South Recap | Round 3 Friday

Image credit: Cam Brown | @cambrownvisuals

Hannah Hank and Lara McSpadden lifted Geelong United and Diamond Valley Eagles to Friday night NBL1 South wins while Michael Harris and Akech Aliir did the same for Frankston Blues and Mount Gambier Pioneers fresh off signing on for NBL26.

SOUTH RECAP | ROUND 2 SUNDAY

WOMEN

Hobart Chargers (58) lost to Kilsyth Cobras (62)

The Kilsyth Cobras spoiled the home opener for 2025 of the Hobart Chargers on Friday night with the 62-58 win despite a flying finish from the hosts.

It was a first home game of the season at South East Stadium for the Chargers as they looked to build on a 1-2 start away from home while Kilsyth started their double-header in Tasmania still hunting a first win of 2025.

It was Kilsyth who got off to the better start to be leading 20-14 by the end of the first quarter on the back of a 10-0 run before their lead got out to 11 in the second term.

The Cobras were still in control leading 38-27 by half-time and their advantage got out to 17 in the third period and they were still on top 51-40 by three quarter-time.

Hobart had plenty of work to do if they were to score the win on their home floor and they were able to get back within four points in the final period, but no closer than that and Kilsyth held firm for the four-point win.

It's a first win in four attempts this season for the Cobras and they ended up taking 11 extra shots and five more free throws despite losing the rebound count by 11, and forcing Hobart into 11 turnovers was a big part of that.

Abby O'Connor finished with 20 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists in the win for Kilsyth with Paige Price adding 14 points and 11 boards, and Nikita Young nine points, five rebounds and three steals.

The Chargers are now 1-3 following the defeat with Tayla Roberts delivering 18 points, 15 rebounds and two assists while Sharna Thompson contributed 13 points and four boards, Chelsea D'Angelo 12 points and six rebounds, and Kayla Steindl 11 points and five boards.

HOBART CHARGERS 58 (Roberts 18, Thompson 13, D'Angelo 12)

KILSYTH COBRAS 62 (O'Connor 20, Price 14, Young 9)

Waverley Falcons (56) lost to Geelong United (77)

Geelong United's perfect start to the season continued on the road on Friday night as they knocked off the defending champion Waverley Falcons 77-56.

Geelong has opened their new season coming off having a team in the WNBL for the first time with impressive wins against the Mount Gambier Pioneers and Ballarat Miners ahead of playing Waverley on Friday at Waverley Basketball Centre.

The Falcons saw their 15-game winning streak that included winning the NBL1 South and National Finals championships coming to an end on Tuesday night at the expense of the Knox Raiders.

While attempting to hit back on their home floor, it was always going to be tough without championship heroes Carley Ernst and Bec Cole.

Geelong didn’t take long to stamp its authority on the contest with 21 points to nine before they piled on 31 to 15 in the second frame to head into half-time on top 52-24.

From there Geelong cruised to the 21-point victory to improve to 3-0 on the new season with Hannah Hank continuing to play with great confidence after her WNBL season to deliver 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Jaz Shelley is also playing full of confidence and provided 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, Mackenzie Drew 14, and Dakota Crichton eight points, four rebounds and three assists.

Liana Kinkela finished with 12 points and six rebounds on 5/8 shooting for Waverley with Sophia Locandro contributing 11 points and six boards, and West Australian recruit Millie McCarthy nine points, two assists and two steals.

WAVERLEY FALCONS 56 (Kinkela 12, Locandro 11, McCarthy 9)

GEELONG UNITED 77 (Hank 20, Shelley 16, Drew 14)

Launceston Tornadoes (86) lost to Ballarat Miners (94)

The Ballarat Miners are on the board in the 2025 NBL1 South season with Micah Simpson delivering 28 points and 10 assists to lead her team to the 94-86 road victory over the Launceston Tornadoes.

Both teams came into the match up at Harcourts Stadium on the look out for a first win of the season with the Tornadoes having lost their opening three matches including first up at home to Hobart with the Miners having lost their first two as well.

Launceston were leading narrowly 21-20 by the end of the first quarter and then even though the Miners managed to move out to a nine-point lead in the second frame, by half-time the scores were all level at 40-40.

It was still just a one-point lead for Ballarat by three quarter-time before the Miners did have the better of the last 10 minutes with 28 points to 21 on the way to the eventual eight-point victory.

