NBL1 South Recap | Friday Round 11

Paige Bradley and Kayla Steindl lifted the Hobart Chargers to an important NBL1 South win while Kelly Wilson and Megan McKay ensured the Bendigo Braves stayed unbeaten, and Cassandra Brown drained 11 triples for the Mount Gambier Pioneers, and that was just the women's action.

The three Round 11 Friday night women's matches saw the Hobart Chargers defeat the Nunawading Spectres 91-80 while the Bendigo Braves beat the Melbourne Tigers 89-51, and the Mount Gambier Pioneers downed the Geelong United Supercats 94-59.

The men's corresponding matches saw the Spectres beat the Chargers 100-90, the Tigers defeat the Braves 83-82 in overtime, and the Pioneers prevail 100-90 against the Supercats.

WOMEN

Bradley, Steindl lead Chargers to important win

The Hobart Chargers have kept their NBL1 South finals prospects alive with the 91-80 victory at home to the Nunawading Spectres with strong showings from Paige Bradley and Kayla Steindl.

Both teams came into the contest to open Round 11 with six and seven wins respectively and needing the victory to try and strengthen their playoff claims.

It was the home team Chargers who started the better with 27 points to 18 in the opening quarter and then Hobart was able to keep the roll going to lead by as much as 18 points in the second term.

Hobart was still leading 49-35 but Nunawading fired back in the third term with 28 points to 18 to make a game of it.

However, the Spectres could never quite claim the lead and the Chargers pulled away once more in the final stanza with another 24 points to 17 to claim the important 11-point victory.

The victory improves the Chargers to a 7-10 record on the season while the Spectres slip to 7-9 having lost three in-a-row.

Paige Bradley was tremendous again for Hobart with 25 points and seven assists while Kayla Steindl continues to show that WNBL clubs could do much worse than signing her for the upcoming season.

Steindl finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four steals.

Cori Coleman added 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Chargers, Zoe Banks 10 points with 3/3 three-point shooting, and Chloe Broomhall eight points and eight rebounds.

Despite the loss, Rachel Brewster had 23 points and four rebounds for Nunawading with Isabel Feller top-scoring with 24 points, five boards, four assists and three steals while hitting 4/8 from beyond the arc.

Cori Coleman showing off her moves ?

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McKay, Wilson ensure Braves stay unbeaten

The Bendigo Braves have continued their stunning NBL1 South season remaining undefeated with another standout performance to beat the Melbourne Tigers 89-51 on Friday night.

Despite the absence of WNBL star Amy Atwell who is with the Australian Opals for the FIBA Asia Cup, the Braves continued to show their class and experience with Megan McKay and Kelly Wilson again outstanding at home to the Tigers.

Bendigo again started strongly on their home floor at Red Energy Arena racing to a 12-point lead by quarter-time before that got out to 23 points during the second period.

The Braves were still leading 48-28 by half-time and then another 27 points to 11 in the third term saw it really blow out to a 36-point lead. It got to as much as 41 in the fourth stanza before Melbourne fought the game out to make the final deficit 38.

The victory improves Bendigo to a 16-0 record on the season while Melbourne is now 4-12 with finals all but out of reach with a six-game losing slide.

Megan McKay was a dominant force inside again for the Braves with 20 points and 12 rebounds on 8/14 shooting while superstar veteran point guard Kelly Wilson was brilliant with 19 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds and two assists.

Kasey Burton added 16 points and five rebounds for Bendigo, Cassidy McLean 11 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, Caitlin Richardson eight points and four steals, and Poppy Blanch eight points, three rebounds and three assists.

Lily Carmody top-scored for the Tigers with 10 points while Jade Odom finished with nine points, four boards, three assists and two steals, Sam Simons seven points and three rebounds, and Angelique Francis seven points and two boards.

Brown brilliant as Pioneers too much for Supercats

Cassandra Brown delivered a stunning performance with 39 points and 11 three-pointers for the Mount Gambier Pioneers as they hammered the Geelong United Supercats 94-59 on Friday night.

The Pioneers were attempting to keep pace for a top two finish this NBL1 South season hosting a Supercats team missing Opals star Chantel Horvat who is with the national team at the FIBA Asia Cup.

Cassandra Brown ??

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Mount Gambier made a fast start at home racing to a 15-point lead in the opening quarter and still being on top 32-23 by the end of one.

The Pioneers continued to dominate in the second term with another 23 points to 13 with the lead getting out to as much as 20, and they were in front 55-36 by the interval.

There was no let up from Mount Gambier throughout the second half with the lead growing to 28 points in the third quarter, then 41 in the fourth and the home team would end up winning by 35.

The victory improves the Pioneers to a 12-4 record to be closing in on a top two spot with the Supercats slipping to 10-5 with their three-game winning streak ending.

Cassandra Brown was a dominant force for Mount Gambier ending the night with 39 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 13/18 from the floor and a remarkable 11/15 from behind the three-point line.

Haileigh Reinoehl added 23 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Pioneers, Sherrie Calleia 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Imogen Rock nine points, nine boards and five assists.

It was tough going for Geelong United without Chantel Horvat, but Eve Braslis top-scored with 16 points and five rebounds with Sarah Elsworthy adding 12 points, two assists and two steals, Agnieszka Skobel 12 points, six boards and four steals, and Ella Tofaeono nine points and 11 rebounds.

