NBL1 South Recap | Saturday Women's Round 5

Bec Cole, Kelsey Griffin, Alice Kunek, Jade Melbourne, Darcee Garbin and Tess Madgen were among the big names to shine in Saturday night's Round 5 NBL1 South Women's action.

There were wins on Saturday evening in the NBL1 South competition for the Nunawading Spectres, Bendigo Braves, Frankston Blues, Knox Raiders, Ballarat Miners, Waverley Falcons, Keilor Thunder and Launceston Tornadoes.

Round 5 of the NBL1 South Women's season got underway with two matches on Friday night which saw the Mount Gambier Pioneers winning a thriller 82-79 over the Geelong Supercats thanks to a buzzer-beater from Shakera Reilly at the end of overtime.

The Ringwood Hawks also defeated the Hobart Chargers 87-60 in the Friday night action.

Then on Saturday evening, the Nunawading Spectres were impressive in beating the Sandringham Sabres on the road 100-67 thanks to outscoring their opponents 56 to 27 in the second half.

Alice Kunek delivered 29 points in the win for Nunawading while Funda Nakkasoglu top scored for Sandringham with 20 points.

The Bendigo Braves also produced a strong showing to defeat the Diamond Valley Eagles at Bendigo Stadium.

Tess Madgen was the standout in the win for the Braves with 30 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists while Imogen Rock scored 16 points for Diamond Valley.

It was a tight affair at Frankston Basketball Stadium with the Frankston Blues ending up prevailing 86-81 against the Casey Cavaliers.

Darcee Garbin delivered 29 points and 15 rebounds for Frankston, and Tessa Lavey 26 points with Tayla Giliam top-scoring for Casey with 21 points.

The Knox Raiders started impressively to set up their eventual 67-53 win against the Kilsyth Cobras with Leah Santomaggio leading the way with 19 points. Nikita Young had 23 points for Kilsyth.

The Ballarat Miners were led by Jade Melbourne in Saturday night's 82-70 victory against the Melbourne Tigers at Selkirk Stadium. Melbourne delivered 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Miners with Tess Heal scoring 24 points for the Tigers.

The Keilor Thunder took out the 85-77 victory against the Dandenong Rangers at Keilor Stadium with Christa Reed top-scoring with 23 points for the winners. Emilee Harmon put up 29 points and 17 rebounds for the Rangers.

The Launceston Tornadoes overcame a slow start to overpower the Ringwood Hawks at Elphin Sports Stadium to win 90-82. 

Kelsey Griffin had 28 points for Launceston and Keely Froling 25 points to go with 16 rebounds while Marena Whittle put up 25 points for the Hawks.

The Waverley Falcons also scored the 86-69 win over the Eltham Wildcats on Saturday night.

Bec Cole was superb for the Falcons with 30 points while Korinne Campbell top-scored for Eltham with 18 points along with 13 rebounds.

Round 5 in the NBL1 South Women's competition wraps up on Sunday afternoon with the Kilsyth Cobras hosting the Dandenong Rangers, the Melbourne Tigers playing the Sandringham Sabres, the Nunawading Spectres at home to the Keilor Thunder, and the Waverley Falcons tackling the Ballarat Miners.

NBL1 SOUTH – 2022 WOMEN'S SEASON
ROUND 5 – SATURDAY NIGHT

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 67 lost to NUNAWADING SPECTRES 100

The Nunawading Spectres delivered an impressive and commanding performance to beat the Sandringham Sabres on the road on Saturday night.

The two teams did battle at Southern Basketball Stadium and it was a tight first half with the Spectres only leading by four points at both quarter and half-time.

However, Nunawading put their foot down in the third quarter with 24 points to 10, and then closed the deal in the fourth with 32 points to 17 to end up winning 100-67.

The result improves the Spectres to a 4-2 record on the season while the Sabres slipped to 3-4.

It was a stunning shooting display from Nunawading as they went at 57.9 per cent from the floor while also going 32/37 at the foul line. In contrast, Sandringham shot at just 36.4 per cent from the field and 17/20 from the charity stripe.