It was a high-quality affair with both teams shooting bang on 50 per cent from the field with the Miners putting up 14/31 from behind the three-point arc and Launceston 8/23 while Ballarat shot 14/15 the foul line to the Torns' 10/14.

Ballarat improved to 1-2 on the season with the win to start their Tasmania double-header weekend with Micah Simpson the star with 28 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals on shooting 9/14 from the floor and 9/10 at the free-throw line.

Julia Gladkova provided 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, Abbey Wehrung 19 points and six boards, Lilly Impey nine points on 3/4 three-point shooting, and Laura Taylor nine points and five boards.

Despite the loss there were encouraging signs for Launceston especially the performance of Bailey Flavell who delivered 29 points and three assists on 11/18 shooting.

Sarah O'Neill added 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Megan Mullings 15 points, five boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks, and Taya Webb 10 points and seven rebounds.

LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 86 (Flavell 29, O'Neill 16, Mullings 15)

BALLARAT MINERS 94 (Simpson 28, Gladkova 21, Wehrung 19)

Frankston Blues (64) lost to Diamond Valley Eagles (82)

Lara McSpadden showed what an addition to the NBL1 South and Diamond Valley Eagles she will be by leading her new team to the 82-64 Friday night road victory over the Frankston Blues.

The Eagles had won just one of their first four games of the season coming into the match up with Frankston at Dreamstreet Lending Arena with the Blues having split their opening two matches.

Frankston were hunting a first home win of the season and made a blistering start to score 12 straight points in the first quarter on the way to a 14-point lead, and still being in control at 23-12 by quarter-time.

Diamond Valley were able to work back into the contest in the second quarter to cut Frankston's lead to just two at half-time, and then the Eagles took complete control through the second half.

Diamond Valley outscored the Blues 45 points to 25 in the second half, and 70 to 41 after the first quarter on the way to the 18-point win to improve to 2-3 on the season.

Lara McSpadden is a big-time signing for the Eagles and showed why by putting the team on her back for 24 points and eight rebounds on 9/15 shooting in her 34 minutes.

She had plenty of help too with Abbey Ellis finishing with 17 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds, Sophie Byrnes 10 points, four boards and two steals, Tayha Watkins nine points and three rebounds, and Lucy Oakford nine points while Erin Riley had nine points and five assists with four points.

Bonnie Beas produced an encouraging showing for Frankston with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals with Lou Brown contributing 19 points, 17 boards and three assists, and Tori Jackson eight points and four assists.

FRANKSTON BLUES 64 (Deas 23, Brown 19, Jackson 8)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 82 (McSpadden 24, Ellis 17, Byrnes 10)

Mount Gambier Pioneers (71) defeated Sandringham Sabres (55)

The Mount Gambier Pioneers are on the board for 2025 with Haliegh Reinoehl especially impressive in the 71-55 home win over the Sandringham Sabres on Friday night.

The Pioneers lost their season-opener also at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre to Geelong United before losing twice on the road last weekend to Keilor Thunder and the Casey Cavaliers.

Sandringham, meanwhile, arrived in Mount Gambier yet to lose in 2025 with wins against Frankston, Melbourne and Hobart.

That set the stage for a tantalising match up between two of last year's finals teams and Mount Gambier came out on a mission from the outset to already be leading 27-10 by quarter-time.

The lead got out to as much as 21 points in the second quarter with the Pioneers remaining in control leading 41-29 by half-time.

Mount Gambier then completed a 14-0 run in the third quarter to see the lead grow to as much as 24 points and from there they were able to score the 16-point win having held the Sabres to 25 second half points to give them their first defeat of 2025.

It was the first win of the season too for the Pioneers with Haliegh Reinoehl leading the charge with 16 points, 21 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

She had plenty of help too with Jayda Jansen top-scoring with 19 points along with five rebounds, five steals and two rebounds with Isa Brancatisano adding 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Edie Easterby six points, nine boards and four steals.

Haylee Andrews top-scored for Sandringham in their first loss of the season with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists with 4/7 three-point shooting while Lucy Cochrane provided 10 points and five boards, and Keeley Frawley six points and 11 rebounds.

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 71 (Jansen 19, Reinoehl 16, Brancatisano 14)

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 55 (Andrews 17, Cochrane 10, Lopes 7)

Dandenong Rangers (96) defeated Keilor Thunder (53)

The Dandenong Rangers sent quite an ominous warning across the NBL1 South by remaining undefeated and doing so in style with the thumping 96-53 win over Keilor Thunder.

