NBL1 South Recap | Saturday Round 2

Madi Sexton was the hero for the Bendigo Braves in thrilling Saturday night NBL1 South win over the Geelong Supercats while Angus Glover helped the Eltham Wildcats continue their impressive form.

The women's results saw the Bendigo Braves beat the Geelong Supercats 89-86 while the Nunawading Spectres defeated the Ballarat Miners 95-51, the Knox Raiders downed the Kilsyth Cobras 68-60, and the Melbourne Tigers beat the Keilor Thunder 81-52.

The Waverley Falcons also defeated the Frankston Blues 86-63, the Eltham Wildcats beat the Launceston Tornadoes 84-77, and the Dandenong Rangers won 79-65 against the Hobart Chargers.

Then in the men's action, Bendigo defeated Geelong 96-86 while the Spectres defeated the Miners 104-76, Kilsyth beat Knox 88-81, the Thunder defeated the Tigers 84-72, the Blues beat the Falcons 104-82, Eltham downed North West Tasmania Thunder 98-72, and the Rangers beat the Chargers 107-84.

WOMEN

Wilson finds Sexton to hit game winner for Braves

The Bendigo Braves maintained their undefeated start to the season with the clutch game winning three-pointer coming from Madi Sexton against the Geelong Supercats.

The Braves brought their perfect record with them to The Arena on Saturday and it was a terrific contest which started with both teams combining for 60 points in the opening quarter.

It was always destined to go down to the wire and the scores were all square with just over 30 seconds to play with a three-pointer for Geelong to Jessica Scannell.

However, the crafty veteran Kelly Wilson then drove expertly and then dished out to an open Madi Sexton on the wing for Bendigo. She drained the three-pointer and ultimately that secured the Braves the 89-86 win when Geelong couldn’t get off a tying shot in the last possession.

Megan McKay was a powerful presence once more for Bendigo with 22 points and nine rebounds with Kelly Wilson brilliant with 20 points, 12 assists and six rebounds with Cassidy McLean contributing 21 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Sarah Elsworthy top-scored for Geelong with 22 points along with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Jessica Scannell added 20 points, Ella Tofaeono 16 points, 11 boards and three assists, and Monica Okoye 17 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.

CASSIDY MCLEAN FOR THE WIN ??

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Spectres deliver dominant showing over Miners

The Nunawading Spectres scored their second win of the NBL1 South season in style beating the Ballarat Miners 95-53 at Nunawading Basketball Centre.

The Spectres made a flying start on their home floor with 31 points to 17 in the first quarter and then went on with the job from there to score the 42-point victory over the Miners.

Emma Pearce ended the night with 25 points and eight rebounds for Nunawading including making all 10 of her free-throw attempts.

Devon Brookshire added 22 points, nine boards and three assists, and Cassidy Mihalko 18 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Abbey Wehrung delivered 28 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three steals while nailing 6/13 from beyond the arc.

 

Raiders overcome Cobras with Froling dominant again

The Knox Raiders claimed a hard fought 68-60 win at home to the Kilsyth Cobras on Saturday night at the State Basketball Centre.

There wasn’t much that separated the two teams right throughout the contest but Knox maintained a slight edge most of the way and translated that into the eventual eight-point win.

Reigning NBL1 South MVP Alicia Froling was terrific again for Knox with 25 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals.

Aneta Bandilovska added 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, Leah Santomaggio 12 points, and Kiera Rowe 10 points, five boards, four assists and two blocks.

Isis Lopes top-scored for Kilsyth with 26 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals with Georgia Booth contributing 13 points, four boards and four assists.

Alexa Hart is hosting a block party ?. That's swat number 4??

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Simons, Melbourne star for Tigers in win over Keilor

The Melbourne Tigers put together an emphatic performance on the road on Saturday night to beat the Keilor Thunder 81-52.

The Tigers were up by six at quarter-time at Keilor Stadium before converting that into a 43-25 lead at half-time and then with 21 points to 10 in the fourth quarter they went on to win by 29.

