NBL1 South Round 4 Saturday Women’s Recap

Catch up on all the action from a busy night in the NBL1 South Women's competition.

Sandringham Sabres 79 def Diamond Valley Eagles 57
The Sandringham Sabres have broken its two-game losing streak in a victory against the still-winless Diamond Valley Eagles at the Southern Basketball Stadium.
The Sabres got out to the perfect start, scoring the first 13 points of the game thanks in part to some great team play.
The Eagles did manage to outscore Sandringham for the remainder of the quarter after the run, but found itself in an unenviable position playing from behind.
Diamond Valley tried its best to get back into the game in the second term, however the Sabres remained one step ahead, extending its lead going into halftime to 16 points.
Turnovers were a major issue for the Eagles throughout the game. Diamond Valley turned the ball over 33 times, while only producing four assists.
The sloppy play continued heading into the second half as Sandringham continued to build upon its lead, which reached as large as 25 points.
Jenna O’Hea and Rachel Jarry led the way for the Sabres, combining for 46 points (24 and 22 respectively) in the dominant home victory. 

Geelong Supercats 78 def by Nunawading Spectres 81
The Geelong Supercats have lost in heartbreaking fashion in front of its home fans against the Nunawading Spectres.
It was a back and forth affair, with neither team able to extend its lead beyond nine points.
Geelong pulled ahead early, but strong play from Nunawading reduced the deficit to just two points going into the first break.
It was a similar story in the second half, only flipped, with the Spectres pulling in front to start the quarter before the Supercats hit back, mainly through the dynamic duo of Stephanie Blicavs and Aimie Clydesdale.
The pair combined for 41 points and seven three-point makes, which kept Geelong in the game, no matter how hard Nunawading tried to pull away.
The Spectres were able to grab a hold of the lead as the second half played out, however a late push, culminated by a clutch triple from Supercats forward Rebakah O’Donnell, tied the game with only minutes to go.
The two sides could not be separated, with Nunawading receiving the final opportunity to win the game with one second remaining.
Rachel Brewster, who had already connected on three three-pointers earlier in the contest took the opportunity and ran with it, sinking a spectacular, buzzer-beating basket from downtown to bring the game to an emphatic end.

Ballarat Rush 50 def by Frankston Blues 61
The Frankston Blues remain undefeated after its opening five games of the NBL1 season, following a wire-to-wire victory on the road against the Ballarat Rush.
The Blues jumped out to an 8-0 lead to open the contest and simply never looked back.
Every time Ballarat looked to gain momentum and retake the lead, the Blues would simply slow the game down, lock in on defence and build its own lead back up.
Frankston struggled to get its offence humming at times, however because of the sides strong defence, it never became an issue.
The Blues forced the Rush into 25 turnovers, which crippled Ballarat’s flow.
Claire Constable tried her best to provide a spark for the Rush, scoring 14 points in 22 minutes, while Alicia Froling attacked the glass inside (19 rebounds), however nothing Ballarat did seemed to slow the Blues.
After taking a nine point lead into halftime, Frankston ultimately extended its lead to 20 in the fourth quarter, before settling in for the 11 point victory.

Bendigo Braves 83 def Melbourne Tigers 68
The Bendigo Braves have extended its winning streak to three games, in turn snapping Melbourne’s own three-game streak, after beating the Tigers in Bendigo.
The Braves got out to a hot start, closing the opening quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 25-16 lead into the first break.
The passing from Bendigo was strong from the outset, with the Braves ultimately finishing with 26 assists on 34 made baskets.
Tess Madgen and Abigail Wehrung each had six assists for Bendigo, which led the team.
The Braves used this strong ball movement to continue pulling away from Melbourne, leading by as many as 21 points in the second quarter.
However, the Tigers showcased resilience in the second half, never giving up on a game which at times looked beyond them.
Led by Monique Conti and Isabella Brancatisano, who each finished with 16 points, Melbourne pounced on Bendigo side which looked to have taken its foot off the pedal in the third term.
A Conti layup brought the Tigers within three-points of tying the contest, however that would be the closest Melbourne would get for the remainder of the game.
Bendigo was able to find its form in the final term, outsourcing Melbourne 21-11 to secure the home-court victory.

