NBL1 South Recap | Friday Round 12

Britt Smart, Marena Whittle and Megan McKay had match winning NBL1 South performances while the Nunawading Spectres men ended the run of the Sandringham Sabres, Eltham Wildcats overran the Waverley Falcons and the Ringwood Hawks and Melbourne Tigers won thrillers.

Round 12 in the NBL1 South got underway with the five women's matches on Friday which saw the Sandringham Sabres beat the Nunawading Spectres 82-75 while the Geelong United Supercats downed the Melbourne Tigers 84-56, the Waverley Falcons defeated the Eltham Wildcats 89-70, the Ringwood Hawks won 84-65 against the Ballarat Miners, and the Bendigo Braves beat the Mount Gambier Pioneers 75-68.

Then in the corresponding men's matches, the Spectres beat the Sabres 96-88, the Wildcats defeated the Falcons 98-94, the Hawks downed the Miners 113-110, the Pioneers defeated the Braves 94-65, and the Tigers won 72-71 against the Supercats.

WOMEN

Smart lifts Sabres to crucial win over Spectres 

A spot in the top eight went on the line on Friday night at Southern Basketball Stadium and it was Britt Smart who fired the Sandringham Sabres to the 82-75 win over the Nunawading Spectres.

With the Sabres sitting just inside the eight at 9-8 and the Spectres just outside at 8-9, it shaped as a season defining match up to open Round 12 on Friday night.

After Sandringham started strongly to lead by 12 points at quarter-time, Nunawading fired up in the second period with 36 points to 16 themselves including scoring 14 straight points to head into half-time leading 52-44.

Rachel Antoniadou with the SMOOTH step ? triple ?

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The Spectres were still leading by six at three quarter-time, but it was all Sandringham in the final stanza as they put up 20 points to just seven to come from six down to win by seven.

The victory consolidates the Sabres inside the top eight at 10-8 while the Spectres slip to 8-10.

Britt Smart was outstanding in the win for Sandringham with 32 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists including going 4/6 from behind the three-point line and 8/8 at the foul line.

Georgia Pineau continued her strong form too with 24 points and seven rebounds with Klara Wischer contributing 10 points, 11 boards, three steals and two assists, and Funda Nakkasoglu eight points, three assists and two steals.

Rachael Antoniadou ended up with 18 points for Nunawading with Devon Brookshire adding 15 points and six rebounds, Rachel Brewster 13 points, three boards and three steals, and Mihalko 11 points and two rebounds.

Brittany Smart dominated tonight ?

3??2?? Points
7?? Rebounds
5?? Steals

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Supercats make statement with win over Tigers

The Geelong United Supercats closed in on a top four spot in the NBL1 South with a commanding performance to beat the Melbourne Tigers 84-56 at The Arena.

The Supercats were fresh off a 39-point win against the Eltham Wildcats to see them move closer to a top four position but they did need to keep winning as they hosted the Tigers on Friday night.

Geelong started off well to lead by as much as 10 points in the first quarter and then built on that throughout the evening. The Supercats would end up leading by as much as 16 in the second and to be in control 44-29 going into the change rooms.

The Supercats continued on with it from there outscoring the Tigers 23 points to 12 in the third quarter and ended up leading by as much as 30 points in the final period before winning by 28.

The victory improves the Supercats to a 12-5 record on the season with back-to-back wins while the Tigers have now lost eight straight to be 4-14.

There were plenty of huge performances for Geelong in the win led by Sarah Elsworthy producing 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals on 10/18 shooting from the floor.

Eve Braslis continued her impressive form with another 21 points, six rebounds and three assists while Agnieszka Skobel contributed 18 points, five boards, four assists and three steals, and Ella Tofaeono 15 points, 20 rebounds and four assists.

Sam Simons top-scored once more for Melbourne with 12 points and four assists with Nikki Metcalfe producing 11 points, three boards and two blocks, and Lily Carmody 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Falcons stay second by beating Wildcats

The Waverley Falcons consolidated their top two position in the NBL1 South while putting a dent in the playoff hopes of the Eltham Wildcats with Friday night's 89-70 win.