Granted, Keilor was missing superstar pair Maddy Rocci and Issie Bourne, but the Rangers also were still without Nyadiew Puoch and Dandenong put on a show right from the start at Dandenong Basketball Stadium.

Having already won their opening three games of the season, the Rangers shot out of the blocks with 38 points in the first quarter to already open up a 16-point lead and to be up by 15 at quarter-time.

Dandenong weren’t about to let up either and put up 24 more points in the second frame to lead by as much as 28 and to be in control at 62-37 by half-time.

The Rangers did go cold in the third quarter with just the six points, but Keilor weren’t much better with just the eight points.

The Thunder then also only scored eight in the fourth while Dandenong got going once more with 28 on the way to the eventual 43-point win to improve to 4-0 to open 2025.

Not only did the Rangers end up attempting 14 extra shots, but they also went at 45 per cent from the field opposed to 25 from Keilor along with making 11/32 from three-point range to 3/23.

Dandenong also pulled down 18 offensive rebounds and forced Keilor into 20 turnovers in an all-round dominant showing.

Dallas Loughridge had a night out with 26 points, two rebounds and two steals while Georgia Taylor hit 7/9 from three-point territory for 22 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals.

Georgia Booth also had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Imogen Rock 12 points and 11 boards, and Manuela Puoch 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

It's a decidedly different Keilor team, obviously, without Maddy Rocci and Issie Bourne, with Isobelle Wightman top-scoring with 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks with Madeline Puli adding 12 points and seven boards, and Kasey Burton 11 points and 10 rebounds.

DANDENONG RANGERS 96 (Loughridge 26, Taylor 22, Booth 15)

KEILOR THUNDER 53 (Wightman 14, Puli 12, Burton 11)

MEN

Hobart Chargers (96) defeated Kilsyth Cobras (84)

Two-time NBL1 East MVP Will Cranston-Lown is settling nicely into the NBL1 South and delivered 23 points and nine assists on 70 per cent shooting to lead the Hobart Chargers to the 96-84 home win over the Kilsyth Cobras.

The Chargers had yet to taste defeat so far in 2025 upon their first game at home at South East Stadium of the season as they put that unbeaten record on the line against a Cobras team having won two straight following a first up loss to the Knox Raiders.

Hobart started strongly in front of their home fans with 26 points to 17 in the opening quarter having gone on a run of scoring 13 consecutive points.

The Chargers maintained a nine-point lead by half-time and then completed another 14-0 run into the third period to lead by as much as 23, and then held out the fast finishing Kilsyth for the eventual 12-point victory.

The Cobras had been able to pull it all the way back to a 12-point ball game with five minutes remaining, but an Ole Angerstein dunk settled things out of a timeout for Hobart who went on to secure the win to move to 3-0 on the season.

Will Cranston-Lown has started the past two years in the NBL1 East culminating in a second straight MVP award and the championship with the Maitland Mustangs in 2024 ahead of joining the Chargers of the NBL1 South for 2025.

He starred in just his fourth game for Hobart on Friday night with 23 points, nine assists and three rebounds on shooting 7/10 from the floor, 3/4 from three-point range and 6/7 at the foul line.

Jacob Richards also put up 22 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals for the winners, Henry Makeny 21 points and nine boards, and Ole Angerstein nine points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Cobras are now 2-2 following the defeat to start their weekend double in Tasmania with Khadim Sy having a fascinating battle with Angerstein and finishing with 26 points and eight rebounds.

Ben Ursich provided 15 points on 5/7 three-point shooting with Macauley Haig contributing 15 points on 3/5 long-range shooting with Kilsyth going 18/45 as a team for the game.

HOBART CHARGERS 96 (Cranston-Lown 23, Richards 22, Makeny 21)

KILSYTH COBRAS 84 (Sy 26, Ursich 15, Haig 15)

Waverley Falcons (96) defeated Geelong United (88)

The Waverley Falcons took charge in the second quarter and never looked back on the way to the 96-88 home victory against Geelong United.

The Falcons were back on their home floor at Waverley Basketball Centre looking to bounce back from Tuesday night's loss to the Knox Raiders after winning the opening two matches of 2025 to the Nunawading Spectres and North West Tasmania Thunder.

