NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Round 12

Bonnie Deas was the hero for Centre of Excellence on Saturday in the NBL1 East while the Central Coast Crusaders shocked the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, Issie Bourne starred for the Canberra Nationals, and Tony Tolovae was brilliant for the Inner West Bulls.

Saturday’s women’s NBL1 East results saw the Norths Bears beat the Hills Hornets 95-30 while the Centre of Excellence beat the Albury-Wodonga Bandits 74-71, the Canberra Nationals downed the Penrith Panthers 93-48, and the Central Coast Crusaders shocked the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 81-77.

The Newcastle Falcons also beat the Illawarra Hawks 70-49 with the Maitland Mustangs defeating the Bankstown Bruins 75-61, the Sutherland Sharks downing the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 106-61, and the Sydney Comets beating the Inner West Bulls 90-66.

In the men’s match ups, the Bears defeated the Hornets 93-88 while the Bulls beat the Comets 104-71, the Centre of Excellence downed the Bandits 100-88, the Gunners beat the Panthers 101-85, the Sea Eagles prevailed 79-72 over the Crusaders, the Hawks beat the Falcons 97-68, the Mustangs defeated the Bruins 99-82, and the Sharks beat the Spiders 85-73.

WOMEN

Bears win huge on the road to Hornets

The Norths Bears put in a remarkably dominant performance to beat the Hills Hornets 95-30 on the road on Saturday.

The Bears came into the contest in third position in the NBL1 East with a seven-game winning streak and they took no mercy on the second last placed Hornets who were still hunting a third victory for 2023.

Already by quarter-time and the Bears were out to a 17-point lead having held the Hornets to just five points. Norths added another 32 points to six in the second term to go into the main break leading 54-11.

Another 41 points to 19 in the second half meant the Bears ended up winning by 65 points to make it eight wins in-a-row and to improve to an 11-2 record on the season. The Hornets have now lost four in-a-row to be 2-12.

Emily Simons had a terrific performance for the Bears made up of 32 points and 10 rebounds while knocking down 5/9 of her three-point attempts.

Jolene Anderson also put up 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks, Carla Pitman 13 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals, and Madeleine O’Hehir 12 points, seven boards, six assists, two steals and two blocks.

Sarah Schicher also had eight points, 11 rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocked shots for Norths.

It was a tough affair for the Hornets with Rhiannon Yetsenga top-scoring with eight points to go four rebounds.

Late Deas triple sees CoE topple Bandits

Two huge shots late from the Centre of Excellence sunk the defending champion Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Saturday with the Basketball Australia team winning 74-71.

The Bandits were at home at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre to host the young guns from the Centre of Excellence, and it turned out to be quite the terrific contest.

Albury-Wodonga led by as much as 10 points in the first quarter but by quarter-time the CoE had closed back to within a point.

The Bandits continued to be doing well, though, and had opened up a six-point lead by half-time and they remained leading by around that margin for much of the second half as they chased a crucial victory.

However, it was with the game on the line that some rising stars from the Centre of Excellence showed nerves of steel.

First came Saffron Shiels hitting a long two-pointer to tie scores up and then after Albury-Wodonga missed a pair of chances to reclaim the lead, it was Bonnie Deas who drained the corner three-pointer to sink the Bandits.

The stunning finish sees the Centre of Excellence improve to a 13-2 record on the season with five straight victories while the Bandits are now 7-7 having lost their past two.

Fresh off signing with the UC Capitals for the upcoming WNBL season, Jayda Clark put up 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals for the Centre of Excellence.

Isla Juffermans continued her tremendous form as well with 14 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and two steals for the CoE with Rubi Gray contributing 13 points, Lara Somfai 12 points and three rebounds, and Bonnie Deas 10 points, two boards and two steals

Malury Bates produced 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Albury-Wodonga with Mikayla Pivec contributing 17 points, 11 boards, six assists and two steals, Liz Murphy 12 points, and Emma Mahady 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

BONNIE DEAS WINS IT ?

The 17-year-old CoE star puts the reigning champs to sleep ?

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ?&? pic.twitter.com/7wrH5qbLgP

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 3, 2023

Issie Bourne shoots Nationals to big win

Issie Bourne inspired the Canberra Nationals to a dominant Saturday victory over the Penrith Panthers with the home team winning 93-48.

It was a dominant performance from Canberra who started with 21 points to nine in the opening quarter. The Nationals added another 23 points to seven in the second term as well to head into the half-time break leading 44-16.

