NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Round 5

The Sutherland Sharks dominated the Albury-Wodonga Bandits in an NBL1 East women's Grand Final rematch on Saturday night while Junior Madut put up 50 points for the Norths Bears against the Penrith Panthers.

The women's NBL1 East Saturday results saw the Norths Bears beat the Penrith Panthers 93-36, the Bankstown Bruins defeat the Canberra Nationals 71-61, the Central Coast Crusaders down the Hills Hornets 76-61, and the Illawarra Hawks beat Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 85-60.

The Maitland Mustangs also defeated the Newcastle Falcons 70-61 while the Sutherland Sharks beat the Albury-Wodonga Bandits 80-61, and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles prevailed 74-50 against the Inner West Bulls.

In the corresponding men's matches, the Bears beat the Panthers 113-62, Canberra defeated Bankstown 100-58, the Hornets won 75-72 against the Crusaders, Illawarra defeated Hornsby 83-75, Maitland beat Newcastle 82-69 and the Sharks downed the Bandits 111-91, and the Bulls beat the Sea Eagles 102-69.

WOMEN

Bears produce dominant showing against Panthers

The Norths Bears put together a commanding performance to produce the 93-36 home victory against the Penrith Panthers on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears ended up forcing the Panthers into 25 turnovers for the game and put up 29 points to seven in the first quarter, 22 to six in the second, and 25 to 10 in the third to end up winning by 57 points.

Emily Simons was one of a host of star performers in the win for Norths finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds and five steals.

Carla Pittman added 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Kate Seebohm 16 points, eight assists and five boards, Emma Donnelly 11 points and four rebounds, and Sarah Schicher 10 points, six boards, four assists and three steals.

Chloe Williams finished with 15 points and five rebounds for Penrith with Meg Jefferson contributing 14 points and five boards.

Back-to-back triples for Kate Seebohm ?

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/sErTVNQG1j

— NBL1 (@NBL1) April 15, 2023

Morrow sparks Bruins to second win of season

Canberra and Bankstown were both chasing their second wins of the NBL1 East season and it was the Bruins who came away with the 71-63 win at Belconnen Basketball Stadium.

It was a tight affair all afternoon with Bankstown leading by three points at quarter-time before Canberra were up by a point at half-time, and then it swung around again with the Bruins up by four at three quarter-time before converting that into an eight-point triumph.

Violet Morrow had a big afternoon for Bankstown with 30 points, 12 rebounds and four steals with Britney Wright adding 22 points and eight rebounds, and Briana Maimone nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

Lizzy Tonks finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for Canberra while Jasmyn Boutzos ended up with 13 points, four boards, three steals and two assists, and Abbie Ketels five points and 12 rebounds.

Matthews stars as Crusaders beat Hornets

The Central Coast Crusaders maintained their impressive form to start to the NBL1 East season with a 76-61 home win against the Hills Hornets.

On the back of a dominant performance from Sara Matthews, the Crusaders started strongly with 24 points to 17 in the opening quarter to set the stage for the eventual 15-point win.

Matthews produced another standout display for the Crusaders to finish with 27 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.

Jasmine Forcadilla added 18 points and four assists, and Maddison Penn 11 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists in the win for Central Coast.

Taryn Mahoney delivered 20 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets while Kelsey Curtin added 10 points and seven boards, and Rhiannon Yetsenga seven points and 13 rebounds.

Hawks thump Spiders in battle of winless teams

Both Illawarra and Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai had lost their first five matches of the NBL1 East season and it was the Hawks on Saturday night who got on the board with an 85-60 victory.

With both teams sitting at 0-5 coming into the clash at The Snakepit, one of them was going to break the duck and it wasn’t really until the second half when the Hawks pulled away. Illawarra outscored Hornsby 48 points to 32 after half-time to claim the 25-point win.

Chelsea Hogg put up 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Hawks with Georgia Chrystal contributing 14 points and seven boards, Mikayla Kirby 12 points and six rebounds, and Ella Dent 11 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and three steals.

Tylah Mundine top-scored for the Spiders with Alicia Poto contributing 12 points and eight boards, and Keira Hudson 11 points and three assists.

