South Recap | Round 11 Friday

Image credit: Andrew Scherer / DLNQNT PHOTOGRAPHY

Knox Raiders and Melbourne Tigers women kept their NBL1 South winning form going while Knox men produced a huge fourth quarter to beat Hobart Chargers, and Jack Purchase and Tom Wilson combined for 60 points and 12 threes for Melbourne.

SOUTH RECAP | ROUND 10 SUNDAY

WOMEN

Hobart Chargers (59) lost to Knox Raiders (88)

The Knox Raiders made it six straight wins to stay in touch of a top two position with the 88-59 road win to start their Tasmanian double-header weekend against the Hobart Chargers.

The Chargers were back home at Hobart Netball and Sports Centre but on a four-game losing slide as they played host to a Raiders outfit having won five straight and needing to keep winning to remain a chance of chasing down the second placed Keilor Thunder.

It was a fast start away from home by Knox with 30 points to 17 in the first quarter while shooting 12/17 from the field opposed to the 7/16 from the Chargers.

It was another 26 points to 15 in the second frame for the visitors with the lead out to as much as 27 points before Knox were leading 56-32 by the half-time interval.

That lead for the Raiders grew to 29 points in the second half and eventually that was the final winning margin even while only making one extra free-throw despite 13 more attempts.

However, Knox did take 17 more field goals than Hobart on the back of pulling down 21 offensive rebounds and forcing the Chargers into 17 turnovers.

Knox are now 13-3 on the season to remain solid in third position having won six straight ahead of taking on the Launceston Tornadoes on Saturday in the battle of Froling sisters.

Alicia Froling geared up for that match up with 24 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks on 10/12 field goal shooting.

Agnes Emma-Nnopu added 13 points, 10 rebounds and two steals, Kiera Glover 11 points, three boards and two assists, and Paige Bradley 11 points and six assists.

Hobart have now lost their past five matches to slip to a 4-12 record with Chelsea D'Angelo finishing with 16 points, five assists and three rebounds.

Kayla Steindl also had 13 points, two rebounds and two steals, Sharna Thompson 12 points and five boards, and Tayla Roberts 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

HOBART CHARGERS 59 (D'Angelo 16, Steindl 13, Thompson 12)

KNOX RAIDERS 88 (Froling 24, Emma-Nnopu 13, Bradley 11, Glover 11)

Mount Gambier Pioneers (57) lost to Melbourne Tigers (82)

The Melbourne Tigers started on fire with 31 points in the first quarter to set up the eventual 82-57 road win against the Melbourne Tigers to consolidate their playoff position.

The Pioneers were back home at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre, but were missing Haliegh Reinoehl as they tried to get a win to keep them in playoff contention.

The Tigers arrived sitting in eighth place after beating the Hobart Chargers at home last Saturday night and they made a flying start away from home with 31 points to 17 in the first quarter.

Melbourne shot 12/16 from the field in those first 10 minutes including knocking down five three-pointers to open up that 14-point quarter-time advantage.

The lead got out to 16 points in second frame for the Tigers before they went into the half-time interval leading 48-32.

It was another 17 points to eight in the third quarter from Melbourne as their lead eventually got out to 31 points in the final term, and they would go on to score the eventual 25-point victory.

The win improves the Tigers to a 9-6 record on the season to remain solid inside the top eight with Izzy Borlase top scoring with 16 points with 3/6 shooting from behind the three-point line.

Eve Braslis added 15 points and six rebounds, Ella Tofaeono 14 points, 14 boards, three assists and two steals, Sienna Harvey 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Indiah Bowyer nine points, six assists and four boards.

The loss is another blow to the playoff aspiration of the Pioneers who are now 6-10 with Isa Brancatisano delivering 23 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and three assists on 4/11 three-point shooting.

Cat MacGregor added 10 points, three rebounds and two assists, Chloe Hildebrand nine points, five boards and three assists, and Keryl Ousey seven points, two assists and two steals.

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 57 (Brancatisano 23, MacGregor 10, Hildebrandt 9)

MELBOURNE TIGERS 82 (Borlase 16, Braslis 15, Tofaeono 14)

MEN

Hobart Chargers (90) lost to Knox Raiders (94)

It was a battle of top four teams that didn’t fail to deliver and eventually the league-leading Knox Raiders prevailed 94-90 away to the Hobart Chargers thanks to a monstrous final quarter.