Sam Simons was terrific for the Tigers with 25 points and six rebounds while hitting 5/7 from downtown as was Jade Melbourne with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals before leaving to join the Seattle Storm in the WNBA.

Taylor Ortlepp also had 12 points and three rebounds while hitting 4/7 from three-point territory.

Lana Hollingsworth finished with 23 points and six rebounds for Keilor while Jaz Salon had 10 points and three assists.

Waverley continue hot start with big win at Frankston

The Waverley Falcons delivered an emphatic performance away from home on Saturday night to beat the Frankston Blues 86-63.

Waverley continued its undefeated start to the NBL1 South season but it took until the second quarter for them to work on top of Frankston. But the Falcons led 39-30 going into half-time and then continued to pull away through the second half to win by 23.

Carley Ernst led the charge in the win for Waverley with 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists with Sophia Locandro adding 15 points and seven boards, Maddi Utti 12 points, 14 boards and five assists, and Renae Mokrzycki 10 points.

Louise Brown ended up with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals for Frankston while Micaela Cocks had 11 points and four boards, and Chelsea D'Angelo 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Maley leads Eltham to win over Launceston

The Eltham Wildcats overcame a slow start but with Anneli Maley leading the way they worked their way on top to end up beating the Launceston Tornadoes 84-77.

The Tornadoes started well at Montmorency Secondary College to lead 23-19 by quarter-time but Eltham was able to work their way on top from there to end up winning by seven points.

Maley made her first appearance of the NBL1 South season with Eltham and produced 24 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

She had plenty of help too with Hailey Leidel contributing 20 points, five assists and four rebounds, Louise Forsyth 18 points and 11 boards, and Bec Pizzey 10 points and eight rebounds.

Keely Froling did what she could to keep Launceston in the contest with 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Riley Lupfer finished with 21 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks, and Olivia West 18 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Rangers win at home over the Chargers

The Dandenong Rangers started on fire and ended up beating the Hobart Chargers 79-65 at home on Saturday night.

Dandenong put up 26 points to 15 in the opening quarter against the winless Hobart team, and the Rangers maintained their edge the rest of the evening to claim the eventual 14-point triumph.

Nyadiew Puoch produced a huge performance for Dandenong with 35 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals on shooting 11/24 from the floor, 3/8 from beyond the arc and 10/16 from the foul line.

Luisa Fakalata added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, Sarah Boothe 12 points and eight boards, and Bella Niven-Brown six points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

Paige Bradley finished with 19 points and four assists for the Chargers with Sarah O'Neill adding 18 points and seven rebounds, and Kayla Steindl 17 points, seven boards and two blocks while knocking down 5/11 from three-point territory.

MEN

Braves get first win of season in Geelong

The Bendigo Braves opened their account for the NBL1 South season beating the Geelong Supercats 96-86 on the road on Saturday night.

Bendigo were chasing their first win of the season and started well enough but the Supercats took over with 32 points to 19 in the second quarter to head into half-time leading 53-46.

The Braves responded well to outscore Geelong 50 points to 32 in the second half on the way to the eventual 10-point win.

Adam Pechacek had a terrific night for Bendigo with 25 points, 13 rebounds and three assists with Lat Mayen contributing 22 points and 12 boards, Isaac Turner 12 points and three assists, and Luke Rossendale 12 points, four boards and four assists.

Former Cairns Taipans NBL forward George Blagojevic produced 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Supercats with Gabe Hadley adding 23 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Nick Velasquez 15 points and four rebounds.

Big win for Nunawading at home to Ballarat

With Will Carius leading the charge, the Nunawading Spectres dominated the Ballarat Miners at home on Saturday night for the 104-76 victory.

It was a high scoring first quarter from both teams but already by quarter-time the Spectres were leading the Miners 35-24. Then with 28 points to 12 in the third quarter, Nunawading set up the eventual 28-point win on their home floor.

