IT WAS a weekend to remember for Sandringham Sabres who produced back-to-back victories, the latest of which was a 39-point thrashing of previously unbeaten Waverley Falcons yesterday. The Sabres never looked like losing in the 86-47 victory which came a day after knocking off Casey Cavaliers on the road, 87-73.

Sandringham set the tone very early against the Falcons, showing incredible offensive work to piled on 17 points to 16 in the first term. That really set the game in motion, and while the Falcons got back on even terms through the second stanza, it would ultimately all be for nil. Sandringham regained control after the main break, restricted Waverley to just four points in the third term and 16 in the second half, to run out comfortable victors.

The damage was largely done by a combination of Natasha Rivas Lee and Ella Ongarato who scored 42 of the side’s 86 points. Rivas Lee came close to a double-double with nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks to go with her 22 points, while Ongarato nailed an incredible four of five from long-range to tally up 20 points, three rebounds and two steals in the win.

While everyone else scored in the single digits, the work of Bailey De Forest (five points, 13 rebounds) and Lulu Mclaughlin (six points, 11 rebounds) off the boards was enormous in the win. Their performance helped the Sabres dominate the rebound count with a 59-35 advantage in the area, as well as plus-eight (15-7) in assists) and shooting at 42.9 per cent from the field compared to the Falcons’ 27.7 per cent.

For the Falcons, three players notched up double-digit points tallies with Chrisy Triantafyllopoulos (13 points, five rebounds and two steals) leading the way, while Anika Stehbens (11 points, four rebounds and three steals) tried hard yet again.

The Sabres did it with limited minutes from Jasmine Perry (eight points, three rebounds in 15 minutes) after she scored a team-high 25 points – including a massive seven of 13 from beyond the arc – in the victory over Casey. She was well supported by Natalia Hordejuk – again limited minutes against Waverley – after putting up 19 points and eight rebounds. Ongarato (15 points, seven rebounds) was the pick of the players across both games.

AROUND THE COURTS

It was a bad weekend to be a home side with just the Sabres and Melbourne Tigers winning at home. The unbeaten Tigers continued their form with a 95-54 shellacking of Bendigo Braves, which meant they were the sole undefeated side following Waverley’s loss. The Falcons did pick up a Saturday win however with a victory over Kilsyth Cobras while the Cobras accounted for Frankston Blues the following day.

There were no real nail-biters across Round 5 with Dandenong Rangers’ 12-point win over Keilor Thunder the closest of the weekend. McKinnon Cougars knocked off Diamond Valley Eagles by 17 points before the Eagles defeated Bulleen Boomers by 20. In other results, Altona Gators proved too good for Pakenham Warriors, doubling the Warriors’ score, while Ringwood Hawks knocked off Nunawading Spectres.

ROUND 5: