East Recap | Round 10 Sunday

Image credit: Rob Sheeley/@robshots

The Canberra Nationals and Gunners had a pair of Sunday NBL1 East wins over the Penrith Panthers while the Illawarra Hawks took full advantage of below strength Centre of Excellence teams.

EAST RECAP | ROUND 10 SATURDAY

WOMEN

Penrith Panthers (65) lost to Canberra Nationals (76)

The Canberra Nationals shook off a four-game losing streak to keep their finals hopes alive with the 76-65 road win against the Penrith Panthers.

Both teams arrived at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre having lost their games on Saturday with Penrith going down to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders while Canberra started their road double with the loss to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

That had them both needing the win if they wanted to stay in the finals hunt and it was a flying start from Canberra as they put on 27 points to 12 in the first quarter while shooting 12/23 opposed to Penrith's 4/13.

The Panthers fired back in the second term, though, and totally turned the tide with 23 points to eight while shooting 8/15 opposed to the 4/19 from Canberra.

That saw scores all tied up at 35-35 by half-time but then the swings continued and in the third quarter Canberra not only scored another 24 points, but held Penrith to just five points on 1/15 shooting.

That was enough for the Nationals to set up the eventual 11-point victory which improves them to a 5-8 record to remain a chance still of playing finals.

Carlie McAlister (nee Smith) continued her standout season at Canberra with another 22 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and two steals with 10/19 field goal shooting.

Callie Bourne added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, Mikala Williams 14 points, three assists and two steals, and Abby Solway 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Penrith are now 5-10 on the season with their pair of losses this weekend with Mia Heide finishing with 17 points, 15 rebounds, seven steals, five blocks and three assists.

Jordan Vasquez added 16 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, and Jolzyne Impreso nine points.

PENRITH PANTHERS 65 (Heide 17, Vasquez 16, Impreso 9)

CANBERRA NATIONALS 76 (McAlister 22, Bourne 18, Williams 14)

Illawarra Hawks (71) defeated Centre of Excellence (53)

The Centre of Excellence were once again shorthanded including missing superstar Sitaya Fagan and the Illawarra Hawks took full advantage for the 71-53 home victory.

Both teams were coming off Saturday's defeats including the Centre of Excellence losing at the death to the defending champion Newcastle Falcons while the Hawks lost by 41 points to the Bankstown Bruins.

Illawarra were able to stay home at The Snakepit while the CoE had to make the trip from Canberra for the contest and the home team were leading 23-19 by quarter-time.

Things totally dried up in the second quarter for both teams with each of them scoring seven points with the Hawks just shooting 3/18 while the CoE went 3/13.

That saw Illawarra lead 30-26 by half-time before the Hawks kept on building on that with the advantage getting out to nine points again in the third term, and then 20 in the fourth thanks to them scoring 25 points to 13.

The 18-point victory improves the Hawks to a 4-9 record on the season with Asha Phillips finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Ella Dent added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 3/6 three-point shooting, Tsubasa Nisbet 13 points, 15 boards, five assists and three steals, and Kiara Bell 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

The Centre of Excellence are now 10-6 having now lost four straight matches including both this weekend with Zara Russell doing all she could to keep her team in the contest with 24 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Emilija Dakic also had 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Isabel Smith 11 points, six rebounds and two steals.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 71 (Phillips 19, Dent 16, Nisbet 13)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 53 (Russell 24, Dakic 12, Smith 11)

MEN

Penrith Panthers (64) lost to Canberra Gunners (96)

The Canberra Gunners made it a double win weekend on the road as they continue to ensure they are one of the contenders again in 2025 by beating the Penrith Panthers 96-64.

The Gunners started their road double by beating the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on Saturday while the Panthers suffered a two-point loss at the hands of the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

The good news for the Panthers was they got to stay home at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre and it was Canberra who got the better of the start with 21 points to 13 in the first quarter.

That set the tone for the rest of the afternoon where the Gunners dominated the contest to end up leading by 17 points at half-time, by 30 points at three quarter-time and then to end up winning by 32 points in the finish.

Canberra finished the game shooting 46 per cent from the field opposed to 30 while pulling down 52 rebounds to 38, and forcing the Panthers into 18 turnovers from which they scored 17 points.

The win improves the Gunners to an 11-3 record with five straight wins with Will Mayfield delivering another 19 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Lachlan Smith added 16 points, three rebounds and two steals, Glenn Morison 13 points, nine boards and two blocks, and Brooklyn Bruton 10 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Penrith are now 3-12 to remain in last spot having lost five in-a-row with Zeke Evans finishing with 13 points and six rebounds with Jack McWilliams adding 13 points and five boards, Jonah Pares 12 points and six rebounds, and Lachlan Charlton 10 points and three boards.

PENRITH PANTHERS 64 (McWilliams 13, Evans 13, Pares 12)

CANBERRA GUNNERS 96 (Mayfield 19, Smith 16, Emelifeonwu 14)

Illawarra Hawks (102) defeated Centre of Excellence (72)

The Illawarra Hawks kept on winning to stay in the top four taking advantage of the shorthanded Centre of Excellence with Todd Blanchfield again starring in the 102-72 victory.

Both teams had played the night before as well with the Hawks winning a high-scoring affair against the Bankstown Bruins while the CoE still managed to pull out a six-point win against the Newcastle Falcons to maintain their hold on top spot.

They met at The Snakepit on Sunday afternoon and it was the Hawks who got off to the fast start with 26 points to 15 and then that lead blew out to 20 in the second term.

Illawarra went into half-time leading 51-33 and then that trend only continued through the second half as the Hawks opened up a 23-point advantage in the third quarter, and 32 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 30-point victory.

Illawarra ended up shooting 52 per cent from the field to the 41 from the CoE along with knocking down 18/40 from three-point range up against the 8/26 from the league-leaders.

The Hawks have now won six straight games after their pair of wins this weekend to sit on a 10-3 record with Todd Blanchfield putting in another standout performance with 26 points, five assists, four rebounds and three blocks with 6/14 three-point shooting.

Christian Maran added 18 points, nine rebounds and two assists for Illawarra, Kobe McDowell-White 16 points and 10 assists, and Lachlan Dent 14 points, 10 boards, six assists and two steals.

The CoE remain in top spot at 13-3 after splitting their two games this weekend in the absence of the likes of Luke Fennell, Jacob Furphy and Roor Akhuar.

Alex Dickeson top-scored for the Centre of Excellence with 27 points, seven rebounds, six steals and two assists with 4/8 three-point shooting.

Che Brogan added 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Mading Kuany eight points and seven rebounds.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 102 (Blanchfield 26, Maran 18, McDowell-White 16)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 72 (Dickeson 27, Brogan 16, Kuany 8)