NBL1 South Womens Round 6 Recap

It was a stunning game-winning triple from Gemma Potter for the Dandenong Rangers in Round 6 of the NBL1 South on Saturday night with Taylah Simmons, Alice Kunek, Alicia Froling and Monique Andriuolo among the other stars of the evening’s action.

There were Saturday night NBL1 South wins for the Geelong Supercats, Nunawading Spectres, Knox Raiders, Dandenong Rangers, Keilor Thunder, Eltham Wildcats, Bendigo Braves and Mount Gambier Pioneers.

Round 6 in the NBL1 South competition began on Friday night with the Bendigo Braves winning on the road 87-72 against the Hobart Chargers.

Then on Saturday evening, the Geelong Supercats produced an impressive display to beat the Frankston Blues at The Arena even without Sara Blicavs.

Taylah Simmons put up 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Supercats with Kate Gaze finishing with 17 points for Frankston.

The Nunawading Spectres stood out at home as well with an 81-58 victory against the Kilsyth Cobras with Alice Kunek putting up 27 points and 12 rebounds. Chloe Bibby top-scored for Kilsyth with 17 points.

It was a thriller at Casey Stadium with Alicia Froling coming up huge late in the 86-82 victory for the Knox Raiders against the Casey Cavaliers. Froling finished with 31 points and nine rebounds while Rachel Bell delivered 27 points for the Cavs.

It was an overtime cracker then at Dandenong Basketball Stadium with the Dandenong Rangers ending up beating the Sandringham Sabres 96-95 thanks to a stunning Gemma Potter three-point bomb right on the buzzer.

Potter finished with 26 points while Emilee Harmon had 35 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Funda Nakkasoglu was also superb for Sandringham with 38 points.

The Keilor Thunder produced a strong showing at home to beat the Ballarat Miners 85-75 with Monique Andriuolo putting up 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder. Zitina Aokuso did what she could for Ballarat with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Eltham Wildcats put in a standout second half performance to beat the Diamond Valley Eagles 82-75 on their home court. Hailey Leidel produced 30 points for the Wildcats and Korinne Campbell 22 points and 12 rebounds. Sophie Burrows scored 20 points for the Eagles.

The Bendigo Braves also won on the road 73-66 against the Launceston Tornadoes with Megan McKay finishing with 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Abbey Wehrung another 12 points and 12 boards. Kelsey Griffin put up 18 points and 15 rebounds for Launceston.

The Mount Gambier Pioneers then proved too good at home for the Melbourne Tigers, winning 74-43. Hannah Young had 24 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers with Tess Heal putting up 25 points for the Tigers.

Round 6 of the NBL1 South Women’s season then wraps up on Sunday afternoon with the Knox Raiders playing the Sandringham Sabres, the Waverley Falcons taking on the Keilor Thunder, and the Diamond Valley Eagles facing the Ringwood Hawks.

NBL1 SOUTH – 2022 WOMEN’S SEASON
ROUND 6 – SATURDAY NIGHT

GEELONG SUPERCATS 86 defeated FRANKSTON BLUES 56

The Geelong Supercats delivered an emphatic performance to beat the Frankston Blues by 30 points at home on Saturday night.

The Supercats were back at The Arena to host the Blues with Sara Blicavs and Darcee Garbin missing for their respective teams through Australian Opals duties.

Geelong made a solid start with 20 points to 15 in the opening quarter before taking over further in the second period with 26 points to 14 to go into the half-time break leading 46-29.

The Blues managed just the seven points in the third quarter with the Supercats extending their lead to go on to win 86-56 and improve to a 6-2 record on the season while the Blues are now 4-3.

Geelong pulled down 57 rebounds to 43 from Frankston while shooting at 48.0 per cent from the floor opposed to 25.0 per cent from the Blues.

Taylah Simmons stepped up without Sara Blicavs for the Supercats with 25 points, 15 rebounds and four assists with Aimie Rocci adding 16 points, six boards and three assists, and Sarah O’Neill 23 points on 3/4 shooting from three-point land.

Kate Gaze top-scored for Frankston with 17 points and eight boards but the absence of Darcee Garbin was tough to overcome. Chelsea D’Angelo also had eight points and nine rebounds.