Geelong arrived fresh off their first win of the season as well over the Ballarat Miners, and it was the Falcons clinging to a 22-18 lead by quarter-time.

Geelong were then leading by as much as five points after an 11-0 run in the second frame, but Waverley responded with nine consecutive points of their own and went into the locker room for the break on top 47-36.

That lead got out to as much as 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Falcons and even though Geelong did throw everything at a comeback, it wasn’t quite to be with Waverley ending up winning by eight to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Malik Meunier produced 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win for the Falcons with Robbie Heath delivering 19 points, three boards and three assists, and Mason Forbes 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Bennie Lewis also had 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, Michael Harper 10 points and two steals, and Matthew McCarthy nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Geelong is now 1-2 following the road defeat with Liam Herbert top-scoring with 20 points while Tristan Forsyth provided 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists, DeMarcus Gatlin 19 points and 10 boards, and Kaelen Malone 15 points, six assists and four rebounds.

WAVERLEY FALCONS 96 (Meunier 21, Heath 19, Forbes 18)

GEELONG UNITED 88 (Herbert 20, Gatlin 19, Forsyth 19)

 

North West Tasmania Thunder (88) lost to Ballarat Miners (94)

With six players scoring in double-figures it was a strong team performance from the Ballarat Miners that saw them head across Bass Strait and come up with the 94-88 win over the North West Tasmania Thunder.

Both teams came into the match up at Harcourts Stadium with a win and a loss from their two games completed so far this season and with both having a double-header this weekend, a Friday night win was hot on the agenda.

It was the home team who got the better of the start with North West Tasmania racing out to a 17-point lead and still being on top 28-16 by quarter-time.

Ballarat were able to work back into the contest with a 7-0 run in the second quarter but still going into half-time it was the Thunder leading 49-40.

The Miners then took charge in the third quarter with 27 points to 12 including scoring 12 consecutive points, but the Thunder still made a game of it in the fourth.

Despite being eight points down early in the fourth, North West Tasmania went on a stunning run and back-to-back three-pointers from Kye Savage and Tre Armstrong saw them grab the lead with six minutes to go.

The Thunder even pushed out to a four-point lead with three minutes to play but once Majok Majok restored Ballarat to the lead with an offensive rebound and putback, they never looked back.

An unsportsmanlike foul call on Tyler Harris sent Aiden Krause to the line where he made both, then he was fouled again on the extra possession and made the pair and the Miners went on to win by six from there.

Six players scored between 10 and 18 points for Ballarat in the win with Majok Majok leading the way with 18 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

Aiden Krause also had 14 points and four rebounds, Nick Stoddart 13 points, four boards, four assists and four steals, Zac Dunmore 13 points, two assists and two steals, Andrew Robinson 12 points and four rebounds, and Luke Rosendale 10 points, three boards and two steals.

North West Tasmania is now 1-2 following the loss with Tre Armstrong delivering 25 points, four rebounds and three assists with 7/14 three-point shooting.

Kye Savage added 16 points, three rebounds and three steals, Archie Woodhill 13 points, Bang Majok 11 points, two board and two assists, and Lachlan Barker 11 points and seven assists.

NORTH WEST TASMANIA THUNDER 88 (Armstrong 25, Savage 16, Woodhill 13)

BALLARAT MINERS 94 (Majok 18, Krause 14, Dunmore 13, Stoddart 13)

Frankston Blues (94) defeated Diamond Valley Eagles (75)

Fresh off signing to make his NBL return to Adelaide, Michael Harris put the Frankston Blues on his back to lead them to the 94-75 home win over the Diamond Valley Eagles.

The Blues were back home at Dreamstreet Lending Arena on Friday night playing host to Diamond Valley with both teams looking to record their second wins of the 2025 season.

It was a high-octane opening with the two teams combining for 62 points in the first quarter with Frankston leading 33-29 by quarter-time.

The scoring slowed a little in the second frame but it did remain a tight affair and by half-time it was the Blues leading 56-47.

The lead then blew out in favour of Frankston throughout the second half with the home team building an 18-point advantage in the third stanza, and 25 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 19-point victory.

The Blues improve to 2-1 on the season with the win with Michael Harris the star of the evening fresh off a frustrating season at the Perth Wildcats after he starred in the NBL1 West at the Warwick Senators in 2024.

