NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Women's Round 15

Round 15 in the NBL1 East got underway on Saturday and it saw Unique Thompson produce 30 points and 14 rebounds, Lizzy Tonks 42 points and 21 boards, and Lauren Nicholson, Vanessa Panousis and Kim Hodge all scored 33 points.

The Saturday wins in the NBL1 East Women's competition came from the Sutherland Sharks, Norths Bears, Canberra Nationals, Albury-Wodonga Bandits and Newcastle Falcons.

The Sutherland Sharks ended up with an impressive road victory over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles on Saturday afternoon, winning 94-76.

Both Lauren Nicholson and Vanessa Panousis scored 33 points in standout performances in the win for the Sharks. Kim Hodge also scored 33 points for Manly-Warringah with Zoey Miller adding 20 points.

It was a commanding 92-50 victory as well on Saturday evening in the NBL1 East for the Norths Bears against the Inner West Bulls.

The Bears shared the load around too with Riley Evans scoring 18 points, Lauryn Walker 16, Lana Marov 13, Sarah Schicher 12, Carla Pitman and Jessica Bygate 11. Lashayla Wright-Ponder top-scored for Inner West with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Even without the presence of Lauren Jackson the Albury-Wodonga Bandits proved too strong at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre beating the Maitland Mustangs 101-43.

Unique Thompson delivered 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Bandits with Amelia Hassett adding 21 points and Ai Yamada 18. Mila Wawszkowicz top-scored for Maitland with 18 points.

The Canberra Nationals hit the road on Saturday evening to defeat the Illawarra Hawks 97-68 at The Snakepit.

Lizzy Tonks produced a stunning performance to score 42 points along with 21 points and five assists in the win for Canberra. Tyler Scaife scored 15 points for Illawarra.

The Newcastle Falcons were another team to hit the road and score a win on Saturday night, beating the Central Coast Crusaders 84-53.

Chyra Evans put up 26 points and 11 rebounds for Newcastle with Nicole Munger adding 14 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Nicole Hutchins finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Round 15 in the NBL1 East will wrap up on Sunday with the Sutherland Sharks hosting the Inner West Bulls from midday. The Central Coast Crusaders then take on the Norths Bears at 4pm. 

NBL1 EAST – 2022 WOMEN'S SEASON
ROUND 15 – SATURDAY 

MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 76 lost to SUTHERLAND SHARKS 94

The Sutherland Sharks turned on a scintillating second quarter and then finished the job in the last term on the way to beating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles by 18 points.

The Sea Eagles were at home to the Sharks at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday as part of Round 15 in the NBL1 East, and it was the home team who ended up leading 23-19 by quarter-time.

The Sharks then turned on some scorching basketball in the second quarter by piling on 38 points to 18 from the Sea Eagles. That saw them end up leading by as much as 19 points before going into the half-time break on top 57-41.

Manly-Warringah attempted to work back into the contest in the third quarter with 22 points to 13 including an 8-0 run but Sutherland had all the answers.

The Sharks produced another 24 points to 13 in the fourth quarter to open up a 19-point lead again before ending up winning 94-76.

The victory improves Sutherland to an 11-4 record on the season ahead of hosting the Inner West Bulls on Sunday while the Sea Eagles are now 10-7 following the defeat.

It was a hot shooting performance from the Sharks who went at 52.2 per cent from the field while knocking down 15/25 at 60 per cent from three-point land. In contrast, the Sea Eagles went at 41.7 per cent from the floor and 8/22 at 36.4 per cent from beyond the arc.

Lauren Nicholson finished the night with 33 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Sharks with shooting 12/23 from the field and 4/5 from three-point territory.

Vanessa Panousis delivered 33 points, seven rebounds and three assists as well while knocking down 9/13 from three-point land while Olivia White also had 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Sutherland.

Kim Hodge did what she could to keep Manly-Warringah in the contest by putting together 33 points and six rebounds on 13/24 shooting.

Zoey Miller added 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, Alex Delaney 15 points and nine boards.

 

NORTHS BEARS 92 defeated INNER WEST BULLS 50

The Norths Bears maintained pace at the top of the NBL1 East while kept the Inner West Bulls winless in 2022 with a 42-point win at home on Saturday.

The Bears played host to the Bulls at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre and the home team didn’t take long to work on top with 20 points to nine in the opening quarter.

Norths then pulled away further with 26 points to 14 in the second term to open up a lead as big as 23 points before heading into the half-time interval on top 46-23.

It was more of the same dominance from the Bears in the third quarter as they scored another 11 points in-a-row on the way to building a 40-point advantage.

The home team outscored the Bulls 30 points to 14 in the third period, and then 16 to 13 in the fourth to end up winning 92-50.

The victory improves Norths to a 12-3 record on the season ahead of taking on the Central Coast Crusaders on Sunday while the Bulls are now 0-17 before facing the Sutherland Sharks also on Sunday afternoon.

Six players ended up scoring in double-figures in the win for the Bears as they spread the load impressively.