NUNAWADING SPECTRES 81 defeated KILSYTH COBRAS 58

The Nunawading Spectres proved too strong for the Kilsyth Cobras with a 23-point win at Nunawading Basketball Centre on Saturday night.

The Cobras came into the game minus Lauren Scherf who was with the Australian Opals but still by quarter-time it was only a four-point advantage for Nunawading.

The Spectres stretched that lead to 40-29 by the half-time break and then continued to build on that throughout the second half before settling on the 81-58 victory.

The result improves Nunawading to a 6-2 record on the season now while Kilsyth are 3-6.

The Spectres raked in 14 extra rebounds than the Cobras but still Kilsyth had more offensive boards and took more field goals. However, Nunawading shot at 42.7 per cent from the floor opposed to 28.8 per cent by Kilsyth.

Alice Kunek was the star of the evening for Nunawading with 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four steals on shooting 12/23 from the floor.

Megan Mullings added 11 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks for the Spectres, Rachel Brewster eight points and four boards, Cassidy Mihalko eight points and nine rebounds, Rachael Antoniadou eight points, eight assists and five steals, and Piper Dunlop eight points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Chloe Bibby put up 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for Kilsyth with Isis Lopes contributing 15 points and three steals.

CASEY CAVALIERS 82 lost to KNOX RAIDERS 86

It was a tight contest at Casey Stadium on Saturday night before the Knox Raiders ended up prevailing 86-82 against the Casey Cavaliers.

The Raiders started strongly away from home with 26 points to 20 in the opening quarter but it remained just a six-point ball game by half-time even though Knox had been up by a game-high 10 points earlier in the second term.

The Cavs were able to fire back in the third quarter and even managed to briefly take the lead and scores were all level at 57-57 by three quarter-time.

The game was up for grabs and in a high-scoring fourth quarter, it was the Raiders who prevailed with 29 points to 25 to end up winning 86-82 and improve to 5-3 on the season in the process while the Cavaliers are now 4-4.

Alicia Froling stepped up to produce and outstanding performance for the Raiders made up of 31 points, nine rebounds and two assists while shooting 13/22 from the field.

Kara Tessari added 17 points, five assists and four rebounds for Knox with Kiera Rowe contributing 10 points and three boards.

Rachel Bell battled tirelessly all evening for Casey to finish with 27 points and five rebounds with Monique Conti contributing 19 points and five boards, Taylah Gillam 13 points and five assists, Louise Brown nine points and 13 rebounds, and Sarah Boothe eight points, 10 boards, six assists and three blocked shots.

DANDENONG RANGERS 96 defeated SANDRINGHAM SABRES 95

Dandenong Basketball Stadium played host to quite the heart stopping, entertaining and high quality contest between the Dandenong Rangers and Sandringham Sabres on Saturday night.

The Rangers were on their home floor and did lead for most of the contest – in fact for 38 minutes of the eventual 45 minutes that were played given it went into overtime.

Dandenong was able to open up a nine-point lead during the first quarter and that was the quarter-time margin but the Sabres did fire back in the second term to close the half-time deficit to just six points.

However, the Rangers pulled away again during the third quarter and led 64-53 by three quarter-time having led by as much as 17 during the period.

The margin got back out to 15 again early in the fourth quarter, but then Sandringham got on a roll and finally it was a three-point bomb from Funda Nakkasoglu that tied scores up and that’s where they stayed at 85-85 with the game going into an extra period.

Then in overtime, Gemma Potter opened up things with a three-point shot for Dandenong and ultimately that’s how ended.

After a couple of huge shots from deep again by Nakkasoglu for the Sabres, the Rangers had to find something.

Coming out of a timeout with only seconds remaining, Tenaya Sooalo was able to find Potter up the top and she knocked down the game-winner as time expired and Dandenong walked off with the 96-95 victory.

On top of hitting the game winner, Gemma Potter finished with 26 points and nine rebounds for Dandenong on the back of shooting 5/11 from three-point land.

Emilee Harmon did a power of work all evening for the Rangers finishing with 35 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists on 14/21 shooting from the floor and 7/9 at the free-throw line.

Clare Camac added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Tenaya Sooalo nine points, seven boards and five assists.

Funda Nakkasoglu had a monster night for Sandringham putting up 38 points and two assists while knocking down a phenomenal 8/10 from three-point range.