Dandenong Rangers 88 def Mt Gambier Pioneers 84
In one of the most exciting games of the round so far, the Dandenong Rangers have handed the Mt Gambier Pioneers its fourth straight loss to start the season.
After briefly holding the lead after the opening tip, the Dandenong found itself playing  catchup for much of the game as the Pioneers shot out to a strong lead.
Mt Gambier closed the first term with a one-point lead, before extending its lead to 14 in the second quarter. 
Pioneers guard Jasmin Howe put together a stellar performance across the contest for Mt Gambier, scoring 35 points on just 21 shots.
After half time, Dandenong found itself slowly chipping away at the lead, before pushing in front before the quarter ended.
Emilee Harmon did it all for the Rangers, scoring 26 points while pulling down nine rebounds, dishing out three assists and stealing the ball three times.
Dandenong’s momentum looked to be leading the side to victory, however a Madeline Wormald three-pointer in the closing seconds tied the game for the Pioneers, forcing the game into overtime.
Despite Wormald’s heroics to close the fourth quarter, Dandenong would not be denied its victory.
Rangers guard Tenaya Sooalo scored five of her 12 points for the game in the overtime period, securing the victory.

Launceston Tornadoes 73 def by Eltham Wildcats 86
The Eltham Wildcats have won its second game in as many nights, taking down the Launceston Tornadoes on the road to remain unbeaten through its first five games.
Missing key guard Lily Scanlon, Eltham fought hard in the first term, opening up a nine-point lead before the Tornadoes pushed.
Aiming to edge closer to the top of the competition ladder, Launceston played through its stars to retake the lead in the second term, before extending it to as many as 12-points in the third quarter.
The main battle of the game was on the inside, as Tornadoes forward Keely Froling (23 points, 18 rebounds) clashed with Wildcats big Anneli Maley (19 points, 18 rebounds) all game.
Both players frustrated each other into poor shooting games, however it would be Maley and the Wildcats who got the last laugh.
Led by Rebecca Pizzey (23 points), Eltham dominated Launceston in the final term, outsourcing the Tornadoes 23-6 to run away with the 13-point win.

Albury Wodonga Bandits 78 def by Kilsyth Cobras 100
The Kilsyth Cobras have denied Albury Wodonga its first win of the season, running away with a comfortable victory on the road.
The first quarter was fast-paced and back and forth, with the Bandits holding the advantage going into the first break thanks to some amazing play from Emma Mahady and Brodie-Paige Theodore.
The duo combined for 69 of Albury Wodonga’s 78 points on the evening, with Madady tallying 41 points and connecting on eight three-pointers.
While the offensive explosion from Mahady and Theodore was exciting, the Bandits simply couldn’t do enough to stop Kilsyth from scoring at will.
The Cobras took the lead in the second quarter and never looked back.
Lauren Scherf led the way for Kilsyth, putting together an impressive double-double (30 points, 10 rebounds).

Ringwood Hawks 69 def by Knox Raiders 83
The Knox Raiders remain amongst the league's undefeated teams after winning a hard fought game on the road against the Ringwood Hawks.
Knox led from the opening tip, pulling ahead by as many as 21-points in the second term.
Things however changed in the second half for both sides as the Hawks found a nice rhythm behind the stellar play of Marena Whittle.
Whittle played all 40 minutes and led all scorers in the contest, tallying 38 points to go along with her 15 rebounds.
Behind the play from Whittle, Ringwood closed the gap to just three-points with about five minutes remaining.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, the comeback could not be completed, as Knox locked into its ball-movement focussed gaemplan to hold on to the lead, ultimately resulting in the 14-point win.