NBL1 South Recap | Friday Finals Week 1

The NBL1 South women's finals got underway on Friday night and it was the Geelong United Supercats winning their way straight into a preliminary final beating the Mount Gambier Pioneers 86-76.

It was a standout performance from the Supercats on the road at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre to secure the 10-point win to earn the weekend off with the Pioneers now needing to win a semi-final next weekend to stay alive.

WOMEN

Supercats fire themselves into preliminary final

Only one game separated the two teams at the end of the regular season and both came into the finals in winning form, but it was the Geelong United Supercats who proved too strong for the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Friday night.

The Pioneers did earn home court advantage for the quarter-final thanks to ending the regular season with a 17-5 record to finish second just ahead of the third placed Supercats who were 16-6.

Mount Gambier also won its last five matches to close the regular season and Geelong the last three so it set the stage for Friday's clash with a preliminary final spot on the line.

It didn’t take long for Geelong United to catch fire and despite being away from home, they piled on 31 points in the opening quarter to lead by as much as 12 points.

Chantel Horvat led from the front to guide Geelong straight through to a preliminary final ?

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That lead grew to 19 points in the second stanza for the Supercats and by half-time they remained in control with the 48-33 advantage.

There would be no real signs of a fightback either throughout the second half from Mount Gambier with Geelong opening up a game-high 22-point lead in the third quarter before going on to secure the 10-point victory on the road.

The win means that the Supercats will host a preliminary final at The Arena in Geelong in two weeks' time while the Pioneers will be back home to host a semi-final next weekend against the winner of Saturday's elimination final between Sandringham and Ringwood.

Opals star Chantel Horvat finished the night with 18 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks for Geelong United on the back of shooting 7/14 from the field and 3/3 at the foul line.

Sarah Elworthy also delivered 18 points, four assists and three rebounds for the Supercats, Ella Tofaeono 16 points and nine boards, Eve Braslis 13 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Monica Okoye 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and two blocked shots.

Miela Goodchild had a rough first half but worked into the game in the second half for Mount Gambier to finish with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals despite shooting 7/26 from the field and 1/13 from beyond the arc.

Haliegh Reinoehl also had 15 points, four boards and two assists, Zitina Aokuso 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, Isabella Brancatisano 14 points, seven boards and six assists, and Sherrie Calleia 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.

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— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 21, 2023