are now 7-6.

Olivia West finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists for Launceston on the back of shooting 7/12 from the field and 3/5 from three-point territory. 

Keely Froling added 20 points and seven rebounds, Riley Lupfer 15 points and seven boards, and Micah Simpson 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Ariel Jones delivered 28 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals for Ringwood including knocking down 6/11 from the land of plenty.

Marta Hermida added 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Toni Farnworth eight points, eight boards and two assists.

Marta Hermida is back splashing threes for Ringwood like she ????? ???? ?

Watch #NBL1South via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/K3Bj1cQfZz

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 2, 2023

Bibby helps Frankston to big win in Hobart

Chloe Bibby kept her hot form going and so did her Frankston Blues team on the way to the eventual 94-59 road victory against the Hobart Chargers.

Hobart came into the clash at Hobart Netball and Sports Centre looking for a bounce back win to stay in the finals hunt while Frankston arrived across Bass Strait in terrific form, which they were able to continue.

The Blues were leading 26-20 by quarter-time and then scored another 22 points to 12 in the second term to head into the half-time interval leading 48-32.

It was more of the same throughout the second half with Frankston outscoring Hobart 46 points to 27 to end up claiming the 35-point win away from home.

WNBL star Chloe Bibby kept her terrific form going for the Blues with another 28 points and seven rebounds while knocking down 5/11 from three-point range.

Louise Brown contributed 16 points and 19 boards, Tori Jackson 13 points, four rebounds and two steals, and Chelsea D'Angelo 12 points, four boards, three assists and three steals.

Sarah O'Neill put up 16 points and three rebounds for Hobart with Paige Bradley ending up with 15 points and four assists, Lauren Mills 12 points and eight rebounds, and Cori Coleman 12 points, two assists and two steals.

Brown fires as Mount Gambier makes it four straight

The Kilsyth Cobras gave them a late scare but the Mount Gambier Pioneers scored a fourth straight victory on the back of a huge night from Cassandra Brown to win 78-76.

Mount Gambier came into the clash at home looking to keep its winning run going while Kilsyth arrived at the new Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre trying to snap a losing run to keep in touch of a playoff position.

The Pioneers opened up an early double-figure advantage and were still leading 22-17 by quarter-time before being on top again by nine during the second term before Kilsyth was able to work back into the contest and even briefly take the lead.

The Cobras kept that momentum going into the second half by completing a 12-0 run to lead by as much as eight, but Mount Gambier responded with eight straight points of their own to tie scores up by three quarter-time.

The Pioneers then blew the game wide open to lead by as much as 10 in the fourth period and then held off the fast finishing Kilsyth to claim the two-point win.

The victory improves Mount Gambier to a 9-3 record with four straight wins while Kilsyth has now lost three in-a-row at 3-10.

Cassandra Brown put together a huge performance for Mount Gambier made up of 26 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Miela Goodchild produced another 23 points and six rebounds, Sherrie Calleia 12 points, five boards and three assists, and Isabella Brancatisano five points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

Alisia Jenkins put together a strong showing for Kilsyth made up of 22 points, 17 rebounds, three steals and two assists, and Georgia Booth 18 points and five boards.

Alisia Jenkins took it all the way! ?‍?

Watch the #NBL1South Game of the Week Live & Free on @kayosports Freebies ? pic.twitter.com/U3osHb0GlD

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 2, 2023

MEN

Daniels helps shoot Thunder to win over Hawks

The North West Tasmania Thunder produced a huge fourth quarter to overrun the Ringwood Hawks to win 83-78 and make it consecutive NBL1 South victories.

It was a tight contest all evening at Mazda BT-50 Thunder Stadium with neither team able to lead by double-figures throughout the evening.

By quarter-time, it was Ringwood leading by just a point before both teams turned it on in the second term with the Hawks scoring 28 points to 26 to turn into half-time leading the Thunder 42-39.