Georgia Pineau also had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Brittany Smart 20 points, nine assists and six boards, and Lucy Burke eight points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

KEILOR THUNDER 85 defeated BALLARAT MINERS 75

The Keilor Thunder scored a strong 10-point win against the Ballarat Miners at home on Saturday night.

It was a tight opening quarter with scores tied at 26-26 by quarter-time but Keilor began to pull away in the second period with 22 points to 15 to lead 48-41 by the half-time break.

The Thunder then secured the win with 24 points to 18 in the fourth quarter to secure the 85-75 win and improve to a 3-5 record on the season while the Miners are now 5-4 as a result of the road loss.

The Thunder ended up collecting 11 offensive rebounds to six and combined with forcing Ballarat into 23 turnovers they were able to take 12 extra field goals which was instrumental in the final result.

Monique Andriuolo was superb for Keilor in the win with 29 points and 12 rebounds on 13/22 shooting.

Maddie Garrick added 17 points and 10 assists, Christa Reed 11 points and four rebounds, Amy O’Hara eight points and five boards, and Anieta Bandilovska eight points and five assists.

Zitina Aokuso did all she could to try and lift Ballarat with 26 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots while Millie Cracknell added 14 points, Kristy Rinaldi 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, and Isabella Brancatisano 11 points, seven boards and six assists.

ELTHAM WILDCATS 82 defeated DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 75

The Eltham Wildcats had to come back from trailing at half-time to score a seven-point win at home over the Diamond Valley Eagles.

The Wildcats had a one-point lead by quarter-time at Eltham High School before the Eagles turned things around in the second quarter to head into half-time leading 45-44.

Eltham was able to take back the lead during the third quarter and then secure the victory with 21 points to 16 in the final period to end up winning 82-75 and improve to 2-5 on the season while the Eagles are now 1-6.

The Wildcats dominated on the glass with 47 rebounds to 33 which made up for them coughing up 22 turnovers on the way to the seven-point win.

Hailey Leidel was outstanding for Eltham finishing the evening with 30 points, six rebounds and five assists on 11/19 shooting from the floor.

Korinne Campbell added 22 points and 12 rebounds, Rebecca Pizzey 13 points, four boards, four assists and three steals, and Taylah Wynne six points and six rebounds.

Sophie Burrows top-scored for Diamond Valley with 20 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists while Imogen Rock delivered another impressive performance off the bench made up of 16 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists in just under 20 minutes.

Kate Oliver also had 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals with Emma Mahady contributing 12 points, four boards and two assists.

LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 66 lost to BENDIGO BRAVES 73

The Bendigo Braves completed their double in the Apple Isle this weekend by beating the Launceston Tornadoes by seven points on Saturday night.

The Braves beat the Hobart Chargers on Friday to begin the road double-header and then started well on Saturday at Elphin Sports Stadium.

Bendigo put up 24 points to 16 and that ended up setting up the eventual victory. The Braves would lead by as much as 10 points during the second quarter, 11 in the third and nine in the fourth before settling with the 73-66 victory.

The win improves Bendigo to a 7-1 record on the season after six rounds while the Tornadoes are now 5-2 with the defeat.

In the absence again of Tess Madgen through Australian Opals duties, Megan McKay stood tall for the Braves in the victory with 18 points and 14 rebounds on 5/8 shooting and 8/9 at the free-throw line.

Madeline Sexton added 15 points and four steals for Bendigo, Kelly Wilson 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, Cassidy McLean 14 points and seven rebounds, and Abbey Wehrung 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Kelsey Griffin top-scored for Launceston with 18 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals with Mariah Payne contributing 15 points and seven boards, Charli Kay 11 points and three rebounds, and Micah Simpson 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 74 defeated MELBOURNE TIGERS 43

The Mount Gambier Pioneers were back at home on Saturday night and put together a dominant performance to beat the Melbourne Tigers by 31 points.

The Pioneers maintained their hold on top spot in the NBL1 South Women’s competition with the performance at The Ice House which started with them scoring 25 points to 13 in the opening quarter.

Mount Gambier then turned things up an extra gear in the second quarter by holding Melbourne to just five points while scoring 23 themselves to head into the half-time interval leading 48-18.

It was an even second half with the Pioneers only outscoring the Tigers 26 points to 25 but the damaged had been done with Mt Gambier cruising to the 74-43 victory.