Eltham was at home at Montmorency Secondary College needing a win to try and break into the top eight but Waverley also needed to keep winning to keep hold of second position.

The Falcons got the better of the start to lead by as much as 12 points in the opening quarter and that lead got out to 18 points in the second term before the visitors went into intermission on top 50-36.

Waverley maintained that advantage throughout the second half including leading by as much as 22 before winning by 19 to make it three consecutive wins to improve to a 14-3 record. The Wildcats remain outside the top eight at 9-9.

Bec Cole produced 22 points in the win for the Falcons while knocking down 4/11 from three-point territory with Maddi Utti contributing 15 points, 11 boards, four assists and two steals, and Renae Mokrzycki 14 points, four rebounds and four steals.

Carley Ernst added 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks also while Amelia Todhunter finished with eight points, eight boards and five assists.

Hailey Leidel had another strong game for Eltham with 22 points and nine rebounds with 4/7 three-point shooting with Bec Pizzey contributing 14 points, nine boards, five blocks and three assists, Taylah Wynne 11 points and three rebounds, and Claudia Armato eight points and nine assists.

Hawks dominant Miners in second half

Marena Whittle stood tall as the Ringwood Hawks held the Ballarat Miners to just 13 points in the second half on the way to an 84-65 road win on Friday night.

The Hawks did need the win to maintain their hold on their position in the top eight but the Miners started strongly at home at Selkirk Stadium.

Ballarat might be sitting in second last spot in the standings, but took it right up to the reigning champions to lead 33-23 by quarter-time.

The Miners were still leading 52-46 at the half-time break, but it was a remarkable dominance from Ringwood after half-time. The Hawks outscored Ballarat 38 points to 13 in the second half to end up winning by 19.

The result keeps Ringwood inside the top eight with an 11-8 record while Ballarat is now 3-15 having lost four straight.

Reigning Grand Final MVP Marena Whittle was outstanding in the win for the Hawks with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals with Marta Hermida contributing 19 points, seven boards and four assists.

Zoe Jenkins added 12 points with 4/5 shooting from behind the arc while Ella Ogier finished with eight points, five assists, four steals and two rebounds.

Kristy Rinaldi ended up with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for Ballarat with Tayanna Jones contributing 13 points and eight boards, Abbey Wehrung 13 points, eight assists and five rebounds, and Emma Karamovic 11 points, seven boards and four assists.

Molly Matthews launches it from DEEP ?

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McKay dominates as Braves stay perfect

It shaped as the biggest threat to their unbeaten season on the road to the Mount Gambier Pioneers, but the Bendigo Braves would have none of it with Megan McKay dominant as they built a 19-point lead to end up winning 75-68.

The third placed Pioneers played host to the unbeaten Braves on Friday night and by scoring 13 consecutive points in the second quarter, Mount Gambier grabbed the lead by as much as five points.

They were threatening to hand the Braves their first loss since last year's grand final, but Bendigo was able to turn the tide with the last nine points of the half to go into the break leading 43-36.

The Braves then turned that into a 19-point lead during the third quarter and then withstood a flying finish from Mount Gambier with the home crowd getting behind them to end up winning by seven. 

It's the sixth single figure winning margin of the season for a Bendigo team now 18-0 while the Pioneers are 12-5 with the loss and just clinging to a place in the top four.

Megan McKay is in a rich vein of form for Bendigo to be making a run for MVP honours and produced another 22 points and 16 rebounds on 10/18 shooting.

Kasey Burton added 13 points and 10 rebounds, Cassidy McLean 13 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, and Kelly Wilson 11 points and five assists.

Perth Lynx WNBL signing Miela Goodchild put up another 22 points and three assists for Mount Gambier on 8/13 shooting from the floor and 3/5 from beyond the arc.

Cassandra Brown put up another 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, Zitina Aokuso 11 points, seven boards and two blocks, and Isabella Brancatisano nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

Miela Goodchild 4??-point play ?

