NBL1 South Recap | Women's Preliminary Finals

What a day of preliminary final action it was with only five points the margin between both NBL1 South matches on Sunday with home teams the Bendigo Braves and Ringwood Hawks winning thrillers to book in Grand Final appearances.

Both NBL1 South preliminary finals took place on Sunday afternoon to determine who would clash in next Saturday night's Grand Final and what a day of action it panned to be with so much at stake for the four teams involved.

In the end, it was the Bendigo Braves and Ringwood Hawks who prevailed to set up the Grand Final at the State Basketball Centre after finishing the regular season as the top two teams, but they were sure made to earn their spots.

It was a stunning overtime tussle at The Rings where in the end the Ringwood Hawks were able to beat the Launceston Tornadoes 79-75 thanks to a massive three from Marta Hermida and then basket from Jacqueline Trotto in the final minute.

Marena Whittle delivered 22 points and 10 rebounds for Ringwood with Digna Strautmane adding 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Hermida 15 points and 11 assists.

Marianna Tolo produced 32 points and 11 rebounds for Launceston in the heartbreaking loss.

The other preliminary final took place at Red Energy Arena in Bendigo and it was quite the atmosphere ready to cheer their home team into the Grand Final, but it took until the final buzzer for them to be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

After Bec Cole's three-pointer put the Waverley Falcons on top with just over two minutes to play, the Braves had to respond and they scored the game's last two buckets through Kelly Wilson and Cassidy McLean.

That saw Bendigo secure the 79-76 win and to book in their place in the Grand Final on Saturday night against Ringwood.

Tess Madgen and Abbey Wehrung both scored 23 points each in the win for the Braves while Bec Cole finished with 22 points and eight assists for Waverley, and Carley Ernst 21 points and 15 rebounds.

NBL1 SOUTH – 2022 WOMEN'S SEASON
PRELIMINARY FINALS – SUNDAY

RINGWOOD HAWKS 77 defeated LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 75

The Ringwood Hawks and Launceston Tornadoes opened preliminary final day in the NBL1 South as they battled over a spot in next Saturday night's Grand Final at The Rings in Ringwood.

Ringwood finished the regular season in second position before winning a hard fought qualifying final battle 77-71 against the Mount Gambier Pioneers to earn hosting rights for Sunday's preliminary final.

The Tornadoes had to get there the hard way having finished the season in eighth position, but they then had superstar trio Keely Froling, Kelsey Griffin and Marianna Tolo available together for the first time come finals time.

That saw them beat the Geelong Supercats 77-65 on the road in the elimination final before going to also beat the Nunawading Spectres 79-68 away from home on Saturday night to see them advance to the preliminary final.

The stage was set for a terrific battle on Sunday with a spot in the Grand Final on the line and sure didn’t fail to deliver.

Nothing could separate the two teams with scores level at 20-20 by quarter-time but it was then a remarkable defensive performance in the second term from Ringwood.

The Hawks were able to hold the Tornadoes with the firepower they possess to two points for the entire 10 minutes of the second quarter. They were able to score 16 points themselves to go into half-time in control leading 36-22.

The Ringwood lead grew to 19 points during the third quarter but Launceston had too much talent and experience to not make a run at some point, and that's exactly what happened.

The Tornadoes cut the Hawks' lead to 12 by three quarter-time and then kept the momentum going in the fourth quarter to outscore the home team 26 points to 14 to force the game into overtime.

It was a frantic finish to regulation with Marena Whittle and Marianna Tolo trading huge buckets in the final minute. 

In the end, Keely Froling forced a turnover on Jacqueline Trotto to give the Tornadoes a chance to snatch it, but Tolo couldn't make the basket and the Grand Final spot would be decided in the extra five minutes.

Tolo then hit a triple and nailed another jumper to give Launceston the ideal start to the overtime period, and when she scored inside again she gave her team a three-point lead with a minute to play.

Ringwood wouldn’t be denied, though, and Marta Hermida nailed a triple to bring scores back level and then it was Trotto who nailed the game winner by taking it to the rack.

That saw the Hawks produce the 77-75 victory to advance to next Saturday night's Grand Final at the State Basketball Centre.

Marena Whittle put together a standout performance in the win for Ringwood finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Digna Strautmane added 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals for the Hawks, Marta Hermida 15 points, 11 assists and seven boards, and Jacqueline Trotto eight points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

Toni Farnworth also used her experience for seven points, three rebounds and two steals while Danni Allen contributed seven points and two rebounds.

Marianna Tolo put in a huge performance for Launceston made up of 32 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on 14/25 shooting from the floor.

Keely Froling added 15 points, 16 rebounds and three assists, Mariah Payne 14 points, five steals, four assists and four rebounds, and Kelsey Griffin 11 points, 16 boards, eight assists and two steals.

BENDIGO BRAVES 79 defeated WAVERLEY FALCONS 76

The Waverley Falcons earned their spot in the preliminary final in thrilling fashion to set up a tantalising preliminary final match up on Sunday with the Bendigo Braves.

Bendigo finished the regular season on top of the standings in the NBL1 South with a 20-2 record to be two games clear and the Braves went on to score an 18-point qualifying win at home to the Nunawading Spectres.

That saw the Braves earn the right to host the preliminary final on Sunday back at Red Energy Arena while the Falcons had to earn their spot against them the hard way.

Waverley ended the regular season in seventh spot and then won two finals games on the road against the Knox Raiders and Mount Gambier Pioneers, including a heart stopper where they snatched it at the death at The Ice House on Friday night.

Red Energy Arena was buzzing once again for Sunday's preliminary final and it was the visitors who started on fire building on their momentum from winning in stunning fashion in Mount Gambier on Friday night.

The Falcons opened up an 11-point lead during the first quarter and were still up 27-19 by quarter-time. They then threatened to open up a match-winning advantage during the second term leading by as much as 19 points.

However, the Braves fired back by scoring 13 straight points even though Waverley were still on top leading 51-41 at the half-time interval.

Bendigo was able to then work their way on top during the third quarter by going on an 8-0 scoring run to grab a six-point lead, and end up outscoring Waverley for the quarter 23 points to 10 to lead 64-61 going into the fourth term.

It was still set for a thrilling finish and it was blow for blow right throughout the fourth quarter with neither team willing to give up with a Grand Final spot on the line.

A couple of successive buckets to Tess Madgen did push Bendigo out to a seven-point lead, but Waverley fired back and regained the lead thanks to a Bec Cole three-point bomb with 2:30 remaining.

Kelly Wilson then regained the lead for the Braves before Cassidy McLean pushed them back out to a three-point edge and from there, neither team scored in the final minute and-a-half.

That meant that the Braves secured the 79-76 to advance to Saturday night's Grand Final against the Ringwood Hawks with the NBL1 South championship and a spot at the National Finals on the line.

Tess Madgen showed her quality once again for Bendigo by putting up 23 points, eight assists and three rebounds with Abbey Wehrung adding 23 points, eight boards and three assists while shooting 8/12 from the floor.

Megan McKay finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Braves, Kelly Wilson 11 points, seven boards and five assists, and Cassidy McLean four points, five rebounds and two assists.

Bec Cole finished the afternoon with 22 points and eight assists for Waverley on 8/13 shooting from the field and 4/7 from three-point territory.

Carley Ernst added 21 points, 15 rebounds and three assists for the Falcons, Renae Mokrzycki 12 points and nine boards, and Amelia Todhunter 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.