SEABL Preliminary Finals: Geelong cruise to Victory while Rangers Women bundle out
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Photo Credit: SEABL
The Kilsyth Cobras have booked a spot in the Conference Final, defeating the N/W Tasmania Thunder, 84-70, on the road. After earning a double chance, the Thunder lost both playoff games as their front court was decimated by Auryn MacMillan (26 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists), Joel Naburgs (19, 7 and 7) and Tim Lang (13, 6 and 3). They helped the visitors to 8 more offensive rebounds, 15 more boards overall and a 17-9 advantage in second chance points. A hot start for N/W Tasmania saw them open up a 7 point advantage by the first break but by three-quarter time, Kilsyth had drawn level. They then ran away in a 24-10 final quarter, setting up a date with Mt. Gambier next Friday night. Kyle Clark (26 points, 5 rebounds) was the highlight for the Thunder, hitting 7-10 from beyond the arc while BJ Jenkins collected a modest 18 and 6. Reaching the playoffs for the first time in five years is certainly an achievement but N/W Tasmania will be disappointed in their last fortnight.
The East Conference Final will be a Nunawading Spectres/Geelong Supercats duel after Geelong cruised past the Dandenong Rangers, 89-61. They won every quarter, leading by as much as 32 points deep in the final term as only Tony Lewis (23 points, 8 rebounds) and Daequon Montreal (14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks) reached double figures for the road team. They were contained by Ash Cannan and Eric Gaff, who combined for 21 boards as the Supercats won the rebound count 47-34. Nathan Herbert (22 points) was on song early, nailing 4-4 from deep in the first half. Nick Owusu (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) stuffed the stat-sheet while Anthony White Jr. added 19. For the Rangers, their run at a back-to-back Championship has come to an end but it sets up a mouth-watering Conference Final as it was just a 1 point game when Nunawading and Geelong met in the Semi.
SEABL WOMEN
The Frankston Lady Blues were unable to utilise their double chance, falling in successive weeks with the Hobart Lady Chargers recording a 67-54 victory on Saturday night. The match was even with 7 minutes remaining but a 24-13 final term sealed the win for Hobart as Kathleen Scheer scored 8 of her 12 points in that last quarter. Alongside her in a superior front court, Cayla Francis recorded 20 points and 17 rebounds while Izzy Chilcott had 12 and 5 with 7 assists. Kelly Bowen (13 and 14) and Maddie Garrick (17 and 6 with 4 steals) stood tall for Frankston but aside from them, they shot 10-35 and 0-8 from the three point line as a team. Despite it being Hobart’s first Conference Final, their favouritism for the Championship continues to grow.
The Dandenong Rangers were unbeaten at home through the regular season and had a wealth of finals experience in their line-up but after an 87-96 loss to the Geelong Lady Supercats, have incredibly been bundled out of the playoffs on the back of two home losses. With the game tied at half-time, Geelong scored 26-12 in a devastating third term while they shot 56% overall. Alex Duck (25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) and Tayla Roberts (27 and 6) scored season highs and they were complimented by double-doubles from Sara Blicavs (23 and 10) and Candice Rogers (12 and 12). For Dandenong, Amelia Todhunter (28 points) hit five three pointers and Aimie Clydesdale had 17 off the bench. The win for the Lady Supercats sets up a mouth-watering encounter against Brisbane next week, with both sides in their best form for the season.
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