NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Round 14

Mikayla Pivec inspired the Albury-Wodonga Bandits to a Saturday NBL1 East win while Sydney Hunter did the same for the Maitland Mustangs as did Nicole Munger for the Newcastle Falcons while Ryan Beisty proved the hero for the Newcastle men against the Inner West Bulls.

Saturday's Round 14 women's results saw the Albury-Wodonga Bandits beat the Bankstown Bruins 90-60 while the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles downed the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 111-52, the Sutherland Sharks defeated the Illawarra Hawks 101-58, and the Maitland Mustangs won 77-67 against the Central Coast Crusaders.

The Hills Hornets also beat the Penrith Panthers 66-58 while the Newcastle Falcons defeated the Inner West Bulls 87-55, the Norths Bears downed the Canberra Nationals 94-80, and the Centre of Excellence beat the Sydney Comets 103-77.

In the corresponding men's contests, the Sea Eagles beat the Spiders 71-65 with the Canberra Gunners defeating the Bears 83-74, the Bruins beating the Bandits 92-87, the Sharks prevailing 92-80 against the Hawks, the Mustangs winning 82-81 against the Crusaders, the Hornets beating the Panthers 95-57, and the Falcons defeating the Bulls 82-80.

WOMEN

Pivec stars again to keep Bandits in finals hunt

The Albury-Wodonga Bandits stayed in the top four hunt in their NBL1 East championship defence this season with a dominant 90-60 win at home over the Bankstown Bruins.

It's been an up and down ride for the Bandits in their championship defence this season and that's only natural considering they no longer possess Lauren Jackson and Unique Thompson, but if they go on a winning run finals are still not without hope.

That made it a must win game at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre on Saturday evening and Albury-Wodonga started well to go on a 9-0 scoring run to be leading 23-18 by quarter-time.

The lead for the Bandits did get out to 13 points in the second term but even by three quarter-time and Bankstown was close enough if good enough to trail by just 12.

However, Albury-Wodonga dominated the fourth stanza with 23 points to just five from Bankstown to win by 30 and improve to a 9-7 record with back-to-back wins. The Bruins are now 7-9 unable to make it consecutive wins.

Mikayla Pivec has been a brilliant addition for Albury-Wodonga and she was outstanding again with 32 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and five steals on the back of shooting 9/20 from the field and 14/17 from the charity stripe.

Malury Bates added 18 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks, four steals and three assists while Elizabeth Murphy contributed 16 points and two boards, and Emma Mahady 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Violet Morrow did what she could to keep Bankstown in the contest with 24 points and eight rebounds while Kiahna Davis-White added 12 points, four boards and two assists, and Abbey Vallance nine points, eight rebounds and two steals.

League-leading Sea Eagles beat last placed Spiders

It was top against bottom in the NBL1 East on Saturday evening and things went according to script with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles beating the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 111-52.

The Sea Eagles did need to keep winning to maintain top spot as they travelled to The Brickpit to take on the bottom placed Spiders in Round 14 NBL1 East action.

Manly Warringah shot out of the blocks with a 14-0 scoring run during the first quarter and to already lead by 35-18 at the end of one.

The Sea Eagles continued to dominant in the second term with another 30 points to 14 to go into the main break on top 65-32.

It was more of the same throughout the second half with Manly Warringah not taking their foot off the accelerator. The lead got out to 47 points in the third quarter and 61 in the fourth before settling on the eventual 59-point win for the league-leaders.

Sari Mowbray was tremendous in the big win for the Sea Eagles with 29 points, seven rebounds and four assists while nailing 6/13 from three-point territory. 

Bree Delaney added 20 points, eight boards and six assists, Maja Jurlina 17 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Antonia Henderson 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Zoey Miller also produced 12 points, six steals, five assists and three rebounds, Felicity Henderson eight points, 15 boards and two assists, Gracie Lee seven points, six rebounds and five assists, and Josie Bulman four points, 10 boards, six assists and two steals.

Mizuki Wakamatsu put up 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai with Sabrina Della Franca delivering 13 points, six boards and three assists.

Fabbro shines as Sharks win minus Nicholson

Aliza Fabbro and Madeleine Norris ensured the Sutherland Sharks covered for the absence of Lauren Nicholson nicely with a 101-58 victory against the Illawarra Hawks.