Alice Kunek was outstanding for the Spectres with 29 points, nine rebounds and three assists with Cassidy Mihalko adding 19 points and six boards, Rachel Antoniadou 16 points and four assists, and Megan Mullings 11 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

Funda Nakkasoglu top-scored for Sandringham with 20 points with Georgia Pineau contributing 19 points and eight rebounds, and Amy O'Neill 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

 

BENDIGO BRAVES 91 defeated DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 55

The Bendigo Braves proved too strong at home for the Diamond Valley Eagles on Saturday night to continue their strong start to the 2022 season.

The Braves were back home at Bendigo Stadium but they couldn’t shake Diamond Valley early leading by just a point at quarter-time.

Bendigo pulled away and asserted their dominance the rest of the way, though, with 23 points to 10 in the second quarter, 28 to 20 in the third and 20 to six in the fourth to end up winning 91-55.

The Braves improve to 5-1 on the season as a result of the win while Diamond Valley is now 1-5.

Fresh off winning another WNBL title with the Melbourne Boomers, Tess Madgen was outstanding in the win for Bendigo finishing with 30 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals while knocking down 4/9 from three-point territory.

Another of Bendigo's WNBL players, Megan McKay, also stood up for 19 points, 10 rebounds and three assists with Abigail Wehrung adding 13 points and four boards, and Cassidy McLean 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Kelly Wilson also dished out nine assists.

Imogen Rock top-scored for Diamond Valley with 16 points and six rebounds with Sophie Byrnes contributing nine points and five boards, and Sophie Burrows eight points and three rebounds.

 

FRANKSTON BLUES 86 defeated CASEY CAVALIERS 81

It was a tight contest between the Frankston Blues and Casey Cavaliers at Frankston Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.

The Cavs came out strongly away from home to lead 25-22 by quarter-time but Frankston turned things around in the second quarter with 24 points to 17 to head into half-time leading 46-42.

It remained a tight contest throughout the second half but the Blues maintained a narrow advantage most of the way to end up winning 86-81 and improve to a 4-2 record on the season while the Cavaliers are now 4-3.

Frankston ended up pulling down 53 rebounds to 37 for the game including 28 of those coming at the offensive end to just eight. That helped them take 27 extra shots and to still win despite shooting 38.2 per cent opposed to the 48.4 per cent from Casey.

The Blues only used eight players and coach Jo Wood used a rotation of just seven players, but Darcee Garbin came up huge with 29 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and three assists on the back of leading the Perth Lynx to the WNBL Grand Final.

Tessa Lavey was also impressive for Frankston with 26 points and five rebounds with Chelsea D'Angelo contributing eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Saraid Taylor 12 points.

Taylah Giliam finished with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Cavaliers while Rachel Bell added 19 points, Monique Conti 18 points and three assists, and Sarah Boothe 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.

 

KNOX RAIDERS 67 defeated KILSYTH COBRAS 53

The Knox Raiders started impressively to set up their eventual 14-point home victory against the Kilsyth Cobras on Saturday night.

The Raiders started strongly at the State Basketball Centre with 20 points to 11 in the opening period and then another 20 points to 12 in the second stanza to go into the half-time interval to lead 40-23.

From there, the Raiders cruised to the 67-53 victory to improve to a 4-3 record on the season while the Cobras slip to 2-5 with the defeat.

Leah Santomaggio top-scored in the win for Knox with 19 points and three rebounds while knocking down 5/8 from three-point territory.

Alicia Froling added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Raiders, Kara Tessari 10 points, seven assists and four steals, Kiera Rowe nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Klara Wischer nine points, eight boards, three assists and two steals.

Nikita Young top-scored for Kilsyth with 23 points and seven rebounds with Briahna Whatman contributing eight points.

 

BALLARAT MINERS 82 defeated MELBOURNE TIGERS 70

The Ballarat Miners proved too strong for the Melbourne Tigers on their home floor on Saturday night.

The Miners hosted the Tigers at Selkirk Stadium and started well with 28 points to 22 in the opening quarter, but Melbourne was able to lock them down in the second period and make it a two-point ball game at the half.

It was still only a three-point lead for the home team at three quarter-time, but Ballarat dominated the fourth term with 27 points to 18 to end up winning the game 82-70.

The win improves the Miners to a 4-3 record on the season while the Tigers now slip to 1-5 as a result of the loss.

Ballarat dominated on the boards with 43 rebounds to Melbourne's 28 including 10 offensively to two.

