South Spotlight | All-timers lift Braves over Raiders

Bendigo Braves showed that they could very well be back in the NBL1 South hunt in 2026 with Kelsey Griffin and Kelly Wilson combining for 48 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists in the 86-80 win over the Knox Raiders.

The Braves were at home for the first time this season at Red Energy Arena under the coaching of Australian basketball great Tess Madgen, and she has two players at her disposal of a similar calibre in Wilson and Griffin.

The pair ended up delivering a brilliant performance and while Knox kept on coming and made it interesting late, the Braves did enough to secure the six-point home win to improve to 2-1 on the season with the Raiders now 2-2 as defending NBL1 and National Champions in 2026.

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The one-two punch of their all-time great pair were inspirational for Bendigo with Kelsey Griffin delivering 26 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists on 9/18 shooting from the floor, 4/9 from behind the arc and 4/6 at the free-throw line.

Kelly Wilson then also provided 22 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals on 10/14 shooting.

Ahlise Hurst added 14 points with 3/5 shooting from behind the arc, Olivia Pollerd 14 points, five rebounds, five blocks and two assists, and Jessica Smith eight points and five boards.

Alicia Froling finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists for the Raiders with nine of her points coming in the third quarter and seven of her boards in the opening half.

Shaneice Swain came off the bench and still played 28 minutes for Knox and ended up with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists with Haliegh Reinoehl adding 12 points and four boards with 2/3 three-point shooting.

Rachel Bell contributed 10 points with 2/3 shooting from deep as well while Paige Bradley had nine points and seven assists, and Taylah Simmons seven points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

With one team trying to defend their championship and the other to put themselves back in the mix, it always loomed as an engaging early season test, and it was the Braves who made the first move with a 6-0 run to go into quarter-time leading 25-16.

The Braves continued to do a standout defensive job on the Raiders holding them to only the 11 points in the second quarter and while adding another 16 themselves, they went into half-time on top 40-27.

Bendigo were shooting 48 per cent from the field to just 26 in the opening half from the Raiders despite Knox taking an extra shot and five more free throws thanks to their nine offensive rebounds to two.

Kelsey Griffin already had 15 points and six rebounds by the half with fellow WNBL veteran Kelly Wilson outstanding with 10 points and seven assists.

Knox tried to make their move in the third frame with Alicia Froling leading the way with nine points of her own as her team scored 28 on 11/16 shooting with 5/7 from deep.

But Bendigo still managed another 23 points themselves to maintain the 63-55 advantage by three quarter-time.

The Braves then had the answers down the stretch as the Raiders continued their charge with the home team holding firm for the six-point win despite another four three-pointers from Knox who ended up shooting 9/14 from beyond the arc in the second half.

The Braves will now look to take their momentum on the road on Saturday night against the Dandenong Rangers while the Raiders will play host to the Nunawading Spectres that same evening.

NBL1 SOUTH 2026 SEASON | MENTAL HEALTH ROUND

BENDIGO BRAVES 86 (Griffin 26, Wilson 22, Pollerd 14, Hurst 14)

KNOX RAIDERS 80 (Froling 19, Swain 15, Reinoehl 12)