Coming off making the grand final in the NBL1 East last season, the Sharks are continuing to make a charge towards the finals again this year but did have to take on the Hawks at The Snakepit minus their Opals superstar Nicholson.

Nicholson is with the national team preparing for the Asia Cup starting this week but the Sharks did well covering for her opening up a 10-point lead in the first quarter, and still leading 23-18 by quarter-time.

Sutherland continued with the job in the second period to lead by as much as 16 and then still leading 45-33 at the main break.

The Sharks kept the momentum rolling throughout the second half to lead by as much as 30 points in the third stanza, and 43 in the fourth before winning by that 43-point margin to improve to a 12-5 record with four straight victories.

The Hawks have now lost three in-a-row to sit at 3-13.

Aliza Fabbro starred in the big win for Sutherland with 30 points while shooting 6/9 from beyond the three-point line.

Madeleine Norris added 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, Olivia White 14 points, 12 boards, six assists and four steals, Jordyn Dewhurst 11 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Kallie Hovatter 10 points, eight boards, four assists and three steals.

Lauren Gatwood top-scored for Illawarra with 13 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds, and Rebecca Abel 10 points, six steals, two rebounds and two assists.

Lauren Gatwood's prayer is answered ?

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Hunter leads Mustangs to win over Crusaders

Sydney Hunter once again starred in a 77-67 win for the Maitland Mustangs against the Central Coast Crusaders to keep them in the race for a top four position in the NBL1 East.

The Mustangs need to continue to string wins together if they want to make the top four again this season in the NBL1 East and they started well at home to the Crusaders on Saturday evening with 16 points to eight in the opening period.

The lead for Maitland got out to 10 points in the second quarter and still by half-time they were on top 35-29.

The Mustangs pulled away again thanks to a 7-0 run in the third stanza to lead by 12, and that lead got out 14 in the fourth period before they went on to score the 10-point triumph.

The victory improves Maitland to a 10-6 record on the season to stay close with the top four while the Crusaders are now 5-12 having lost 10 of their last 11 with that lone win when they snapped the winning run of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

Sydney Hunter produced a match-winning performance again for Maitland with 25 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals on 10/15 shooting from the floor.

Madison Washington added 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Mustangs, Shakera Reilly 13 points, six boards and five assists, Rachel Williams seven points and four assists, and Hannah Fox seven points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Jasmine Forcadilla produced 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals with Nicole Hutchins delivering 15 points and eight boards, Darneka Rowe eight points and three assists, and Jonalyn Wittwer eight points and five rebounds.

Sewell drains five threes in win for Hornets

Britnee Sewell drained five three-pointers in Saturday night's 66-58 victory for the Hills Hornets against the Penrith Panthers.

The Panthers were back home at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre looking to back up last week's win against the Inner West Bulls while the Hornets were hunting a third win for 2023.

It was a tight contest in the opening half with Penrith opening up an eight-point lead in the second term but Hills firing back to level scores up at half-time.

The Hornets then took charge in the third term with 24 points to 15 and then from there would lead by 13 points in the final stanza and end up winning by eight away from home.

Britnee Sewell knocked down 5/8 from three-point territory in the win for Hills on her way to 17 points and five rebounds.

Taylah Cottees contributed 13 points, three rebounds and three blocks, Kelsey Curtin 12 points, five boards and five assists, and Cassandra Pentney nine points, eight rebounds and two steals.

Meg Jefferson put up 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks on the night for Penrith with Emily Matthews adding 11 points and 10 boards, Chloe Williams 13 points and five rebounds, and Chloe Bloom nine points and nine boards.

 

Munger helps Falcons to strong win over Bulls

The Newcastle Falcons maintained pace with top spot in the NBL1 East with Nicole Munger producing another strong all-round performance in the 87-55 road win against the Inner West Bulls.

The Falcons did need to keep winning at ELS Hall Park on Saturday evening both to maintain a top four spot and to stay in touch with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in top position, and they started strongly against the Bulls.

Newcastle opened up a 12-point lead during the first quarter and were still up 21-12 by the end of one.

Inner West tried to keep things close in the second period and did make some inroads to limit the Falcons lead to 38-27 by half-time.

However, Newcastle took charge even further throughout the second half to lead by as much as 21 points in the third term, and then 32 in the second which was the final margin.

The Falcons stay second with the win improving to a 14-2 record having won four straight while the Bulls have lost seven in-a-row at 3-13.