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MEN

Spectres snap winning run of Sabres

The Nunawading Spectres consolidated their top eight spot and kept their top four hopes alive in the NBL1 South by beating the Sandringham Sabres 96-88 on the road.

The Sabres entered the clash on an eight-game winning streak as they hosted the Spectres at Southern Basketball Stadium, but it was Nunawading who started the better with 27 points to 18 in the opening term.

Nunawading was able to maintain that advantage throughout most of the rest of the evening leading by as much as 13 points in the third period, and then 15 in the fourth on the way to the crucial eight-point victory.

The result improves Nunawading to an 11-7 record on the season with Sandringham's winning streak ending with their record now 13-5.

Jalen Gibbs finished the night with 24 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Spectres including hitting 3/4 from behind the three-point arc and 7/7 at the charity stripe.

Jack Gandolfo added 22 points, five rebounds and four assists, Nicolas Tata 20 points and 13 boards, and Kingsley Box 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Campbell Blogg put up 28 points, four assists, two assists and two steals for Sandringham with Tom Koppens adding 24 points, nine boards and three assists, CJ Asuncion-Byrd 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Dave Barlow nine points and 11 boards.

Josh Tomasi leaps up for the huge block ?

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Tigers hold out Supercats in thriller

The Melbourne Tigers continued their best run of form for the season by holding out the Geelong United Supercats to win 72-71 on Friday night, but only just.

The Tigers arrived at The Arena having won their past three matches to put themselves back in the playoff mix while the Supercats were only just clinging to a playoff opportunity themselves having lost four of their past six.

After both teams had their moments with the lead in the first quarter, the Tigers took charge in the second term opening up a 10-point lead and still leading 44-39 by the long break.

However, the Supercats fired back with 20 points to 12 in the third quarter and the seesaw ride continued with the Tigers taking charge once more in the fourth quarter.

By the time Michael Wearne knocked down a three-pointer and then soon after Callan McDonald grabbed an offensive rebound and got a putback which saw the Tigers open up a seven-point lead with just under two minutes on the clock.

The Supercats weren’t quite done and hit a couple of threes from Liam Herbert and Gabe Hadley to make things interesting. When Taj Chehhal missed two free throws, there was still time for the Supercats.

It was a mess of a final possession, but eventually George Blagojevic did get a good look at the three. It wouldn’t fall and the Tigers held on for the one-point win to improve to 9-9 with the four straight wins. The Supercats are now 8-9.

Jack Purchase continued his hot run of form for Melbourne with another 28 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals while hitting 5/7 from behind the three-point line.

Remo Simankevicius added 13 points and five rebounds, Mason Gaze 13 points and four boards, and Michael Wearne nine points and four assists.

Gabe Hadley put up 25 points, four rebounds and two assists for Geelong with George Blagojevic adding 16 points and 12 boards, and Matthew McCarthy 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Wildcats score last seven points to beat Falcons

The Eltham Wildcats were staring down the barrel of a fifth consecutive defeat before scoring the game's last seven points to beat the Waverley Falcons 98-94 on Friday night.

Having had such a good season, Eltham had lost its past four matches coming into Friday's clash at home to Waverley with the Falcons heading in the opposition direction winning five in-a-row.

Eltham was desperate to hit back and started well to lead by eight points at quarter-time. The Wildcats were still leading by eight at half-time and nine at three quarter-time, but the Falcons weren’t going away.

Then with just over a minute to play, Bennie Lewis drained a three to put Waverley three points in front and the Wildcats were looking at a fifth straight loss.

However, Eltham responded over the last minute beginning with a triple from Callum Dalton before a pair of free-throws to Angus Glover, and then the clinching foul shots from Sam Short as the Wildcats scored the last seven points to win by four.

As a result, the Wildcats stopped a four-game losing slide to be 11-7 while the five-game winning run of the Falcons ended with them now 10-7.

Along with that huge three that started the winning 7-0 run, Dalton finished with 31 points, six rebounds and two assists for Eltham on 14/21 shooting from the field.