His NBL future is secure at the 36ers and with that weight off his shoulders, he produced 28 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists with Tom Garrett also contributing 13 points, six boards and three assists.

Taane Samuel added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Kingsley Box 11 points and eight boards, and Igor Hadziomerovic 10 points, five rebounds and two assists on perfect 2/2 three-point shooting.

Diamond Valley is now 1-4 with a third consecutive defeat with Jock Perry top-scoring with 16 points and 12 rebounds while Ryley Haywood added 12 points and two steals, Ngor Manyang 12 points and eight rebounds, and Jesse Ghee 11 points, six assists and five boards.

FRANKSTON BLUES 94 (Harris 28, Samuel 13, Garrett 13)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 75 (Perry 16, Haywood 12, Manyang 12)

Mount Gambier Pioneers (89) defeated Sandringham Sabres (64)

Akech Aliir now knows where his NBL future is and having that secure, he delivered a match-winning performance as the Mount Gambier Pioneers won 89-64 at home over the Sandringham Sabres.

The Pioneers were back home at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre looking to make up for last week's shock one-point loss at the hands of the Casey Cavaliers.

Mount Gambier had won their first two games prior to that on the road in the opening round to Geelong and Keilor, but that wasn’t the home opening response they were after.

Sandringham arrived in Mount Gambier having lost three straight games to start 2025 as well on the back of playing off in last year's preliminary final.

While Mount Gambier did lead for all but 1:30 of the game, it took until the final quarter for them to properly put down the challenge coming from Sandringham.

The Pioneers were leading 17-11 by quarter-time before extending that advantage narrowly to 43-36 by the half-time break.

The lead did get out to as much as 18 points in the third period but the Sabres pulled it back to nine at three quarter-time, but Mount Gambier put their foot on the gas in the final 10 minutes with 25 points to nine.

That saw the Pioneers end up winning by 25 points to improve to 3-1 on the season with Akech Aliir terrific on the back of signing at the South East Melbourne Phoenix during the week after being part of the NBL Championship Series at Melbourne United in NBL25.

He delivered 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists with Austin Shelley contributing 16 points and five boards, Alex Mudronja 16 points and eight rebounds, Kaden Archie 12 points and five boards, and Joe Palmer 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The Sabres are now 0-4 to start the season with Elliott Brown putting up 18 points, three rebounds and two assists, Malith Machar 15 points and six boards, and playing-coach Dave Barlow eight points and five rebounds.

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 89 (Aliir 22, Shelley 16, Mudronja 16)

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 64 (Brown 18, Machar 15, Barlow 8)

Dandenong Rangers (111) defeated Keilor Thunder (103)

Bryton Hobbs delivered a spectacular performance as the Dandenong Rangers prevailed in a high-scoring Friday night thriller 111-103 over Keilor Thunder.

The Rangers came into the match up at Dandenong Basketball Stadium having lost their opening three matches of the season including two on their home floor ahead of hosting a Keilor team having won first up but also having since lost their past couple.

It was Keilor who managed to lead by two points at quarter-time and then extended that advantage out to 10 points early in the second before Dandenong fired up and went on an 8-0 scoring run on the way to claiming the 53-50 lead going into half-time.

The Rangers managed to push that out to a nine-point advantage in the third frame and then 16 early in the fourth before holding out for the eight-point victory to improve to 1-3 on the season.

Dynamic point guard Bryton Hobbs was the star of the night for Dandenong finishing with 34 points and five assists on 11/21 shooting from the floor and 9/13 at the free-throw line.

Sam Davidson also produced 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 7/12 three-point shooting with Illawarra Hawks NBL championship winner Mason Peatling providing 17 points, 10 boards and four assists.

Ryan Rapp also chimed in with 14 points and four assists, Ruot Monyyong 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks, and Jack Roberts nine points, five boards and four assists.

The Thunder have now lost three straight since a first up win over the Diamond Valley Eagles despite Deng Cut providing 23 points and six assists with 4/8 shooting from behind the arc.

Adetomi Ayilara added 17 points and 10 rebounds as well, Daniel Poelsma 16 points, four boards and two assists, Daniel Foster 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, and Chris Harris 11 points and five rebounds.

DANDENONG RANGERS 111 (Hobbs 34, Davidson 23, Peatling 17)

KEILOR THUNDER 103 (Dut 23, Ayilara 17, Poelsma 16)