Mustangs hand Falcons first loss of season

The Maitland Mustangs handed the Newcastle Falcons their first loss of the NBL1 East season with a 70-61 win at home on Saturday.

The Falcons had won their opening four matches of the 2023 season as they arrived at Maitland Federation Centre, and then Newcastle were on top over the first three quarters too leading 51-44 going into three quarter-time.

However, Maitland produced a massive fourth quarter with 26 points to 10 to claim the nine-point win and hand Newcastle their first defeat.

Mila Wawszkowicz ended up with 19 points and five rebounds for the Mustangs while Rachel Williams added 13 points, eight boards and five assists, Shakera Reilly 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and Sydney Hunter 12 points and five boards.

Nicole Munger put up 13 points and 11 rebounds for Newcastle while Mykea Gray had 13 points, six boards, three assists and two steals.

Sharks down Bandits in Grand Final rematch

The Sutherland Sharks earned a measure of revenge for last year's NBL1 East Grand Final beating the Albury-Wodonga Bandits 80-61 on Saturday night.

It was the first meeting between the two teams since last year's Grand Final and the Bandits came into the contest at Sutherland Basketball Stadium undefeated so far in 2023, but the Sharks soon changed that.

Sutherland dominated from the outset with 23 points to eight in the opening quarter and then sealed the deal with 20 points more to eight in the fourth period to end up winning by 19.

Madeleine Norris was the star of the evening for the Sharks with 30 points, six rebounds and two assists while knocking down 7/16 from three-point range.

Aliza Fabbro added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Emily Garland 13 points and seven boards.

The Bandits suffered their first loss of the season with Ashlee Hannan finishing with 15 points and five rebounds, Brodie-Paige Theodore 14 points and nine boards, Emma Mahady 12 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Elizabeth Murphy 11 points, four boards and four steals.

Sea Eagles continue strong form with win over Bulls

The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles continued to impress early this NBL1 East season with a 74-50 victory on the road to the Inner West Bulls.

The Sea Eagles worked their way on top early at ELS Hall Park with 19 points to 10 in the opening quarter before locking away the eventual 24-point victory with 24 points to 13 in the fourth period.

Manly-Warringah improved to 5-1 with the win with Kim Hodge putting up 20 points and 12 rebounds. 

Felicity Henderson just missed the triple-double with 10 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds with Sari Mowbray contributing 12 points and three steals, and Alex Delaney 14 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Mikaela Dombkins produced another strong showing for the Bulls fresh off their first win of the season on Friday with 19 points and 13 rebounds with Leilani Mitchell adding 14 points and five boards.

MEN

Madut puts up 50 as Bears hammer Panthers

The Norths Bears flexed their muscles to improve to a 5-1 record this NBL1 East season by beating the winless Penrith Panthers 113-62 at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre.

It was a dominant performance at home from the Bears beginning with a 41-point first quarter to set the tone for the eventual 51-point win against a Penrith team still hunting that first NBL1 East victory.

There was plenty to like from the Bears but what stood out was the dazzling performance from last season's South East Melbourne Phoenix rising wing Junior Madut who delivered 50 points and seven rebounds while shooting 18/30 from the floor, 3/6 from deep and 11/13 from the free-throw line.

Lewis Holey added 15 points and 17 rebounds, Michael Yoong 14 points and four boards, Robert Moore 14 points and five assists, and Michael Golding a triple-double made up of 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

It was tough going for Penrith with Pranaya Sakya finishing with 19 points and Preston Matia 12 to go with four assists.

5?1? POINTS.

Former S.E Melbourne Phoenix wing and current NBL free agent Junior Madut went to work in @NBL1 East tonight with a 50 piece ?#NBL24 pic.twitter.com/ty7mBNRClJ

— NBL (@NBL) April 15, 2023

Canberra building momentum with win over Bankstown

The Canberra Gunners continue to build some momentum into their NBL1 East championship defence after beating the Bankstown Bruins 100-58 at home on Saturday night.

Canberra got its season back to a 3-3 record after winning last season's NBL1 East championship and started against Bankstown in ominous fashion with 29 points to nine in the fourth quarter on the way to the eventual 42-point win.