Nicole Munger came up huge once more for Newcastle with 18 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and two blocks while Abigail Curtin top-scored with 21 points, nine boards and two assists.

Mykea Gray added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, Kate Kingham 14 points, three boards and two assists, and Hannah Chicken six points, six rebounds and two assists.

Mikaela Dombkins played all 40 minutes for Inner West and delivered 21 points, 16 rebounds and three assists with Leilana Mitchell contributing 13 points, 12 assists and three rebounds.

Pitman shines as Bears beat Nationals

The Norths Bears shook off a slow start to take charge the rest of the way with Carla Pitman leading the way for the eventual 94-80 victory on the road to the Canberra Nationals.

The Bears need to keep winning to maintain their top four position while the Nationals had won three straight coming into Saturday night's contest to breath a bit of life into their playoff aspirations.

On the back of that recent form, Canberra started well at Belconnen Basketball Stadium with 30 points to 22 in the opening period and they were still up by 10 early in the second term before the Bears started working back into the contest.

The Bears would end up outscoring the Nationals 24 points to 13 in the second stanza and on the back of that went into half-time leading 46-43.

It was then all Norths in the second half as that lead blew out to 12 thanks to a 14-0 run and then the advantage was as much as 20 in the fourth period with the Bears going on to score the 14-point win.

The victory improves the Bears to a 13-3 record to remain solid in the top four while the Nationals slip to 8-9 with their winning run coming to an end.

Carla Pitman was terrific for Norths by delivering 26 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals on shooting 11/19 from the field and 3/6 from beyond the arc.

Madeleine O'Hehir added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, Jolene Anderson 13 points, five boards and four assists,, Jessica Bygate 11 points and three rebounds, and Emma Donnelly 12 points and three boards.

Lizzy Tonks produced 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Canberra while Issy Bourne added 16 points, eight boards and five assists, Abby Solway 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, Jasmyn Boutzos 10 points, and Abbie Ketels eight points, eight boards and five assists.

CoE bounce back with win over Heal-less Comets

The Centre of Excellence bounced back from a four-game winning streak to beat the Sydney Comets 103-77 at Comets Stadium on Saturday night.

While the Comets welcomed back Vanessa Panousis, they were without Shyla Heal who is with the Australian Opals for the FIBA Asia Cup and it was a crucial match up for both teams locked in a battle over a top four position.

The Comets did start well with 25 points to 22 in the opening period but the CoE team then took charge in the second term determined to bounce from losing their previous four matches.

The Basketball Australia team of emerging starts dominated the rest of the contest with 25 points to 16 in the second quarter, 28 to 11 in the third and another 28 to 25 in the fourth to claim the comprehensive 26-point win.

The victory improves the Centre of Excellence to a 14-6 record to remain in the hunt for a top four position with the Comets slipping to 11-4 having lost two in-a-row.

UC Capitals WNBL signing Jayda Clark produced 19 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Centre of Excellence thanks to shooting 7/12 from the field.

Isla Juffermans added 19 points and 11 rebounds, Lara Somfai 19 points and eight boards, and Opal Bird 12 points and three rebounds but it was Saffron Shiels who top-scored with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Shiels shot 9/13 from the field while making all her two-point attempts and adding 2/6 from downtown.

Jada Crawshaw produced 24 points, six rebounds and three steals for Sydney with Piper Anderson adding 14 points and three boards, Hannah Griffin 11 points with 3/4 three-point shooting, and Vanessa Panousis 11 points and three assists.

MEN

Blankley lifts Bruins to road win over Bandits

Hayden Blankley produced a standout performance to lift the Bankstown Bruins to the 92-87 Saturday night win on the road to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

It was a crucial game at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre for the Bandits as they need to start a winning run to remain any hope of playing finals still in 2023 as they hosted a Bruins team who had lost their past three matches.

Scores were then level at quarter-time but it was in the second term when Albury-Wodonga began to pull away with 24 points to 17 to go into the half-time break leading 43-36.

The Bandits lead was out to as much as 10 points again in the third stanza but the Bruins then started to catch fire and turned things around to be leading 61-58 at three quarter-time.

Bankstown then built a lead as big as 10 points in the final term and would hold on to win by five to snap a three-game losing streak to sit on a 4-12 record. It's a cruel blow to the Bandits playoff hopes who are now 8-9.

