NBL1 South Round 3 Saturday Women’s Recap

Catch up on all of Saturday night's action in the NBL1 Women's competition right here.

Geelong Supercats 92 def Waverley Falcons 49
The Geelong Supercats have dominated the Waverley Falcons at home en route to its first win of the NBL1 season.
The contest started competitively, with each side exchanging leads across the first five minutes.
However, after those opening minutes, it was all Supercats traffic.
Geelong closed the quarter on a 16-3 run and never looked back.
Much of the Supercats’ damage was being done from outside, with the side connecting on 14 of its 29 attempts.
Nine of those makes came from Stephanie Blicavs and Aimie Clydesdale, who led Geelong in scoring, combining for 47 points on the evening (26 and 21 respectively).
On the other side, the Falcons simply never recovered from the opening blow they were dealt.
Renae Mokrzycki led the way for Waverly, scoring 13 points in 19 minutes, however poor shooting and a lack of answers for Geelong's weapons led to the 43-point loss.

Frankston Blues 90 def Launceston Tornadoes 84
In a battle of undefeated teams, the Frankston Blues have outlasted the Launceston Tornadoes in an exciting, high scoring contest.
After taking the lead to open the game, Launceston found themselves playing from behind for the remaining 38 minutes of action.
The Blues continued to push its fast-paced offence led by league-standout Darcee Garbin.
While not the most efficient evening for Garbin, she still top scored for Frankston, tallying 23 points, while adding 11 rebounds.
Taking a 52-38 lead into the main break, Frankston found itself fighting hard in the second half as Launceston’s one-two punch of Keely Froling and Mariah Payne caught fire.
The pair combined for 58 points on the evening and led the Tornadoes back within reaching distance.
A shot from Payne closed the gap to just two points with less than a minute remaining, however some clutch free-throws from Frankston sealed its fourth victory of the year.

Knox Raiders 111 def Albury Wodonga Bandits 38
The Knox Raiders have handed the Albury Wodonga Bandits the largest defeat so far in the 2021 NBL1 season, thrashing the visitors by 73 points.
It was sheer domination from the outset, with Knox closing the first quarter with a 22-point lead.
Marianna Tolo scored at will for the Raiders, tallying 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in just 21 minutes of action.
Tolo’s inside strength opened up opportunities for Knox’s outside shooters, with Karra Tessari and Kiera Rowe each hitting five three-points.
For the Bandits, it was a familiar story, as Emma Mahady (20 points, seven rebounds) lacked the scoring punch from the rest of the team in order to secure its first win of the young season.

Ballarat Rush 67 def by Bendigo Braves 74
The Bendigo Braves have spoiled the Ballarat Rush’s first NBL1 home game of the season, overcoming a 14-point second-half deficit to secure an important win.
The first term was a back-and-forth affair, with Ballarat ultimately able to pull ahead and take a one-point lead into the first break.
From there, the Rush, led by the three-pronged attack of Kristy Rinaldi, Kasey Burton and Alicia Froling, were able to take control of the game, outscoring the Braves 26-14 going into halftime.
Following the main break, Bendigo’s interior dominance started to take shape, with the Braves gaining control of the game thanks to strong work on the glass and crisp passing.
Tess Madgen and Kate Oliver each scored 18 for Bendigo as they slowly reduced the Ballarat lead before pulling in front late in the final term.
The Rush kept the game close, tying the scores and taking back the lead shortly afterwards, however Bendigo’s resilience was too much, ultimately seeing the Braves take home a seven-point victory.

Diamond Valley Eagles 48 def by Melbourne Tigers 93
The Melbourne Tigers have secured an easy victory over the Diamond Valley Eagles on the road on Saturday evening.
After a relatively close first term, the Tigers blasted away from the Eagles thanks to some terrific shooting from behind the arc.
Isabella Brancatisano and Gemma Simon each connected on six deep-range shots, while Monique Conti hit a quartet of triples on her way to 23 points.
To go along with Melbourne’s hot-shooting offence, the defence from the Tigers was stifling.
Melbourne forced the Eagles into 22 turnovers, which was three-more than Diamond Valley had in made baskets.
The loss was the fourth straight to open the season for Diamond Valley.

Eltham Wildcats 87 def Nunawading Spectres 74
The Eltham Wildcats have continued its unbeaten start to the NBL1 season, overcoming the Nunawading Spectres thanks to some strong work in the rebounding department.
After trailing early in the contest, the Wildcats took the lead to close the first quarter and never looked back.
Despite a so-so day shooting the basketball, Eltham’s dominance on the glass guided them to victory.
The Wildcats outrebounded Nunawading 52-32, which included 22 offensive rebounds.
Anneli Maley continued her hot start to the season, ending the game with 15 points and 19 rebounds, while Lily Scanlon top-scored in the contest with 24 points for Eltham.
Trailing by 20 points going into the final term, Nunawading tried its best to mount a comeback, however it was too little, too late.
Penina Davidson had an impressive outing for the Spectres, tallying 20 points, eight rebounds and five steals in the losing effort.

Kilsyth Cobras 75 def Hobart Chargers 73
In perhaps the most exciting women’s game on Saturday evening, the Kilsyth Cobras have come away with a narrow victory against the Hobart Chargers at home.
The story of the contest was Hobart consistently chasing down the Cobras lead to keep the game close.
Kilsyth led by as many as eight points to start the game, however the Chargers would not go away at any point in the evening.
Madeleine Garrick continued her spectacular start to the season for Hobart, leading all scorers in the contest with 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
While Garrick was good, the all-around offensive contribution from the Cobras was better.
All nine of Kilsyth’s players got in the scoring column, thanks in part to some nice passing (19 assists on 30 made baskets).
After trailing for most of the game, Hobart’s Sharna Thompson pulled the chargers within two-points of the Cobras with less than a minute to go, however those would be the final points of the game for the visitors, who will head to Melbourne tomorrow with hopes of securing its first win of the year against the Tigers.

Mt Gambier Pioneers 45 def by Ringwood Hawks 89
The Ringwood Hawks have ensured the Mt Gambier Pioneers remain winless after three rounds, smashing the home side by 55 points.
The Pioneers scored the opening basket of the game, however that would be the last lead Mt Gambier would enjoy for the remainder of the contest.
Ringwood hounded the Pioneers, forcing the side into more turnovers (17) than made baskets (16).
On the offensive end, the Hawks played a smart game, taking good shots and pounding the offensive glass.
Led by Funda Nakkasoglu’s 26 points, the Hawks controlled each of the four quarters, including a huge fourth term, which saw Ringwood outscore the home side 35-8.