Reigning Grand Final MVP Glenn Morison finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds for Canberra with Nikhil Peters delivering 18 points and five boards, and Lachlan Smith 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Jack Lopez put up 13 points and five rebounds, Aqeel Alexander 13 points and two boards, and Josh Shephard 12 points and six rebounds.

Hornets overcome Crusaders on the road

The Hills Hornets started on fire and held out the Central Coast Crusaders for the 75-72 road win on Saturday night.

The Hornets started impressively with 26 points to 14 in the opening quarter but the Crusaders hit back on their home floor with 27 points to 11 to take a 41-37 lead into half-time.

However, the Hornets put up 17 points to eight in the third period and that set the stage for the eventual three-point victory.

Ben Kearins top-scored once more for the Hornets with 14 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals with Paul Brotherson contributing 13 points and eight boards, Liam Moss 13 points and seven rebounds, and Shawn Montague 11 points and six boards.

Luke Cassidy led the scoring for Central Coast with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, Aaron Redhead 12 points and nine rebounds, and Nick Wooller 10 points and four boards.

 

Mustangs impressive at home to beat Falcons

The Maitland Mustangs started well to set the stage for an eventual 82-69 victory at home to the Newcastle Falcons.

Maitland started strongly with 26 points to 18 in the first quarter against Newcastle. The Mustangs were able to maintain that advantage for much of the night from there to end up scoring the 13-point victory.

Will Cranston-Lown ended the night with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks while hitting 3/4 from three-point territory for Maitland.

James Hunter contributed 15 points and six rebounds, Matthew Gray 16 points and nine boards, and Kevin Warren 10 points and seven rebounds.

Ryan Beisty had a big night for Newcastle consisting of 17 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and three assists with Anthony Gaines contributing 13 points on 3/4 three-point shooting.

Sharks overpower Bandits with huge second quarter

The Sutherland Sharks got strong contributions right across the board on the way to an 111-91 victory at home to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

Sutherland made a good start on its home floor with 28 points to 20 in the first quarter before a dominant second period made up of 35 points to 16 to set up the eventual 20-point win over the Bandits.

Adrian Cabrera ended up top-scoring for the Sharks with 22 points and four rebounds with Jordan Mitchell adding 16 points and four assists, Lochlan Hutchinson 18 points and six assists, Geoff Gerlach 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Callum Norris 11 points, and Marquel Beasley 10 points and six rebounds.

Lochlan Cummings top-scored for Albury-Wodonga with 21 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists while Michael Parks contributed 17 points and eight boards, Jack Saunders 11 points, and Lochlainn Simpson 10 points.

Huge block by Lochlan Hutchison! ?

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/HGwLZuO9vp

— NBL1 (@NBL1) April 15, 2023

Bulls too strong at home for Sea Eagles

The Inner West Bulls proved too strong at home for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles on Saturday night, winning 102-69.

The Bulls dominated from the outset with 26 points to 10 against the Sea Eagles in the opening quarter on the way to the eventual 33-point win while shooting a remarkable 62.9 per cent from the floor as a team and knocking down 10/19 from beyond the arc.

Chris Bryant was terrific for Inner West with 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals on 9/13 shooting from the field and 7/8 at the charity stripe.

Blake Morrow added 24 points and seven assists, Alex Higgins-Titsha 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Jonni Mei-Edwards 12 points, three boards, two assists and two steals.

Matthew Eldridge finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds for Manly-Warringah with Aku Makki contributing 13 points, and Krenz Carlos 13 points and four steals.

Big finish from Hawks and they overcome Spiders

It took until the fourth quarter but 35 points from the Illawarra Hawks saw them come from behind and beat Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 83-75 at home.

The Spiders were chasing their first win in the NBL1 East and were on track to get that at The Sandpit leading 49-48 at three quarter-time. However, the Hawks delivered 35 points to 26 in the fourth qurater to claim the eight-point victory.

Davo Hickey was the star of the evening for Illawarra with 31 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals with retired 374-game NBL veteran Tim Coenraad delivering 12 points and eight boards.

Philip Dopud added 15 points and four rebounds, and Frederick Webb 10 points, five boards and two assists.

Shareef Saipaia top-scored for Hornsby with 23 points to go with eight assists and five rebounds with Peitok Machar adding 12 points and five boards.