Carius had a huge say in the result for Nunawading by putting up 28 points, 10 rebounds and three assists while hitting 5/9 from three-point territory.

Jordan Geer added 20 points and five rebounds, Jalen Gibbs 20 points and five boards, and Kingsley Box 12 points and three rebounds.

Tyler Rudolph delivered 34 points and 12 rebounds for Ballarat despite the loss with Adam Thoseby contributing 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Jack Davidson 14 points and four boards.

Cobras stay unbeaten with road win over Raiders

The Kilsyth Cobras continued their undefeated start to the NBL1 South season by beating the Knox Raiders 88-81 at the State Basketball Centre.

Kilsyth made a flying start against Knox with 26 points to 14 in the first quarter before then delivering 35 points to 17 in the second period which set up the eventual seven-point win despite the Raiders outscoring the Cobras 50-27 in the second half.

The Cobras improved to a 4-0 record on the season with the win which saw Adrian Tomada top-score with 18 points and six assists.

Corey Jeffs added 16 points, five rebounds and three assists, Jamie Ahale 14 points, 11 boards and three assists, and Nick Feller 10 points and four rebounds.

Madut Akec ended up top-scoring for Knox with 23 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals with Austin Rapp adding 18 points, nine boards and four steals, and Ke'Jhan Feagin 15 points and three assists.

 

Thunder win again at home to Tigers

The Keilor Thunder continue to build some impressive momentum early in the NBL1 South season with an 84-72 win against Andrew Gaze's Melbourne Tigers on Saturday night.

Fresh off beating the Ballarat Miners on Friday night to open Round 2, Keilor backed up at Keilor Stadium on Saturday to be in control virtually all the way to beat the Tigers by 12 points.

Oliver Hayes-Brown top-scored for Keilor with 17 points and 11 rebounds with Cirkook Riak contributing 14 points, three boards and two assists, Zac Triplett 13 points and six rebounds, and Robbie Heath 12 points and five boards.

Jack Purchase top-scored for the Tigers with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists while Taj Chehhal added 15 points and four steals, and Callan McDonald 12 points and four rebounds.

Glover and Wildcats win big at home over Thunder 

With Angus Glover leading the charge, the Eltham Wildcats proved too strong for the North West Tasmania Thunder going on to score the 98-72 win at home.

The firepower of the Wildcats proved too much for the Thunder at Montmorency Secondary College on Saturday night with Eltham going on to score the 26-point win shooting 51.3 per cent from the floor as a team opposed to just 35.8 from North West.

Coming off starring in a second NBL championship with the Sydney Kings, Angus Glover was terrific again for Eltham with 24 points and seven rebounds on 9/13 shooting.

Josh Sykes added 18 points and five rebounds, Owen Foxwell 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, Callum Dalton 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Sam Short 12 points, four assists and three boards.

Kye Savage top-scored for the Thunder with 20 points while hitting 4/7 from downtown with Tre Armstrong contributing 18 points and six rebounds, and Venky Jois 10 points and 10 boards.

Reverse THROW-DOWN by Deng Puoch ?

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Rangers keep reigning champions winless so far in 2023

The Dandenong Rangers were impressive at home to the defending champion Hobart Chargers on Saturday night coming out with the 107-84 victory.

It might be a decidedly different looking Hobart team from the one that claimed the NBL1 South championship in 2022, but they are still the defending champs and Dandenong were impressive in beating them by 23 points.

Mike Amius finished the night with 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Rangers with Jack Roberts contributing 21 points, six boards, four steals and three assists, Deng Puoch 17 points and six rebounds, Jesse Ghee 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and James Spencer 12 points.

Despite the loss for Hobart, Devin Watson delivered 38 points, six rebounds and three assists on shooting 14/28 from the floor, 4/6 from beyond the arc and 6/9 from the free-throw line.

Last season's Grand Final MVP Sam McDaniel also had 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Not in Mike Amius' ?

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