Canberra went on with the job from there with another 49 points to 32 to end beating the Panthers by 45 points to improve to a 6-8 record on the season while the Panthers are now 3-11 with a fourth consecutive defeat.

Issie Bourne was the star of the evening for the Nationals putting together a performance made up of 30 points, eight rebounds and four steals on the back of draining 7/9 of her three-point attempts.

Lizzy Tonks added 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for Canberra, Abby Solway 16 points, six boards and three assists, and Bianca Dufelmeier 14 points and three steals.

Meg Jefferson ended up top-scoring for Penrith with 15 points and four rebounds with Chloe Williams contributing nine points, four rebounds and two assists.

Crusaders produce upset of the season over Sea Eagles

The upset of the NBL1 East season took place courtesy of the Central Coast Crusaders on Saturday as they shocked the league-leading Manly Warrringah Sea Eagles with the 81-77 victory.

Despite Central Coast coming into the contest on an eight-game losing streak and Manly Warringah having won 12 in-a-row, it turned out to be a remarkable contest with a dramatic and thrilling finish.

It was an exciting and high-scoring opening with the Crusaders leading 28-25 by the end of the first quarter before they were able to extend their advantage to 11 points during the second term to still lead 48-42 by half-time.

Manly Warringah turned the tide in the third quarter with 24 points to 12 to lead by as much as seven points, but Central Coast hit back once more and set the stage for the stunning finish.

Central Coast were threatening to run away with the win up four with a minute and-a-half to play before Alex Delaney drained a three-pointer to keep the Sea Eagles within a point.

Kim Hodge then nailed a couple of free-throws to put the league-leaders in front but the Crusaders weren’t done with yet. Coming out of a timeout, Darneka Rowe made the biggest play of the game driving to the basket and ending up converting the three-point play.

That put Central Coast back in front by two points and then after they were able to force the turnover, Rachel Maenpaa nailed the game clinching free-throws for the four-point victory.

The win improves the Crusaders to a 5-10 record on the season as they snap an eight-game losing run while the Sea Eagles see their 12-game winning streak come to an end and they are now 13-2.

On top of that huge three-point play, Rowe delivered 22 points, five assists and three rebounds for Central Coast with Nicole Hutchins contributing 18 points and 15 boards, Rachel Maenpaa 13 points and two rebounds, and Jonalyn Wittwer 10 points.

Kim Hodge had a terrific performance for Manly Warringah finishing with 27 points, six rebounds and two assists including going 13/16 at the free-throw line.

Alex Delaney added 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, Bree Delaney 13 points, six boards and three assists, and Zoey Miller 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Falcons hit back with big win over Hawks

The Newcastle Falcons hit back emphatically from last week’s loss to consolidate their position in the top four of the NBL1 East beating the Illawarra Hawks 70-49.

The Falcons lost to the Norths Bears last week to bring to an end their six-game winning streak while the Hawks came into Saturday’s contest at The Snakepit on the back of last week’s win against the Inner West Bulls.

Nicole Munger has the vision for that LASER ?

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ?&? pic.twitter.com/2x3NqQt2hI

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 3, 2023

Newcastle made a flying start to lead by 12 points already by quarter-time and then extending that advantage to 18 during the second term before still being in control leading 37-22 by half-time.

The Falcons then added another 19 points to six in the third quarter to set up the eventual 21-point win that sees Newcastle bounce back to improve to an 11-2 record on the season.

The Hawks are now 3-11 unable to back up that win from last week.

Abigail Curtin ended up top-scoring in the win for Newcastle with 15 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots with Emily Foy contributing 13 points and five boards, and Sophie Kleeman 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Mykea Gray also ended up with 11 points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists, Kate Kingham nine points and four rebounds, and Nicole Munger five points, 10 boards, seven assists and four steals.

Ella Dent finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Hawks with Courtney Jardine producing 11 points and six boards, and Rebecca Abel nine points.

How did Abigail Curtin pull that off! ?

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ?&? pic.twitter.com/Kdekg83DLn

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 3, 2023

Mustangs with important win against Bruins

The Maitland Mustangs kept their top four hopes alive in the NBL1 East with a 75-61 victory at home to the Bankstown Bruins on Saturday.

The Mustangs started strongly at Maitland Federation Centre with 28 points to 17 in the opening quarter before maintaining that advantage throughout the rest of the contest.

Maitland went on to score the 14-point victory to improve to an 8-6 record on the season while the Bruins are now 6-8 with the fourth straight defeat.