Hayden Blankley was tremendous in the win for Bankstown with 32 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 10/19 from the floor, 3/6 from beyond the arc and 9/11 at the foul line.

Dragan Elkaz added 17 points and six rebounds, Kobe Shannon 13 points and two assists, and Aqeel Alexander 12 points.

Jamir Coleman top-scored for Albury-Wodonga with 30 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks with Michael Parks adding 21 points and 18 rebounds, and Lochlan Cummings 18 points.

Hornsby just falls short to Manly Warringah

It was yet another case of so close yet so far for the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders to record that elusive first NBL1 East victory as the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles held them out to prevail 71-65.

The bottom two teams in the NBL1 East locked horns on Saturday afternoon at The Brickpit with Hornsby still hunting a first win of the season and the Sea Eagles a fourth victory.

The Sea Eagles had a strong start to the opening period to be leading 24-12 by quarter-time before completing a 10-0 run early in the second term to be leading by 14.

However, from there the Spiders worked back into the contest strongly to outscore Manly Warringah 22 points to 12 in the quarter to close the gap to just two points by intermission.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai kept the momentum going to start the second half too and it was their turn to complete a 12-0 scoring streak to suddenly be leading by eight points, and that first victory was looking a more than distinct possibility.

Manly Warringah weren’t in a charitable mood, though, and the visitors had the better of the fourth quarter outscoring Hornsby 18 points to 13 to claim the eventual six-point win.

Matthew Eldridge produced a strong performance from Manly Warringah for 15 points, 21 rebounds and three assists even if he just shot 6/19 from the field.

Mitch Evans top-scored with 19 points to go with six assists, four rebounds and two steals with Denis Radosevic contributing seven points and nine boards, and Jock McHugh seven points and eight rebounds.

Shareef Saipaia had a tremendous afternoon for Hornsby despite the result with 32 points, five rebounds and three assists while Peitok Machar contributed 13 points, 10 boards and five blocked shots.

Sharks consolidate top four spot with big finish

The Sutherland Sharks delivered a huge fourth quarter to overrun the Illawarra Hawks for the 92-80 victory with six players ending up scoring in double-figures.

The Sharks came into the clash clinging to fourth position but needing to bounce back from last week's loss to the Norths Bears while the Hawks were just about already out of playoff contention after losing three of their past four matches.

Illawarra also came into the game without exciting guard Davo Hickey and the Sharks started well to lead by seven at quarter-time.

Sutherland were still up five at half-time but then Illawarra took control in the third period with 29 points to 22, and to lead at one point by as much as 10.

The Sharks had to dig deep and that's exactly what they did in the final period with 24 points to 10 to turn a two-point deficit into the eventual 12-point victory to consolidate themselves in the top four of the NBL1 East.

Jordan Mitchell finished with 18 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists for Sutherland with Deng Gak contributing 16 points and eight boards, and Geoff Gerlach 15 points and six rebounds.

Lochlan Hutchison also had 13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, Callum Norris 12 points, and Marquel Beasley 10 points and three rebounds.

Harry Morris produced 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for Illawarra with Phillip Dopud producing 12 points and 11 boards, Frederick Webb 10 points and six assists, Tim Coenraad 10 points and seven rebounds, and Noah Pagotto nine points and six boards. 

Mustangs dig deep for sixth straight win

The Maitland Mustangs kept themselves in touch for a top four position but only just with the one-point victory at home against the Central Coast Crusaders.

The Mustangs came into the contest on their home floor on a five-game winning streak but they did need to keep that going to remain any hope of breaking into the top four as they hosted a Crusaders team on a 10-match losing slide.

Maitland shot out of the blocks to lead by as much as 13 points in the opening stanza but Central Coast wasn’t about to throw in the towel despite the losing run they were on.

The Crusaders went on a 12-0 run in the second to grab the lead and to still be leading 42-41 by half-time.

That left the Mustangs with some work to do and they were up to the challenge in the third quarter to again push out to a 13-point lead. That lead got to as much 17 but once more the Crusaders weren’t going away.

Central Coast kept on coming and got back to within a point, but could never quite get back in front with the Mustangs holding on for the crucial one-point victory to give them six wins in succession.

Matthew Gray led the charge for the Mustangs with 25 points, 13 rebounds and two steals with Will Cranston-Lown contributing 20 points, seven boards, five steals and four assists.