Short added 17 points, eight assists, three rebounds and three steals, Glover 18 points, nine boards and five assists, Sam Whelan 15 points and four rebounds, and Josh Sykes 14 points, 10 boards and three assists.

Dillon Stith produced a huge performance for Waverley as he knocks down the door for another NBL opportunity. He finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals on 13/24 shooting from the floor and 6/9 from beyond the three-point line.

AJ Harris added 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Bennie Lewis 13 points, three boards, two steals and two blocks, Dexter Kernich-Drew 12 points and five assists, and Michael Harper 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.

JOSH SYKES POSTER ?

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Hawks prevail in OT thriller over Miners

The Ringwood Hawks made it back-to-back thrilling wins in the NBL1 South this time beating the Ballarat Miners 113-110 in overtime at Selkirk Stadium.

Both teams were fresh off nail-biting wins with Ballarat beating the Kilsyth Cobras last Saturday night with the game winning three from Jack Davidson while Ringwood also prevailed by two points over the Dandenong Rangers.

That set up the match on Friday to open Round 12 and it was a stunning opening from Ballarat as they scored the first 17 points of the game. It was a 17-0 scoreline until Matthew Roberts knocked down a three for Ringwood.

Before long, it was 17-13 with the Hawks having scored 13 straight points and things remained close the rest of the way.

Ballarat was leading by just two points at quarter-time, by three at half-time and then it was Ringwood in front by two at three quarter-time. 

A Max Cody three-pointer and then free-throws from Davidson did see Ballarat leading by six with 1:45 to play, but Ringwood hit back starting with a Jonathan Lawton jumper. 

Lawton then completed a three-point play as well to make it a one-point ball game, and ultimately after Tyler Rudolph put Ballarat back up three, it was a three ball from Lawton that sent the game to overtime.

Then in the extra five minutes, it was basket for basket, and big shot for big shot, until Lawton landed another three for Ringwood. Jack Barry then sealed the win at the foul line for the visitors. 

Jonathan Lawton came up with big plays when it mattered most again for Ringwood to finish with 29 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals on 11/20 from the field and 4/9 from downtown.

Kyle Daggett led the scoring, though, for the Hawks with 34 points, nine rebounds and five assists with Matthew Roberts contributing 21 points and five assists, Shaun Clarke 11 points and seven rebounds, and Jack Barry nine points, five boards and three assists.

Jack Davidson produced another 32 points, eight assists and three rebounds for Ballarat while Tyler Rudolph contributed 23 points and 10 boards, Adam Thoseby 15 points and five rebounds, Max Cody 15 points and three assists, and Nic Pozoglou nine points and 13 rebounds.

Jonathan Lawton comes up clutch TWICE?

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Pioneers beat Braves to enhance top four spot

The Mount Gambier Pioneers strengthened their top four push in the NBL1 South and put a dagger in the playoff hopes of the Bendigo Braves with the 94-65 home win on Friday night.

The Pioneers came into the contest having won their past five matches but the Braves had also won three of their past four so the stage was set for a fascinating match up with plenty riding on it for both sides.

Mount Gambier was right on top from the outset, though, opening up a 29-19 lead by the end of one. The Pioneers then stretched that lead to as much as 23 points in the second stanza and were leading 51-30 by half-time.

Bendigo did do its best to mount a fightback in the third quarter, but Mount Gambier responded in the fourth with another 26 points to 13 to end up winning by 29 and improving to a 12-5 record to remain inside the top four.

The Braves slipped further from the top eight at 8-10.

Nick Marshall is getting back to strong form returning from injury for Mount Gambier producing 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals with 3/5 three-point shooting.

He had plenty of help too with Tom Kubank delivering 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals, Titus Robinson 13 points, four boards and three steals, Will Mayfield 13 points and three rebounds, and Jacob Lampkin 12 points, nine boards and three assists.

Luke Rosendale delivered 18 points, four assists and three rebounds for Bendigo, Lat Mayen 14 points and 12 boards, and Billy Smythe 13 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Lat Mayen wasn't having any of that! ?

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