Riley Evans top-scored with 18 points, five assists and four rebounds with Lauryn Walker adding 16 points and two assists, and Lana Marov 13 points and three rebounds.

Sarah Schicher added 12 points, 16 rebounds, four steals and three assists, Carla Pitman 11 points and 10 assists, and Jessica Bygate 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Lashayla Wright-Ponder ended the night with 24 points and 13 rebounds for Inner West, and Daphnee Frieson nine points and three boards.

 

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 68 lost to CANBERRA NATIONALS 97

The Canberra Nationals enjoyed their Saturday evening road trip to beat the Illawarra Hawks by 29 points in Round 15 of the NBL1 East.

Illawarra was at home to Canberra at The Snakepit and it was a simply stunning opening to the contest from the visiting Nationals.

They piled on 37 points to just 11 in the opening quarter including scoring 13 points in-a-row to be leading by 26 at quarter-time.

The game was relatively even the rest of the way but once the Nationals opened up a 33-point lead during the second term, they maintained that advantage virtually all of the rest of the way.

By the end of the night it was Canberra claiming the 97-68 victory to improve to a 7-9 record on the season while as a result of the defeat Illawarra is now 9-6.

The Nationals ended up collecting 62 rebounds to 46 for the game while shooting at 45.1 per cent from the floor and hitting 14/33 at 42.4 per cent from the three-point line.

Illawarra shot at just 31.0 per cent from the field and nailed just 2/21 from three-point land at 9.5 per cent.

Lizzy Tonks put together a remarkable performance in the win for Canberra with 42 points, 21 rebounds and five assists on the back of shooting 14/25 from the floor, 5/10 from downtown and 9/10 the charity stripe.

Kristen Langhorn added 18 points and 13 rebounds, Abby Solway 16 points with 5/9 shooting from deep, and Jasmyn Boutzos 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Melanie Kirby top-scored for Illawarra with 17 points and six rebounds with Tyler Scaife adding 15 points, five boards and three assists, Ella Dent nine points and three rebounds, and Georgia Ohrdorf nine points and six boards.

 

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 101 defeated MAITLAND MUSTANGS 43

The Albury-Wodonga Bandits dealt with the absence of Lauren Jackson with little problem to end up beating the Maitland Mustangs at home by 58 points on Saturday evening.

The Bandits played host to the Mustangs at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre in Round 15 of the NBL1 East and despite Jackson's absence as she puts forward her case to be part of the Opals at the FIBA World Cup, the home team flexed their muscles.

Albury-Wodonga started the game on fire to close the first quarter scoring 14 straight points to lead by 20 and hold the 28-8 advantage.

Another 10-0 run from the Bandits in the second term helped the home team out to a 35-point advantage and by half-time they were leading 51-17 with their defensive performance every bit as dominant as what they were doing at the offensive end.

Albury-Wodonga then put together another 33 points to 11 in the third quarter with the lead growing out to as much as 58 points. That grew to 60 in the fourth term and eventually they were able to prevail 101-43.

The win keeps the Bandits on top of the NBL1 East table with a 14-2 record while the Mustangs are now 3-13 following the defeat.

Maitland did what they could to be competitive with only seven players available but Albury-Wodonga dominated with 56 rebounds to 30 including 22 at the offensive end to six.

The home team also shot 48.8 per cent from the floor opposed to 28.9 while they went 11/34 from three-point land compared with 2/15.

Unique Thomspon was outstanding for Albury-Wodonga with 30 points, 14 rebounds and five steals while shooting 13/16 from the floor.

Amelia Hassett added 21 points and 11 rebounds, Ai Yamada 18 points and 10 assists, and Brodie-Paige Theodore 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double.

Mila Wawszkowicz was just one of two players to come off the bench for the Mustangs and top-scored with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Hannah Griffin added 11 points and two assists, and Rebecca Gallego six points and five boards.

 

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 53 lost to NEWCASTLE FALCONS 84

The Newcastle Falcons kept hold of their top four position in the NBL1 East with a solid 31-point road win against the Central Coast Crusaders.

The Crusaders played host to the Falcons on Saturday evening at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium, and it was a tight opening to the contest with scores tied at 18-18 by the end of the first quarter.

It was in the second quarter when Newcastle began to pull away by going on a 12-0 run to open up a double-figure advantage and go into the half-time break with the 42-31 edge.

Newcastle scored another 18 points to 10 in the third quarter, and then 24 points to 12 in the fourth which saw them end up claiming the eventual 84-53 victory.

The victory saw the Falcons steady in fourth position on the standings with an 11-5 record while the Crusaders are now 4-12 ahead of hosting the Norths Bears on Sunday to close Round 15.

Chyra Evans finished the evening for Newcastle with 26 points and 11 rebounds with Emily Foy adding 17 points, and Nicole Munger 14 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Kate Kingham added 12 points and three steals, and Amelia Raidaveta nine points, eight boards and two steals.

Nicole Hutchins put together 12 points and 12 rebounds for Central Coast with Sara Matthews adding 11 points and six boards, Jonalyn Wittwer nine points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.