However, Ringwood worked on top in the third quarter and led by as much as seven before being up 66-59 at three quarter-time.

The game took another twist with 24 points to 12 from the Thunder in the fourth quarter to turn that seven-point deficit into a five-point victory on their home floor.

The win improves North West Tasmania to a 6-7 record with consecutive wins while Ringwood is now 4-9 with back-to-back defeats.

The Thunder had plenty of strong contributors with Vionte Daniels leading the charge with 25 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists while knocking down 7/9 from three-point range.

Venky Jois added 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals for North West Tasmania, Sekou Sylla 18 points and 16 boards, and Tre Armstrong 15 points, three rebounds and two steals.

Jonathan Lawton top-scored for Ringwood with 18 points, four assists and four steals with Kyle Daggett contributing 15 points, six boards and three assists, Harrison Sealey 15 points, four rebounds and three steals, and Adrien Sturt 10 points and 10 boards.

Tre Armstrong goes ????????? ?

Watch #NBL1South via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/HMHDhoQFXn

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 2, 2023

Frankston go top with big win in Hobart

The Frankston Blues moved to the top of the NBL1 South with the 99-75 victory in Hobart on Friday night on the back of six players delivering starring performances.

Frankston had the chance to nab top spot at least for 24 hours by playing on Friday night and the Eltham Wildcats not as the Blues took on the defending champion Chargers at Hobart Netball and Sports Centre.

The Blues were only leading by three points at quarter-time but then pulled away with 27 points to 16 in the second period to head into half-time leading 54-40.

The Frankston lead didn’t get beyond 15 in the third quarter but the Blues went on with the job with another 22 points to 13 in the fourth term to lead by as much as 25 and to end up winning by 24.

The victory improves Frankston to a 10-3 record to jump over Eltham into top spot while Hobart 6-7 having lost four in-a-row.

Jordan Evans ended up top-scoring for Frankston with 24 points and two steals while hitting 4/9 of his three-point opportunities.

Brad Newley also put up 22 points and six rebounds with Lachlan Barker contributing 16 points, two boards and two assists, Lucas Barker 14 points, six rebounds and six assists, Igor Hadziomerovic 11 points, five boards and four assists, and Daniel Trist 10 points and five rebounds.

Devin Watson finished with 28 points for Hobart while hitting 11/20 from the floor with Jacob Richards contributing 13 points and four boards, and Sam McDaniel eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Pioneers snap losing slide with home win over Cobras

The Mount Gambier Pioneers snapped its five-game losing streak by blowing out the Kilsyth Cobras 102-80 to open Round 9 on Friday night.

Mount Gambier and Kilsyth were going to battle over a spot in the top eight at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre on Friday, and it was in the second quarter that the Pioneers began to open up a handy gap.

Mount Gambier scored 28 points to 18 in the second quarter to lead 52-41 at half-time before extending that lead to 12 at three quarter-time. Then another 27 points to 17 in the fourth period and the Pioneers got back to winning to the tune of 22 points.

Mount Gambier put an end to its five-game losing slide with the victory to improve to a 7-5 record while Kilsyth has suffered back-to-back losses to now be 5-8.

Julian Pesava continues to settle nicely into life at Mount Gambier in the NBL1 South after a 135-game championship winning career in the NBL1 West. He put up 20 points, five rebounds and four assists on Friday on 7/11 shooting and 3/6 from three-point range.

Jacob Lampkin also had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Pioneers, Austin Shelley 16 points and four assists, Dylan Marshall 15 points and five assists, Leonard Harper-Baker 14 points and eight rebounds, and Kane de Wit 11 points, three boards and two steals.

Adrian Tomada top-scored for Kilsyth with 23 points, four rebounds and three assists with Jamie Ahale adding 17 points and six boards, Mitch Dielemans 15 points and three assists, and Nick Feller 12 points on 5/6 shooting from the floor and 2/3 from downtown.