South Spotlight | Froling dominates as Force beat Sabres

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Keely Froling dominated with 34 points and 13 rebounds while Sarah O'Neill had a near triple double while hitting six three balls as the Northern Force knocked off the NBL1 South leading Sandringham Sabres 99-81 in Ulverstone.

The Force returned home to Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre having lost twice on the road last weekend following a six-game winning streak to be still on the outside of the top 10 ahead of hosting the top ranked Sabres who were also coming off a defeat.

It remained a tight battle through three quarters with scores level by quarter-time and then the Force leading by five points at both half and three quarter-time.

But then the home team took over with 25 points to 12 in the last quarter on the way to the 18-point victory to improve to an 8-9 record while the Sabres are now 12-3 with consecutive defeats for the first time in 2026.

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It was a win that keeps the Force right in the playoff hunt having now won seven of their last nine games having successfully bounced back from losing both games last weekend on the road.

The Force ended up shooting 48 per cent to the 42 from the Sabres along with 17/20 at the foul line to 12/17 while pulling down 13 offensive rebounds to nine for the eventual 18-point victory at home.

Keely Froling had another monster performance for the winners with 34 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals with 12/24 shooting from the field and 9/11 at the foul line.

Sarah O'Neill knocked down 6/9 from downtown for 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds with Parker Hill contributing 22 points, eight assists, six boards, three assists and two blocks, Josie Pinkerton six points and nine rebounds, and Rebekka Kalaydjiev four points, seven assists and six boards.

The Sabres now have lost their past two games after sitting clear in top spot to now be 12-3 on the season with Isis Lopes finishing with 27 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Funda Nakkasoglu also had 20 points, three assists and two rebounds with 5/11 three-point shooting, Steph Reid 20 points, six boards, six assists and three steals, and Lucy Cochrane nine points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.

The Force were back home following two losses on the road last weekend following their winning run with the Sabres arrived still in top spot despite last week's loss, and it was all locked at 28-28 by the end of the opening quarter.

The Force had a focus on going inside with Keely Froling and Parker Hill doing the damage with 20 of their 28 points coming from in the paint, but the Sabres were shooting the ball well from deep in direct contrast.

The Force then worked on top opening up a 13-point lead in the second period only for the Sabres to hit back before half-time and limit the home team to the 52-47 advantage at the half.

Froling was up to 20 points already for the Force with Hill adding 18 to go with four rebounds and five assists while as a team they were shooting 51 per cent from the field to the 45 from Sandringham.

The trend continued in the third frame and again Northern got out to a 13-point advantage but once more the Sabres were able to claw back into the contest and trail by just five points at three quarter-time.

Sarah O'Neill helped to give the Force an outside threat too as they knocked down four triples in the third quarter and she had five to her name already by three quarter-time with the home side on top 74-69.

It was then all the Force in the final 10 minutes as they put up 25 points thanks largely to going 12/13 at the free-throw line while the Sabres only managed the 12 points on 4/15 shooting and going 3/5 at the charity stripe.

The Force now don't play again until hosting the Eltham Wildcats next Saturday night while the Sabres complete their road trip to Tasmania on Saturday against the Hobart Chargers.

NBL1 SOUTH 2026 SEASON | ROUND 11

NORTHERN FORCE 99 (Froling 34, O'Neill 27, Hill 22)

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 81 (Lopes 27, Nakkasoglu 20, Reid 20)