Shakera Reilly ended up top-scoring for Maitland with 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals while Sydney Hunter contributed 13 points, five boards, three assists and two steals on 6/9 shooting.

Mila Wawszkowicz also had 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks for Maitland with Daila Walker contributing 10 points and two assists, and Madison Washington nine points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Shalome Dunlop top-scored for Bankstown with 15 points and three rebounds with Kiahna Davis-White contributing 13 points, nine boards, six steals, two assists and two blocks, and Britney Wright 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

The cross-court finish by Abbey McGregor ?

Watch the #NBL1East Game of the Week Live & Free via Kayo Freebies ? pic.twitter.com/OmBPpPbGAP

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 3, 2023

Sharks with dominant win over Spiders

The Sutherland Sharks weren’t interested in helping the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders to consecutive wins in the NBL1 East getting off to a flying start and ending up winning 106-61.

The Sharks played host to the Spiders on Saturday with Hornsby fresh off a first win in the NBL1 East last week against the Hills Hornets.

They might have been feeling good coming into the match up with last year’s grand finalists, but that didn’t last long with Sutherland dominating from the outset with 23 points to nine in the first quarter.

The Sharks weren’t done with yet and going on a 14-0 scoring run saw them open up a 31-point lead during the second quarter which grew to 45 in the third, 50 in the fourth and they ended up beating the Spiders by 45.

There were plenty standout performers in the big win for Sutherland with Lauren Nicholson producing 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds with Madeleine Norris contributing 24 points, nine boards and eight assists.

Kallie Hovatter added 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Sharks, Gabriella Nancarrow 10 points, 14 boards and three steals, and Aliza Fabbro nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Kristina Moore top-scored for Hornsby with 26 points, eight rebounds and two assists despite the big loss while Tylah Mundine contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

Panousis shines as Comets beat Bulls

The Sydney Comets returned to action on Saturday night and scored a comprehensive 90-66 win against the Inner West Bulls with Vanessa Panousis putting up 34 points.

The Comets weren’t able to play last weekend in the NBL1 East but brought a four-game winning streak into the Saturday night match up against the Bulls at Comets Stadium.

The Bulls were on a four-game losing streak coming into the clash and it was Sydney who started the game on fire with 24 points to 13.

The Comets continued with the momentum in the second quarter completing a 13-0 run to lead by as much as 22 points and to still be in control leading 48-33 by half-time.

Sydney pushed that advantage out to 24 points in the third quarter and 28 in the fourth before winning by 24 to make it five straight wins for the Comets as they improve to 11-2 on the season as a result.

Inner West has now lost five straight who sit with a 3-11 record.

Vanessa Panousis was the star of the evening for the Comets by hitting 5/9 from three-point range on the way to scoring 34 points, eight assists, five rebounds and five steals.

Jada Crawshaw contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds for Sydney, and Shyla Heal 17 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Mikaela Dombkins had a big performance despite the loss for Inner West with 27 points, 12 rebounds and four assists while Leilani Mitchell contributed 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.

MEN

Bears finish strongly to overrun Hornets

The Norths Bears had to dig deep and come from behind at three quarter-time to defeat the Hills Hornets 93-88 away from home on Saturday.

The Hornets were looking to close in further on a top four position and the Bears trying to stay in touch with the two heightening the stakes for Saturday’s match up at Hills Basketball Stadium.

LIAM MOSS GOT UP FOR THAT REJECTION ?

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ?&? pic.twitter.com/18eMgbADmZ

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 3, 2023

While it was the Bears leading by two points at quarter-time the Hornets took over in the second term with 28 points to 11 to take charge and lead by as much as 18 points.

Hills went on to lead 52-37 at half-time but it was then all the Bears in the third quarter with 27 points to 15 before then going on with the job with 29 points to 21 in the fourth stanza to claim the five-point victory.

The victory improves Norths to an 11-3 record on the season bouncing back from last week’s loss to the Newcastle Falcons. The Hornets, meanwhile, slip to 8-6 with the defeat.

Brennan Rymer produced a tremendous performance for the Bears with 27 points, six assists and three rebounds while shooting 4/7 from three-point territory.

Michael Yoong contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Lewis Holey 12 points and nine boards, Lucas Morgan 10 points and three assists, Robert Moore 11 points and two rebounds, and Michael Golding 10 points, 13 boards, four assists and two steals.

Shawn Montague ended up with 21 points and three steals for Hills while Liam Moss added 20 points, five steals, three blocks and three rebounds, Saxon Orsini 11 points, three boards and three assists, and Ben Kearins 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Brennan Rymer from WAY downtown ?