WNBA draftee Jade Melbourne marked her return to the Miners in impressive fashion with 27 points, 10 rebounds and two assists while knocking down 3/6 from the land of plenty.

Isabella Brancatisano had a strong showing too for Ballarat with 24 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals with Zitina Aokuso contributing 21 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Tess Heal put up 24 points, six rebounds and four assists on the night for the Tigers with Lily Carmody adding 11 points, four boards and three steals, Zoe Hurley eight points, four rebounds and three assists, Hannah Giddey eight points and five assists, and Layla Prince eight points and five rebounds.

 

ELTHAM WILDCATS 69 lost to WAVERLEY FALCONS 86

The Waverley Falcons proved too strong on the road to the Eltham Wildcats running out winners by 17 points on Saturday night.

The Wildcats hosted the Falcons at Eltham High School but it was Waverley who started the better with 23 points to 14.

However, Eltham kept in touch with 23 points to 19 in the second term to limit the Falcons to a five-point advantage at the half.

Waverley was then able to blow the game wide open with 25 points to 13 in the third quarter and that set up their eventual 86-69 victory.

The Falcons improve to a 4-2 record on the season on the back of the victory while the loss sees the Wildcats fall to 1-5.

It was an impressive shooting display from Waverley as they went 50 per cent from the field opposed to 38.5 per cent for Eltham.

Bec Cole delivered a commanding performance for the Falcons finishing with 30 points, six rebounds and two assists while Orla O'Reilly added 12 points, five assists and four steals, and Renae Mokrzycki 10 points, nine boards, four steals and two assists.

Gemma Simon contributed 10 points for Waverley and Amelia Todhunter eight points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Korinne Campbell top-scored for Eltham with 18 points and 13 rebounds with Hailey Leidel contributing 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, Taylah Wynne 15 points, three boards and two steals, and Rebecca Pizzey eight points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

 

KEILOR THUNDER 85 defeated DANDENONG RANGERS 77

The Keilor Thunder delivered an impressive third quarter to set up their eventual eight-point win at home against the Dandenong Rangers.

The Thunder were at home at Keilor Stadium and started well with 30 points to 20 in the first quarter but the Rangers worked their way back into the contest in the second period to be within three points at the half-time break.

However, Keilor turned things up a notch in the third quarter with 23 points to 15 and that proved the pivotal move in the game as they went on to win 85-77.

The win improves the Thunder to a 2-4 record on the season while the Rangers slip to 1-5 with the defeat.

Christa Reed top-scored for Keilor with 23 points and five rebounds while nailing all three of her attempts from three-point range.

Aneta Bandilovska added 17 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Thunder, Maddie Garrick 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Monique Andriuolo 15 points and nine boards.

Emilee Harmon produced another commanding performance for Dandenong with 29 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Luisa Fakalata added 13 points for the Rangers, Lauryn Hippolite nine points, Tenaya Sooalo eight points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals, and Gemma Potter eight points.

 

LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 90 defeated RINGWOOD HAWKS 82

The Launceston Tornadoes overcame a slow start to end up overrunning the Ringwood Hawks and win at home by eight points on Saturday night.

The Hawks were looking to back up their 27-point win from the night prior to the Hobart Chargers and started well on Saturday at Elphin Sports Stadium with 35 points in the opening quarter.

It was a stunning start to the game on the road and they did end up leading by as much as 19 points early in the third quarter.

However, they ended up running out of puff and Launceston finished the game strongly outscoring the Hawks 49 points to 27 in the second half to end up prevailing 90-82.

Launceston improves to 5-1 on the season as a result of the win while Ringwood slips to 5-2 having split their Tasmanian road trip.

Kelsey Griffin came up huge for the Tornadoes with 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 12/20 shooting from the field.

Keely Froling added 25 points and 16 rebounds, and Mariah Payne 20 points and six boards.

Marena Whittle was again impressive for Ringwood delivering 25 points and four rebounds on 11/17 shooting from the field.

Digna Strautmane added 20 points, nine boards and four assists for the Hawks, Marta Hermida 12 points, eight assists, six steals and four rebounds, Jacqueline Trotto 12 points, four boards and four steals, and Toni Farnworth 11 points.