Image credit: Cam Brown | @cambrownvisuals

Lou Brown and Marta Hermida provided 73 points in NBL1 South win for Frankston Blues while the Knox Raiders men consolidated top spot, Michael Harris put up 36 for the Blues and Mount Gambier Pioneers made it a double win Sunday.

SOUTH RECAP | ROUND 8 SATURDAY

SOUTH RECAP | ROUND 8 FRIDAY

WOMEN

Kilsyth Cobras (67) lost to Frankston Blues (90)

Lou Brown and Marta Hermida combined for 73 points and 10 three-pointers to cover the loss for the Frankston Blues of Lauren Scherf in Sunday's 90-67 win over the Kilsyth Cobras.

The Blues did lose on Saturday night to the Knox Raiders in the first of three games that Scherf will be suspended for coming out of last Sunday's win against the Bendigo Braves.

Kilsyth were also coming off a Saturday night defeat in overtime against Keilor Thunder as the teams backed up to play on Sunday at Kilsyth Sports Centre.

The Cobras did go ever so close to an upset win over Keilor the night before and started strongly with 19 points to 15 in the first quarter and then completed a 12-0 run into the second term to lead the Blues by 14 points.

Frankston did hit back but Kilsyth were still leading 42-37 at half-time but it was all the Blues in the second half starting with them outscoring the Cobras 28 points to 10 in the third quarter thanks to knocking down 5/7 from three-point territory.

It was another 25 points to 15 in the fourth quarter and from there the Blues ended up scoring the 23-point victory after trailing by 14 in the second term.

Frankston improves to a 7-5 record as a result of the win with captain Lou Brown brilliant with 38 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two assists on shooting 16/20 from the field and 4/6 from behind the three-point line.

Marta Hermida also delivered 35 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals on shooting 13/25 overall and 6/11 from three-point range as the duo ensured Frankston enjoyed the win in the absence of Lauren Scherf.

Kilsyth are now 3-9 following three consecutive defeats with Abby O'Connor top-scoring with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Nikita Young also had 15 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, Shannon Dufficy 13 points, 12 boards and two assists, and Georgia Dale 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

KILSYTH COBRAS 67 (O'Connor 17, Young 15, Dufficy 13)

FRANKSTON BLUES 90 (Brown 38, Hermida 35, Jackson 7)

Waverley Falcons (67) lost to Knox Raiders (72)

Kristy Wallace was on board for the Knox Raiders and Bec Cole wasn’t there for the Waverley Falcons, as a result Wallace put up 24 points and led her team to the 72-67 Sunday victory.

Knox started Round 8 back on Friday night with the 11-point win over the Frankston Blues while the defending champion Falcons beat the Dandenong Rangers on 24 points on Saturday to bounce back from a defeat at the hands of Keilor Thunder in a grand final rematch.

The Falcons were on their home floor at Waverley Basketball Centre and opened up a nine-point lead in the first quarter on the way to leading 22-18 by quarter-time.

Waverley remained on top through the second quarter by holding Knox to just 10 points on 5/19 shooting from the floor while they scored 17 themselves to go into the half-time interval leading 39-28.

Waverley kept that momentum rolling into the third quarter too and the reigning champs pushed out to a 15-point lead but then the Raiders began to turn things around and had the deficit back to just six at three quarter-time.

Knox then took charge of the last term with 21 points to 10 holding the Falcons to 3/16 shooting while going 7/12 themselves to end up securing the five-point victory.

The win sees Knox improve to a 9-3 record on the season with the double win weekend and now with Kristy Wallace in the line-up who produced 24 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals on 10/12 shooting from the field.

Agnes Emma-Nnopu added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Raiders, Alicia Froling nine points and 13 boards, Rachel Bell eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Paige Burrows seven points.

WAVERLEY FALCONS 67 (Shumate 18, Ernst 17, Mokrzycki 14)

KNOX RAIDERS 72 (Wallace 24, Emma-Nnopu 11, Froling 9)

Bendigo Braves (49) lost to Mount Gambier Pioneers (79)

The Mount Gambier Pioneers completed the double win weekend to keep their finals hopes alive with the 79-49 victory on the road to the Bendigo Braves.

Mount Gambier opened Round 8 back on Friday night with the 44-point win at home to the Ballarat Miners ahead of backing up on Sunday afternoon against the Braves at Red Energy Arena.

Bendigo came into the match up on their home floor having snapped their eight-game losing run the night before with the thrilling two-point win over the Diamond Valley Eagles.

They were looking to bring that momentum into the Sunday match up but the Pioneers started strongly to be leading already 25-17 by quarter-time on the back of scoring 16 unanswered points.

It was another 19 points to 14 in the second frame in favour of Mount Gambier to see them take the 44-31 lead going into half-time and then it was 21 points to six in the third term.

Bendigo managed those six points on shooting 2/13 from the field in that third quarter with the lead for Pioneers getting out to as much as 32 points in the second half before they secured the eventual 30-point victory.

Haliegh Reinoehl delivered a dominant performance in the win for Mount Gambier who improve to a 5-7 record as a result of the double win weekend.

Reinoehl put up 31 points, 16 rebounds and two assists on 12/19 shooting from the floor and 6/6 at the foul line with Chloe Hildebrand delivering 13 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Isa Brancatisano also had nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals, Jayda Jansen eight points, two boards, two assists and two steals, and Edie Easterby six points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Bendigo are now 3-10 following the heavy defeat following the high of their breakthrough win the previous night with Cassidy McLean their only player to reach double figures with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.