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/KV8xSGWdPF

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 3, 2023

Tolovae shoots Bulls to big win against Comets

Tony Tolovae turned it on in spectacular fashion and with the support of Chris Bryant, the Inner West Bulls recorded the 104-71 victory against the Sydney Comets.

The Bulls came into the contest in second position on the NBL1 East table with last week’s bounce back win over the Illawarra Hawks while the Comets were just looking to regain some confidence after six consecutive defeats.

Sydney did come out and start well to lead 25-19 by quarter-time as well but the Bulls took charge in the second period with 31 points to eight to head into the half-time break on top 50-33.

Inner West dominated the third quarter too with another 33 points to 13 which set the Bulls up for the eventual 33-point victory.

The win improves the Bulls to a 12-2 record on the season while the Comets are now 6-8 having lost their past seven matches.

Tony Tolovae produced a stunning performance for the Bulls made up of 35 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots while connecting on 7/12 from three-point territory.

Chris Bryant added another 24 points and five rebounds with 3/4 shooting from downtown while Blake Morrow added 18 points, and Kaylan Bayer nine points, six boards, five assists and three steals.

It was a tough outing for the Comets despite Archer Woodhill top-scoring with 16 points and six rebounds. Anthony Kleine added 11 points, Indiana Faithfull nine points, four assists and three boards, and Johnny Crnogorac nine points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Sharks shake off gritty Spiders at home

The Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders were still chasing that elusive first NBL1 East victory but it wasn’t to be on Saturday night with the Sutherland Sharks starting strongly to set up the 85-73 victory.

The Spiders have had a host of close calls to getting that first victory this season as they arrived at Sutherland Basketball Stadium on Saturday night, but it was the Sharks who asserted their authority early.

The home team scored 29 points to 16 in the opening quarter and then Sutherland was able to open up a 24-point lead during the second term before heading into intermission leading 48-28.

Hornsby tried to work back into the contest throughout the second half and did outscore Sutherland 45 points to 37, but couldn’t quite get close enough to strike with the Sharks holding on to win by 12.

The victory is a fourth in-a-row for Sutherland who improve to 11-4 as a result while Hornsby remains winless at 0-15.

Jordan Mitchell top-scored for the Sharks with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists with Deng Gak adding 16 points and three boards, and Geoff Gerlach 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Callum Norris also had 11 points, Adrian Cabrera 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Marquel Beasley six points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Moses Bartley did what he could to lift the Spiders with 21 points, four steals and three rebounds on shooting 6/12 from long-range.

Caleb Magua also had 11 points, Patrick Fraser 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals, and Peitok Machar 10 points, six boards, three blocks and two assists.

 

Mustangs overcome Bruins at home

The Maitland Mustangs made it four wins in-a-row in the NBL1 East with Saturday night’s 99-82 victory against the Bankstown Bruins.

The Mustangs were back home at Maitland Federation Centre putting their winning streak on the line against a Bruins team hunting a fourth win for the season.

Maitland started well to lead by seven points at quarter-time before stretching the advantage to nine in the second term, but Bankstown stayed in touch and cut the deficit to three by half-time.

The Mustangs pulled away once more in the third quarter with 30 points to 17, and then were leading by as much as 22 in the final stanza before going on to record the 17-point victory.

It’s a fourth consecutive win for Maitland to improve to an 8-6 record with Bankstown now 3-11 with back-to-back losses.

Will Cranston-Lown led the charge in the win for Maitland finishing with 30 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals on shooting 12/16 from the field and 3/6 from beyond the three-point line.

James Hunter contributed 11 points, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks, Billy Parsons 10 points and seven boards, Matthew Gray nine points and five rebounds, and Harley Kent nine points, five boards and two assists.

Despite the loss, Hayden Blankley was outstanding for Bankstown with 29 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block.

Dragan Elkaz also contributed 13 points and four assists, Josh Shephard 12 points and three rebounds, and Kobe Shannon 10 points and four assists.

Hickey sparks Hawks to win over Falcons

The Illawarra Hawks were able to get back on the winner’s list and snap the winning run of the Newcastle Falcons in the process with the 97-68 victory.

Illawara came into the contest at The Snakepit having lost their past two matches while Newcastle was on a four-match winning run, but the tide turned on Saturday night.

The Hawks led by as much as seven points in the opening quarter before still leading by two at quarter-time before they blew the game wide open with 23 points to 11 in the second term to be in control 42-28 at the interval.