Daniel Millburn also had 10 points and three rebounds, Kevin Warren eight points and three boards, and James Hunter six points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

Aaron Redhead produced 21 points, eight rebounds and four steals for Central Coast while Luke Cassidy contributed 19 points, five boards and four assists, James Trustum 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Aaron Lawton 13 points.

Hornets stay alive with big win over Panthers

The Hills Hornets dominated the Penrith Panthers on Saturday night with a 95-57 victory to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot in the NBL1 East.

To stay in the playoff hunt, the Hornets can't afford any slip ups in the run home and they started strongly at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre on Saturday with 22 points to 10 in the opening period.

Hills would end up stretching that lead out to 30 points in the second term as well and by half-time had things well in hand leading 54-24.

The Hornets would still outscore the Panthers 41 points to 33 in the second half on the way to the eventual 38-point victory to see them improve to a 10-6 record on the season.

Lachlan Charlton came off the bench for Hills and played just 16 minutes but he was his team's top-scorer with 17 points while hitting 4/6 from three-point range.

Shawn Montague added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets, Liam Moss 13 points, five boards, four assists, two steals and two blocks, Josh Kalwy nine points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Jamie Munro nine points, three boards and two steals.

Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe top-scored for Penrith with 13 points and five rebounds with Pranaya Sakya contributing 11 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Tomas Ramos 10 points and three boards.

 

Beisty the hero in crucial Falcons win over Bulls

Ryan Beisty only served to improve his MVP credentials in the NBL1 East with a match-winning performance and the clutch basket for the Newcastle Falcons in the 82-80 victory away to the Inner West Bulls.

With the Bulls sitting in second position and the Falcons trying still to break into the top four, the stage was set for a tantalising match up at ELS Hall Park.

Both teams had their turn leading in the opening period and it was Newcastle up by six at quarter-time before stretching that advantage to 11 in the second term, and still being on top 41-34 at the long change.

It all set the stage for a second half where the lead continued to switch hands and ultimately the Falcons were up five with 45 seconds to go following a three-point play from Beisty.

Blake Morrow did score to put Inner West back within one possession before Tony Tolovae showed his big shot acumen once more by connecting from downtown to level scores.

Ultimately, the ball was in the hands of Beisty with time winding down and he made a nice move in the post and got off a pretty hook shot. It never looked like missing as it put the Falcons up two and that's where they stayed when he also blocked the three-point attempt on the buzzer from Tolovae.

The win keeps Newcastle in the playoff hunt at 10-6 with Ryan Beisty brilliant with 28 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks on 10/17 shooting with 6/10 from beyond the arc.

Myles Cherry added 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks on 9/12 shooting with Anthony Gaines contributing 11 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Reed Nottage 11 points, three boards and two steals.

Blake Morrow put up 24 points, five rebounds and five assists for Inner West with Chris Bryant delivering 16 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals, and Alex Higgins-Titsha 16 points, nine boards and two steals.

Ryan Beisty's sky hook seals the W for Newcastle ?

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Gunners beat Bears to close in on top four spot

The defending NBL1 East champion Canberra Gunners continue to close in on a top four position after beating the Norths Bears 83-74 at home on Saturday evening.

It was the fifth placed Gunners up against the third placed Bears at Belconnen Basketball Stadium on Saturday evening with the race for a finals position heating up in the NBL1 East.

The Gunners put together a terrific opening quarter including scoring 12 consecutive points to lead by as much as 16, and still being on top 35-24 by the end of the opening period.

Canberra maintained control through the second period to head into half-time still leading 51-42.

The Bears stayed in touch throughout the second half, but could never quite find a way in front with Canberra continuing to have all the answers to win by nine and improve to an 11-6 record to continue to close in on a top four spot.

The Bears are now 12-4 to keep the race to the finals a fascinating one.

Reigning Grand Final MVP Glenn Morison came up huge again for Canberra with 28 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists on 11/22 from the floor and 6/9 from the free-throw line.

Pietro Badalassi added 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals, Dhal Fieg 13 points, and James Toohey nine points, seven boards, five assists and two steals.

Robert Moore top-scored for the Bears with 20 points and five assists with Nathaniel Musters contributing 15 points, seven boards and three steals, Lucas Morgan 18 points and two assists, and Lewis Holey pulled down 15 rebounds.

Dhal Fieg blocks the jumper and finishes down the other end ?

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