BENDIGO BRAVES 49 (McLean 19, Harvey 7, Smith 6, Porchia 6, Blanch 6)

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 79 (Reinoehl 31, Hildebrand 13, MacGregor 12)

MEN

Kilsyth Cobras (73) lost to Frankston Blues (107)

The Kilsyth Cobras weren’t able to back up their impressive Saturday win over Keilor Thunder with the Frankston Blues putting on a Sunday show led by 36 points from Michael Harris in the 107-73 win.

The Cobras scored the 16-point win on Saturday night over Keilor ahead of taking on a Frankston team trying to bounce back from losing their past three matches.

The Cobras were at home at Kilsyth Sports Centre but it was Frankston starting the better to be on top 25-17 by the end of the first quarter.

The Blues continued to build on their lead the rest of the way with another 24 points to 20 in the second frame, 27 to 16 in the third and 31 to 20 in the fourth to end up leading by as much as 34 points which was the final margin.

Frankston finished up shooting at 53 per cent from the floor to the 34 from Kilsyth on top of going 14/32 from three-point range to 9/34 while also winning the rebound battle 49-35.

The victory improves the Blues to a 7-5 record to still be knocking on the door of a top four position with Michael Harris the star of the afternoon with 36 points, seven rebounds and two steals on 7/12 three-point shooting.

He had plenty of help too with Igor Hadziomerovic delivering 16 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, Taane Samuel 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, Corey Hastings 12 points and two boards, and Vincent Monaghan 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Cobras are now also on a 7-5 record following the disappointing defeat where all the players that came up big the night before struggled, especially Khadim Sy who had just eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks on 2/13 shooting.

Corey Jeffs did top-score with 17 points and six rebounds while Hamish MacDonald added 12 points and two boards, and Ben Ursich eight points, two rebounds and two steals.

KILSYTH COBRAS 73 (Jeffs 17, MacDonald 12, Ursich 8, Sy 8)

FRANKSTON BLUES 107 (Harris 36, Hadziomerovic 16, Samuel 13)

Waverley Falcons (76) lost to Knox Raiders (103)

The Knox Raiders maintained their hold clear in top spot of the NBL1 South with six players all scoring in double-figures in their seventh straight win, beating the Waverley Falcons 103-76.

The Falcons were back home at Waverley Basketball Centre having beaten the Dandenong Rangers by 15 points the night before to set up their challenge of trying to knock off the top ranked Raiders.

Knox made it six straight wins back on Friday night with the win at home over the Frankston Blues and by quarter-time had opened up a four-point lead over the Falcons.

Knox then piled on 36 points in the second term thanks to knocking down 6/11 from beyond the three-point arc and while the Falcons also hit six threes, they couldn’t quite keep pace with the Raiders who went into half-time leading 59-47.

That lead continued to grow for Knox throughout the second half with it getting out to 27 points in the third quarter, and 33 in the fourth before they secured the eventual 27-point victory.

It was a seventh consecutive win on the season for the Raiders who improve to an 11-1 record to be two games clear in top spot Sunday Dech producing 21 points, six rebounds and three assists on 4/8 three-point shooting ahead of his Perth Wildcats return in NBL26.

Tad Dufelmeier added 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals on 3/6 shooting from downtown with Keli Leaulepe contributing 15 points, four boards, four assists and two steals, Brody Nunn 15 points and three assists, Ryder Cheesman 11 points and four rebounds, and Norvel Pelle 10 points, 11 boards and two assists.

Waverley remain outside the top eight with a 5-7 record by the end of Round 8 with Malik Meunier top-scoring with 13 points, six assists and three rebounds.

Khalil Shabazz also put up 13 points and four assists, Mason Forbes 12 points and six rebounds, Isaac Abergut 11 points and a block, and Madut Akec 10 points, seven boards and three steals.

WAVERLEY FALCONS 76 (Shabazz 13, Meunier 13, Forbes 12)

KNOX RAIDERS 103 (Dech 21, Dufelmeier 17, Leaupepe 15, Nunn 15)

Bendigo Braves (70) lost to Mount Gambier Pioneers (100)

The Mount Gambier Pioneers showed off their depth of firepower with six players scoring between 10 and 22 points in the 100-70 road win on Sunday over the Bendigo Braves.

Both teams had played on Saturday night too with Bendigo suffering a 30-point loss at the hands of the Diamond Valley Eagles while Mount Gambier started their double on the road double with the 47-point hammering of the Ballarat Miners.

The Pioneers made a strong started to be leading 27-19 by the end of the first quarter before then dominating the second frame with 31 points to 12 on the back of shooting 12/17 from the floor and leading 58-31 by half-time.

The lead for Mount Gambier got out to as much as 32 points in the second half before the Pioneers scored the 30-point win on the back of shooting 57 per cent from the field to just 34 from Bendigo.

The win improves Mount Gambier to a 9-3 record on the season with four straight wins with Akech Aliir delivering 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots on 9/13 shooting.

Kaden Archie added 22 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks on 10/16 shooting, Joe Palmer 13 points, four boards and four assists, and Alex Mudronja 13 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Austin Shelley put up 14 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals on 3/5 three-point shooting with Dylan Marshall contributing 10 points and three assists.

Bendigo are now 7-6 with the two losses each by 60 points this weekend with Charles Matthews top-scoring with 22 points and five rebounds with Justin Johnson adding 21 points, four boards and three assists, and Lual Diing 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

BENDIGO BRAVES 70 (Matthews 22, Johnson 21, Diing 12)

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 100 (Aliir 22, Archie 22, Shelley 14)

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Chris Pike

South Recap | Round 8 Sunday