NBL1 South Recap | Friday Pink Round

Miela Goodchild returned for the Mount Gambier Pioneers to put up 37 points to help hand the Waverley Falcons their first loss of the NBL1 South season while it was a pair of wins for the Geelong United Supercats against the Hobart Chargers.

There were two NBL1 South match ups on Friday night to open Pink Round and the women's games saw the Geelong United Supercats beat the Hobart Chargers 81-73 and the Mount Gambier Pioneers defeat the Waverley Falcons 97-81.

Then in the men's match ups, the Supercats also beat the Chargers 79-64 and the Falcons defeated the Pioneers 77-71.

WOMEN

Supercats keep winning form going in Hobart

The Geelong Untied Supercats made it three consecutive wins with the 81-73 road victory against the Hobart Chargers on Friday night.

The Supercats started their double-header on the road this weekend in Tasmania and on the back of winning their past two matches, they started on fire away from home.

Just sit back and watch Kayla Steindl shoot ?

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Geelong United put up 30 points to 12 in the opening term and that set up the eventual victory.

The Supercats' lead grew to as much as 24 points in the third quarter and they would go on from there to win by eight and improve to 5-3 on the season with three straight wins. The Chargers slip to the 3-6 with the defeat.

Eva Braslis ended the evening with 22 points and four rebounds for Geelong United on 8/11 shooting from the floor and 6/7 from the foul line.

Agnieszka Skobel finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and two assists while Chantel Horvat added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Sarah Elsworthy 15 points, seven boards and two steals.

Kayla Steindl continued her strong form for Hobart as she knocks down the door for a WNBL return with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks while hitting 3/6 from downtown.

Sarah O'Neill contributed 15 points and four rebounds, Paige Bradley 14 points, three assists and three steals, and Angeliki Vintsilaiou 14 points and four assists.

WNBL stars combine ?

The dish from Carley Ernst ?? ????? from Bec Cole ?

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Goodchild fires on return as Pioneers hand Falcons first loss

The Mount Gambier Pioneers snapped a three-game losing streak with Miela Goodchild brilliant on return with 37 points to hand the Waverley Falcons their first loss of 2023.

Fresh off her trip to Israel to help the Australian team qualify for the 3x3 World Cup, Goodchild made a welcome return to Mount Gambier on Friday night to help her team end a three-game losing slide.

With Goodchild leading the charge, the Pioneers started on fire with 30 points to 17 in the opening quarter against the Falcons but Waverley hit back in the second quarter with 30 points to 23 to keep things interesting.

The Falcons continued to do well after half-time and grabbed the brief lead, but the Pioneers thrilled their home fans with a massive fourth quarter of 26 points to 11 to secure the 97-81-point victory.

The result improves Mount Gambier to a 6-3 record on the season while Waverley has lost for the first time in 2023 after seven consecutive wins.

Goodchild was outstanding on return for Mount Gambier with 37 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals on 13/26 from the floor, 3/7 from three-point range and 8/10 from the free-throw line.

Haliegh Reinoehl added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pioneers, Isabella Brancatisano 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Sherrie Calleia 11 points and six assists.

Sophia Locandro ended up with 23 points and five rebounds on 10/13 shooting for the previously undefeated Waverley with Bec Cole adding 20 points, six assists and five boards, Renae Mokrzycki 13 points and five rebounds, and Amelia Todhunter 10 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals.

Miela Goodchild was near ??????????? as she helped get Mount Gambier back on the winners' list with:

? 37 points
? 12 rebounds
? 6 assists
? 2 steals
? 3 3pt made

Was that all? ?

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MEN

Supercats keep momentum going over Chargers

Momentum continues to build with the Geelong United Supercats as their squad strengthens as they beat the defending champion Hobart Chargers 79-64 on the road on Friday night.

With DeMarcus Gatlin having returned in recent weeks and now with point guard Nick Velasquez into the line-up and the Supercats are looking imposing as they began their double-header in Tasmania this weekend.

Gabriel Hadley put on a dribble clinic at the three-point line ?

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The Chargers, though, did come into the game with three straight wins and the reigning NBL1 South champions started well on their home floor with 21 points to 13 in the opening quarter. 

However, Geelong turned it right around in the second period with 23 points to 11 which saw them open up the 36-32 advantage at intermission.

The Supercats went on with the job in the third quarter with another 24 points to 15 which saw them open up a 17-point advantage before settling on the 15-point victory.

Geelong United now improves to 4-4 on the season with four straight wins while Hobart slips to 5-4.

Fresh off his development player season in the NBL at the Cairns Taipans, Gabe Hadley produced 22 points and five assists in the win for the Supercats with another former Snake George Blagojevic putting up 20 points, 18 rebounds and two steals.

Nick Velasquez added 15 points and two assists, and DeMarcus Gatlin 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

Reigning Grand Final MVP and new Brisbane Bullet Sam McDaniel put up 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks for Hobart with Jacob Richards contributing 13 points and four boards, and Jarred Bairstow 13 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Gabe Hadley has pulled off one of the ???????? ankle breakers you'll ever see! ?

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Falcons hand Pioneers third straight defeat

The Waverley Falcons have won consecutive games for the first time this season and handed the Mount Gambier Pioneers a third straight loss in the process on Friday night.

The Pioneers won their first six games of the NBL1 South season but then dropped two games last weekend on the road to the Geelong United Supercats and Melbourne Tigers.

They were back home on Friday night trying to return to the winner's list but they were up against a Waverley team looking to build on their thrilling two-point win on Sunday at home to the North West Tasmania Thunder.

While Waverley led by two points at quarter-time, Mount Gambier turned things around in the second period with 22 points to 17 to lead 39-36 at the half-time interval.

However, the Falcons turned it on in impressive fashion in the third quarter with Dexter Kernich-Drew and Dillon Stith proving unstoppable with their length and shooting touch.

Waverley opened up a nine-point lead in the third quarter but then had to withstand a Mount Gambier charge in the fourth where the home team briefly regained the lead.

From the moment the Pioneers led 71-69 with four minutes to play with a three from Kane de Wit, Waverley responded and scored the last eight points of the game.

They held Mount Gambier scoreless over the last four minutes and scored those eight points to secure the 77-71 victory to improve to 3-5 on the season. The Pioneers have now lost three straight after those first six victories.

Kernich-Drew finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists on the night for Waverley with Stith contributing 18 points, 13 boards and two blocks.

Tristan Forsyth added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Bennie Lewis nine points, five boards and two assists.

Nick Marshall top-scored for the Pioneers with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists with Dylan Marshall adding 13 points, Julian Pesava 11 points and five rebounds, and Leonard Harper-Baker 11 points, nine boards and two steals.