Illawarra went on with the job to outscore Newcastle 55 points to 40 as well in the second half to end up winning by 29 points to improve to a 7-7 record on the season. The Falcons are now 8-5 with their winning streak coming to an end.

Davo Hickey had a tremendous night for the Hawks as he gears up for another NBL season in the ‘Gong. He finished with 22 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and three steals on 8/15 shooting.

Noah Pagotto also delivered 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals for Illawarra, Harry Morris 19 points and seven boards, Tim Coenraad 14 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Sam Giles nine points and four boards.

Anthony Gaines top-scored for Newcastle with 19 points and seven rebounds with Alexander Clinton adding 16 points with 4/5 three-point shooting, and Ryan Beisty 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

William Hickey EXPLODES for the JAM ??

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/djXF1quJ16

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 3, 2023

Eldridge dominates for Sea Eagles against Crusaders

Matthew Eldridge was a commanding presence as the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles scored their third win of the NBL1 East season beating the Central Coast Crusaders 79-72 on Saturday night.

Both teams were desperate for a win coming into the match up at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium, and it was the home team who got off to the better start with Central Coast leading 16-8 after one.

The Crusaders were still leading 39-31 by half-time but the Sea Eagles were able to turn the tide throughout the second half to outscore them 48 points to 33 to score the seven-point victory.

The victory improves Manly Warringah to a 3-12 record on the season while it’s an eighth consecutive defeat for Central Coast who are now 3-10.

Matthew Eldridge was a strong force all evening for Manly Warringah to finish with 22 points, 19 rebounds and three assists.

Maxim Nesterov also contributed 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, Aku Makki 14 points and five boards, and Krenz Carlos 13 points and six rebounds.

Aaron Lawton put up 22 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in the loss for the Crusaders with James Trustum contributing 11 points, 11 boards and two blocks, and Tye McGann 11 points and three rebounds.

Clarke’s seven threes help spark Gunners

Austin Clarke provided the spark off the bench with seven three-pointers to help the Canberra Gunners to the 101-85 home victory against the Penrith Panthers.

Canberra started the game strongly with 19 points to 12 in the first quarter at home to Penrith before another 34 points to 23 in the second stanza to head into the half-time interval leading 53-35.

The Gunners maintained control in the third quarter with another 30 points to 25, and despite the Panthers outscoring them in the fourth term, they still scored the 16-point win.

The victory improves Canberra to a 9-5 record on the season bouncing back from a loss to the Centre of Excellence while Penrith is now 3-11 having lost four in-a-row.

Austin Clarke delivered 21 points with 7/9 three-point shooting in 25 minutes off the bench for the Gunners with James Toohey producing 21 points, seven boards, five assists and four steals while shooting 4/7 from downtown.

Glenn Morison contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds, Lachlan Smith 11 points, two rebounds and two assists, Pietro Badalassi 11 points and seven boards, and Cameron Pender 10 points and five rebounds.

Jaedyn Fetui-Fa'amoe top-scored for the Panthers with 19 points and eight rebounds with Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe contributing 12 points.

Tomas Ramos ended up with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks for Penrith with Pranaya Sakya adding 13 points, five boards and three assists.

Deep CoE too strong for Bandits

The Centre of Excellence made it nine wins in-a-row in the NBL1 East with a strong contribution from seven players in the 100-88 victory against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

The Bandits played host to the young guns from the Centre of Excellence at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre as they attempted to make it consecutive wins for themselves and stop the winning run of the team from Basketball Australia.

Albury-Wodonga did manage to open up a seven-point lead during the opening period and were still up three during the second, but the CoE gradually took over and ended up leading 48-41 by half-time.

The Centre of Excellence continued to build on that advantage through the second half to lead by as much as 20 points before winning by 12 to improve to a 15-1 record with nine wins in-a-row. Albury-Wodonga is now 7-8 with the defeat.

Seven players all made a strong contribution in the win for the CoE starting with John Furphy putting up 19 points, nine assists and two blocks.

Alex Toohey produced another 18 points and seven rebounds with Akira Jacobs contributing 17 points, Ben Henshall 13 points, five rebounds and four assists, Bowyn Beatty 13 points and 10 boards, Kye Savage 10 points and three rebounds, and James O’Donnell 10 points and nine boards.

Lochlan Cummings delivered 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals for Albury-Wodonga with Michael Parks producing 17 points and eight boards, Jamir Coleman 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals, and Dylan Wilkie 16 points and three assists.