NBL1 South Recap | Sunday Round 2

Defending NBL1 South champions Ringwood Hawks and Hobart Chargers got important Sunday wins to close Round 2 while Amy Atwell put up 17 three-point attempts in a win for the Bendigo Braves and the Mount Gambier Pioneers men remained undefeated.

Round 2 in the NBL1 South wrapped up on Sunday with five women's clashes that saw the Ringwood Hawks beat the Hobart Chargers 84-75, Diamond Valley Eagles beat the Dandenong Rangers 81-68, Bendigo Braves down the Launceston Tornadoes 105-80, Mount Gambier Pioneers win 82-59 against the Frankston Blues, and the Sandringham Sabres defeat the Casey Cavaliers 95-89.

In the corresponding men's matches, Hobart defeated Ringwood 108-99, Diamond Valley beat Dandenong 90-89, North West Tasmania Thunder won a thriller 99-95 against Bendigo, Mount Gambier won 103-94 over Frankston, and Sandringham defeated Casey 83-64.

WOMEN

Defending champs make it a double win weekend

The Ringwood Hawks had to battle hard but ended up overcoming the Hobart Chargers for the 84-75 win at home on Sunday afternoon.

The reigning NBL1 South champions got their first win on the board on Friday night with captain Marena Whittle back in the line-up and were able to back it up with a nine-point win over a brave Chargers outfit at The Rings on Sunday.

The victory improves Ringwood to a 2-1 record on the season while the Chargers slip to 0-3.

Whittle delivered 16 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals with Shelby Britten contributing 15 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Toni Farnworth 15 points, four boards and four assists.

Paige Bradley put up 30 points with 6/8 three-point shooting for Hobart with Kayla Steindl adding 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

A day to remember for Hobart's Paige Bradley despite a loss:

3??0?? points
6?? from 7?? from outside the paint
5?? rebounds

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Eagles put on huge fourth quarter to overrun Rangers

The Diamond Valley Eagles delivered a scorching fourth quarter to overcome a three quarter-time deficit and beat the Dandenong Rangers 81-68 on the road on Sunday.

Dandenong started strongly on their home floor to lead by six points at quarter-time, by seven at half-time and still by that seven-point margin at three quarter-time.

However, Diamond Valley turned it on in stunning fashion in the fourth period outscoring the Rangers 29 points to nine to turn that seven-point deficit into a terrific 13-point victory.

Jade Dunne ended up top-scoring for Diamond Valley with 20 points, four assists and three steals while going 10/11 from the foul line with Sophie Burrows adding 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals on 4/8 three-point shooting.

Nyadiew Puoch did what she could to lift Dandenong to the win before fouling out late and finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

?Watch out for the Monique Andriuolo ???? ??????

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Atwell helps Braves to big home win over Tornadoes

The Bendigo Braves maintained their unbeaten start to the NBL1 South season with an 105-80 home victory against the Launceston Tornadoes.

Coming off a last gasp Saturday night win over the Geelong Supercats, the Braves were back at Red Energy Arena on Sunday and proved too strong for the Chargers to end up winning by 25 point to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Fresh off her WNBL season at the Perth Lynx, Amy Atwell came into the Bendigo line-up as well and was terrific with 30 points and eight rebounds even if she'll look to improve on her 5/17 three-point shooting.

Megan McKay added 19 points and nine rebounds, Cassidy McLean 25 points, four boards and four assists, and Kelly Wilson 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Keely Froling finished with 28 points and seven rebounds with 5/7 three-point shooting for Launceston with Riley Lupfer contributing 25 points and four boards, and Olivia West 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds. 

Pioneers stay undefeated with road win over Blues

The Mount Gambier Pioneers continued their undefeated start to the NBL1 South season beating the Frankston Blues 82-59 on the road on Sunday.

The Pioneers proved too strong at Dreamstreet Lending Arena to beat the Blues by 23 points to improve to 3-0 on the season while Frankston slip to 1-2.

Cassandra Brown produced 24 points and 11 rebounds in the win for Mt Gambier while hitting 5/12 from three-point territory with Miela Goodchild contributing 23 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Haliegh Reinoehl added 13 points and five rebounds, Isabella Brancatisano 12 points, four boards and three steals, and Imogen Rock 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Louise Brown fought valiantly for Frankston finishing with 13 points and 16 rebounds with Micaela Cocks contributing 11 points and three assists, and Courtney Wilkins 10 points and eight rebounds.

Cassandra Brown was the star of the show for the undefeated Mt Gambier Pioneers ?

2??4?? points
1??1?? rebounds
5?? made three-pointers
2?? blocks

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Sabres overcome Cavs in hard fought contest

Sandringham and Casey played out a terrific Sunday contest at Southern Basketball Stadium with the Sabres coming out with the hard earned 95-89 home victory.

Despite still being winless for the NBL1 South season, the Cavs put in a strong showing away from home but in the end the Sabres just did enough to come away with the six-point victory to improve to a 2-2 record after the opening two rounds.

Georgia Pineau had a standout performance in the win for Sandringham with 27 points, eight rebounds and three assists with Britt Smart adding 20 points and four assists, Klara Wischer 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Elidh Simpson 13 points, six boards, six assists and three steals.

The Cavs fought hard hunting that first win of the season with Taylah Gillam finishing with 20 points and three assists, Rachel Bell 20 points and five boards, Jacinta Beckley 19 points and 10 rebounds, Shereesha Richards 16 points and five boards, and Steph Blicavs 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Britt Smart ??????? that three:

?Off her own inbound
?On the quarter time buzzer ?

The WNBL star is sitting on a cool 1??1?? points off the bench!