The result improves the Pioneers to a 7-1 victory after six rounds of the 2022 season while the Tigers are now 1-7.

Hannah Young had an impressive and remarkable efficient night for Mount Gambier with 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals on 6/8 shooting from the field, 4/5 from three-point range and 8/8 at the charity stripe.

Shakera Reilly was fresh off the game winning shot last week and added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists on Saturday with Cassandra Brown adding 11 points, nine rebounds and four steals, and Sherria Calleia 10 points and five assists.

Tess Heal led the charge for the Tigers with 25 points and six rebounds with Zoe Hurley contributing eight points and seven rebounds.

In other games across the weekend;

HOBART CHARGERS 72 lost to BENDIGO BRAVES 87

There was just the one match on Friday night in Round 6 of the NBL1 South Women’s season with the Bendigo Braves coming away with the road win against the Hobart Chargers.

The Chargers came into the clash on their home floor at Kingborough Sports Centre still chasing their first win of the 2022 season.

On the back of that, they started impressively to put up 27 points to 19 in the opening quarter on the back of scoring 13 consecutive points and to lead by as much as 12.

However, the Braves were always going to fight back even in the absence of WNBL veteran Tess Madgen who was on Australian Opals duties at the same time.

Bendigo was able to put up 27 points to 14 in the second quarter and that saw the visitors take a 46-41 advantage into the half-time break.

Despite Bendigo opening up a nine-point lead during the third quarter, Hobart stayed in touch with five late points as they kept that dream of a live of the first win for 2022 trailing by just a point at three quarter-time.

It was all the Braves in the fourth quarter, though, with the visitors piling on 25 points to 11 to come away with the 87-72 victory to improve to 6-1 on the season while the Chargers are now 0-7.

Adelaide Lightning WNBL rising star Abbey Wehrung had a tremendous night for Bendigo with 29 points and four rebounds while knocking down 5/9 from three-point territory.

Megan McKay delivered an impressive performance as well for the Braves made up of 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists with Kelly Wilson contributing 21 points and 12 boards playing all but one minute of the game.

Cassidy McLean also had eight points and four rebounds for Bendigo and Madeline Sexton six points, four rebounds and two steals.

While it still wasn’t a win for the Chargers, there was a lot for coach Dwain Davie to be encouraged by in the performance.

Angela Tompkins finished the night with 23 points and nine rebounds with Paige Bradley adding 15 points and 11 assists, Sharna Thompson nine points, three boards, two assists and two steals, Kyle McCauley nine points and six rebounds, and Alexandra Finlayson eight points.

Sandringham Sabres (54) def by Knox Raiders (78)

A tough loss for Sandringham here, they simply did not possess the firepower to compete with the hot shooting Knox Raiders.

The Raiders were led by Klara Wischer and Alicia Froling, who combined for 42 points and 20 rebounds.

Brittany Smart was the top scorer for the Sabres with 16, but their lack of depth resulted in the 24-point loss.

SANDRINGHAM 54 (Smart 16, O’Neill 11, Pineau 9)

KNOX 78 (Wischer 22, Froling 20, Tessari 9)

Waverley Falcons (77) def by Keilor Thunder (84)

This was a game that was closer than the score suggests, but one which ultimately came down to the heroics of one player.

Waverley had some impressive performances; three of their players scored at least 14 points, led by Renae Mokrzycki with 19.

But the standout of the game was Maddie Garrick, who dropped 40 points – including 5-9 from three – as well as six assists, five rebounds and three steals to win the game.

WAVERLEY 77 (Mokrzycki 19, Todhunter 18, Ernst 14)

KEILOR 84 (Garrick 40, Andriuolo 16, Reed 8)

Diamond Valley Eagles (54) def by Ringwood Hawks (87)

Not a particularly close game between the Eagles and Hawks today, as the dominance of Ringwood’s starting five proved too much for the Diamond Valley team.

The Eagles only had two players in double figures – Sophie Burrows and Kate Oliver with 12 apiece – with Oliver also contributing 14 rebounds and eight assists, two shy of the elusive triple-double.

But Ringwood had four starters score at least 16 points, an impressive mark that led them to their eventual 33-point victory.

DIAMOND VALLEY 54 (Burrows and Oliver 12, Byrnes 9)

RINGWOOD 87 (Hermida 18, Whittle 17, Trotto and Strautmane 16)