The two teams arrived Hobart Netball and Sports Centre with the Chargers sitting fourth having won five straight while the Raiders remained in top spot and having yet to lose a game away from home so far in 2025.

That set the stage for a tantalising match up between the 2022 and 2023 NBL1 South champions and it would turn out to be quite the fascinating contest.

It was just a one-point lead for the Raiders by the end of the first quarter but then Hobart took charge with 30 points to 19 in the second frame on the back of shooting 11/23 from the floor and 5/6 at the foul line to just the 7/20 field goal shooting from Knox.

That saw Hobart leading 50-40 by the half-time break and the Chargers would end up leading by 18 points in the third quarter, and still by 10 at three quarter-time.

But the game had another twist and that was a massive last term from the Raiders as they piled on 32 points thanks to shooting 10/17 from the floor and 11/14 at the foul line to come from 10 points down to end up scoring the four-point victory.

The win improves the Raiders to a 14-2 record for the season to be further clear in top spot and with a perfect 7-0 record on the road ahead of a clash with the North West Tasmania Thunder on Saturday to complete their away double.

Sydney Kings NBL powerhouse Keli Leaulepe produced 27 points and five rebounds with 5/8 three-point shooting in the won for Knox with Tad Dufelmeier providing 19 points, six assists, four boards and two steals.

Brody Nunn added 17 points and four rebounds, Henry Sewell 11 points and two boards, and Brayon Blake 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Hobart are now 9-6 on the season with the end of their five-game winning streak with Will Cranston-Lown now having really hit his stride after being a two-time MVP in the NBL1 East with the Maitland Mustangs.

He delivered 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Ole Angerstein contributed 17 points, 11 boards and five blocked shots, Vincent DeAngelo 13 points, four assists and three boards, Jacob Richards 12 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Henry Makeny 11 points and nine boards.

HOBART CHARGERS 90 (Cranston-Lown 31, DeAngelo 13, Richards 12)

KNOX RAIDERS 94 (Leaulepe 27, Dufelmeier 19, Nunn 17)

Mount Gambier Pioneers (84) lost to Melbourne Tigers (95)

There was no Harry Froling for the Melbourne Tigers but Tom Wilson and Jack Purchase combined for 60 points without him as they scored the 95-84 road win over the Mount Gambier Pioneers.

The Pioneers were back home at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre with plenty at stake for both teams with Mount Gambier needing a win to stay second while the Tigers could move closer to the top if they claimed the win away from home.

It was an impressive start from the Pioneers who shot 9/18 from the field and 5/7 at the line in the first quarter while not sending the Tigers to the foul line once and holding them to 2/10 three-point shooting.

That saw Mount Gambier leading 24-16 by quarter-time but Melbourne managed 25 points to 19 in the second frame while getting to the line seven times and then it was the Pioneers just clinging to the 43-41 lead by the major break.

It was then a monstrous 40-point third quarter from the tigers with 8/9 three-point shooting as they blew the game wide open while limiting the Pioneers to just the 19 points.

That saw Melbourne turn a two-point half-time deficit into a 22-point lead which they consolidated into the 11-point victory on the back of knocking down 16/35 from deep opposed to the 4/21 from Mount Gambier.

The Tigers improve to a 9-6 record with the win in their only appearance of the weekend with Tom Wilson outstanding as he gears up for his NBL return at Melbourne United with 34 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 6/12 three-point shooting.

Jack Purchase added 26 points and three assists while hitting 6/8 from behind the three-point arc while Chris Arcidiacono contributed 17 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Taj Chehhal nine points.

Mount Gambier are now 10-6 with a second straight defeat having also lost to the Knox Raiders last week with Joe Palmer finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Akech Aliir also had 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, Kaden Archie 15 points on 7/8 field goal shooting, and Amarco Doyle 12 points and six rebounds.

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 84 (Palmer 23, Aliir 20, Archie 15)

MELBOURNE TIGERS 95 (Wilson 34, Purchase 26, Arcidiacono 17)