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— NBL1 (@NBL1) April 16, 2023

MEN

Chargers fire in third quarter to set up first win

The defending NBL1 South champion Hobart Chargers scored their first win of 2023 beating the Ringwood Hawks 108-99 on the road on Sunday.

The Chargers had lost their opening two matches of their championship defence but they hit back on Sunday against Ringwood to claim the eventual nine-point victory.

We're still trying to work just how Jonathan Lawton made that pass ?‍??

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Ringwood was coming off a nine-point loss away to Diamond Valley on Saturday night with Hobart having lost by 23 to the Dandenong Rangers, and by quarter-time on Sunday it was the Hawks leading 24-23.

The Hawks were still leading by three at half-time but the Chargers turned it on in the third quarter with a massive 34 points to 16 which set the stage for the eventual nine-point win for the reigning champions in the NBL1 South.

Devin Watson led the charge for Hobart with 31 points and five assists with Jacob Richards adding 22 points and 15 rebounds, Callum Boucher 18 points and nine boards, and Sam McDaniel 17 points and five assists.

Kyle Daggett delivered 22 points for Ringwood while Jonathan Lawton contributed 17 points and eight assists, Adrien Sturt 15 points and six rebounds, and Luke Shelley 14 points and two steals.

Luke Shelley has got those ?????? moves in the paint ?

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Huge second half from Diamond Valley sees them beat Dandenong

The Diamond Valley Eagles produced a huge second half to overrun the Dandenong Rangers for the 90-89 victory to close Round 2 NBL1 South action on Sunday.

The Eagles were fresh off beating the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday night but Dandenong had a thumping win of the Hobart Chargers, and kept that momentum going into the clash with Diamond Valley leading 50-34 by half-time.

However, Diamond Valley fired up in the second half and put up 31 points to 21 in the third quarter, and then ended up icing the one-point victory at the foul line thanks to Mandrell Worthy.

It was an uncharacteristic quiet game from DJ Vasiljevic for Diamond Valley with the two-time NBL champion at the Sydney Kings finishing with just seven points, eight rebounds and four assists on 2/13 shooting.

However, Ngor Manyang was terrific with 27 points and 10 rebounds including hitting 5/12 from beyond the arc with Worthy contributing 14 points, three rebounds and two assists, Erik Kafritsas 10 points, and Ben Allen 10 points, six assists and five rebounds.

James Spencer landed 5/12 from three-point range for 17 points for Dandenong with Jack Roberts adding 13 points and seven rebounds, and Jesse Ghee 13 points.

Thunder get the Sunday road win in Bendigo

The North West Tasmania Thunder claimed the 99-95 road victory over the Bendigo Braves on Sunday in an exciting encounter at Red Energy Arena.

Bendigo was coming off a road win to the Geelong Supercats on Saturday night while North West suffered a 26-point loss to the Eltham Wildcats, but they combined to play out a terrific contest on Sunday.

They combined for 65 points in the opening quarter with the Thunder leading 34-31 at quarter-time. 

The trend continued in the second quarter with North West up 60-54 at the main break before they were able to extend their lead to 10 by three quarter-time, and then hold on for the eventual four-point victory.

Vionte Daniels ended up for North West with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals on 4/8 three-point shooting with Tre Armstrong delivering 30 points and four boards, Venky Jois 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Paul Campbell 10 points and eight rebounds.

Fresh off his NBL season at the Cairns Taipans, Lat Mayen put up 23 points on 5/6 three-point shooting for Bendigo with Adam Pechacek contributing 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Bijan Johnson 15 points and four assists.

Mount Gambier beats Frankston in battle of unbeaten teams

The Mount Gambier Pioneers prevailed in the battle of undefeated NBL1 South teams on Sunday beating the Frankston Blues 103-94.

Both the Blues and Pioneers had won their opening three games of the season including on Saturday night Frankston beating Waverley and the Pioneers defeating Casey at home back on Friday.

That set the stage for a tantalising match up on Sunday at Dreamstreet Lending Arena, and at home it was the Blues who started strongly with 27 points to 18 in the opening quarter.

Mount Gambier turned things around with 24 points to 16 in the second quarter before another 32 to 23 in the third period, and that set them up for the eventual nine-point victory.

Nick Marshall finished with 24 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds for Mt Gambier, Jacob Lampkin 16 points and 15 rebounds, Austin Shelley 15 points, and Kane de Wit 13 points.

Lachlan Barker delivered 21 points and three steals for Frankston with Igor Hadziomerovic 20 points and three steals, and Daniel Trist 20 points and 11 boards.

Ben Ayre ???????? in Sandringham's win over Casey ?

He dropped 3??4?? points as he led the Sabres to their maiden victory for 2023 ?

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Sabres hit back with strong home win over Cavs

The Sandringham Sabres hit back from a Friday night loss to produce a strong performance at home to beat the Casey Cavaliers 83-64 on Sunday.

Sandringham lost to Kilsyth on the road by 28 points on Friday night while Casey also lost away by 17 to Mount Gambier with both teams looking to hit back on Sunday at Southern Basketball Stadium.

It was a hot start for the Sabres who had taken a 27-13 lead by quarter-time on the back of new signing Ben Ayre knocking down a three-pointer just before the buzzer as he awaits to find out his NBL future.

From there, Sandringham took a 50-35 advantage into the half-time break before extending the lead to 16 points at three quarter-time and then ending up claiming the 19-point win against the Cavs.

Ben Ayre put up 34 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Sabres with CJ Asuncion-Byrd contributing 24 points and five boards.

Preston Bungei top-scored for the Cavs with 31 points with Sidy Djitte adding 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Preston Bungei was having absolutely ???? of that ?

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— NBL1 (@NBL1) April 16, 2023