Sherrie Calleia whips a dime inside for the easy bucket ?

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MEN

Spectres with big finish to knock off Chargers

The Nunawading Spectres turned on a spectacular fourth quarter to start their Tasmanian road double beating the Hobart Chargers 100-90 on Friday night.

The Spectres arrived at Hobart Netball and Sports Centre needing a win to stay in touch for a top four position in the NBL1 South while the defending champion Chargers were just attempting to stay in touch of a playoff spot altogether.

On the back of that, it was a tight contest most of the evening with the Spectres leading by a point at quarter-time and then the Chargers hitting back in the second to lead by as much as seven, and 45-43 at the half-time break.

The Hobart lead did get out to as much as nine in the third quarter, but the Spectres produced a dazzling fourth stanza with 35 points to 18 to come from seven points down at three quarter-time to claim the 10-point win.

The victory improves Nunawading to a 10-6 record as they avoided a third straight loss with playoffs falling further from Hobart's grasp at 7-10 with three straight defeats.

All nine players made their contribution that hit the floor for Nunawading with Josh Tomasi top-scoring with 18 points and seven rebounds. Kingsley Box added 17 points and eight boards, Daniel Baxter 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jalen Gibbs 13 points, four boards and four assists.

Jack Gandolfo also contributed 10 points, six assists and three rebounds, Jordan Geer nine points, three boards and three assists, and Nicolas Tata eight points and four rebounds.

Devin Watson top-scored in the defeat for Hobart with 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds with Jacob Richards adding 23 points, seven boards and three assists, and Jarred Bairstow 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Michael Karena also had 11 points and five rebounds for the Chargers while Jordan Hargrave delivered 11 points and six boards. 

Tigers claim OT thriller from Braves

It was just a foot on the line from Lat Mayen that denied Benigo Braves forcing double overtime with the Melbourne Tigers securing the 83-82 road victory on Friday night.

It was worth the price of admission alone just to see two NBL greats roaming the sidelines with Stephen Black coaching the Braves and Andrew Gaze in charge of the Tigers, but their players put on quite the show as well at Red Energy Arena.

Both teams were desperate for the win to stay in touch of the top eight but it was the visiting Tigers who started the better and led by as much as 13 points in the second term.

Lat Mayern takes it coast to coast ?

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Melbourne was still leading 40-34 by half-time but the Braves took charge in the third period by completing a 15-0 run and leading by as much as five, and then still being on top 55-53 at three quarter-time.

It set up a thrilling finish and the Braves looked on target for the win leading by four with a minute to play following a three-point play from Lat Mayen.

However, two finishes for the Tigers from Remo Simankevicius and Michael Wearne in the last minute tied scores up, and that's where they stayed at the end of regulation.

Then in overtime, the Tigers took charge to still be leading by five with 45 seconds to go. They were still up four with 20 seconds to play, but the Braves weren’t done with.

In a frantic finish with a couple of turnovers from the Tigers in the back court, the Braves had a chance to tie things. A rushed three from Dylan McCauley wasn’t close, but Mayen grabbed the offensive board.

He raced to get out beyond the arc with time running out, but his fadeaway jumper saw him drag his right foot inside the arc in the shooting motion. His shot fell, but it meant the Braves came up one point short of the Tigers.

Jack Purchase continued his terrific recent form for the Tigers with another 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 4/8 shooting from beyond the arc.

The ever confident Felix von Hofe added 19 points with Remo Simankevicius contributing 18 points, five rebounds and three steals, and Michael Wearne 11 points, six assists and four boards.

Luke Rosendale finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Bendigo with Lat Mayen adding 16 points and 11 boards, Billy Smythe 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Bijan Johnson 11 points and six boards.

Michael Wearne had the defence guessing ?

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Pioneers overpower Supercats in fourth quarter

The Mount Gambier Pioneers produced a big finish to beat the Geelong United Supercats 100-90 on Friday night in a crucial match for both teams.

With the Pioneers wanting to stay in touch for a top four finish and the Supercats trying to break into the top four, it was always going to be a fascinating match up and it didn’t disappoint.

Mount Gambier made a strong start at home with an early 10-point lead and still being on top of Geelong United 28-19 by the end of one.

However, the Supercats hit back in the second term after falling 14 points behind to end up outscoring Mount Gambier 30 points to 23. That saw the Pioneers just clinging to a 51-49 lead at the long break.

It stayed a close battle in the third quarter but in the fourth stanza the Pioneers rode the momentum from their home fans to outscore the Supercats 29 points to 18 to claim the crucial 10-point win.

Titus Robinson played just 21 and-a-half minutes off the bench for Mount Gambier, but made the most of it with 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Nick Marshall added 18 points and four assists on 4/7 three-point shooting with Tom Kubank producing 16 points and five rebounds, Jacob Lampkin 15 points, 12 boards and five assists, and Austin Shelley 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Matthew McCarthy delivered 25 points and 11 rebounds for Geelong on 10/16 shooting from the floor with Gabe Hadley adding 22 points, 12 boards and five assists, George Blagojevic 18 points and nine rebounds, and DeMarcus Gatlin 12 points, eight boards and three assists.