Match-winning performances from Shakera Reilly, Nicole Munger, Emma Mahady, Noah Pagotto, Ben Henshall, Glenn Morison, Alex Higgins-Titsha, Blake Morrow and Myles Cherry were among the Saturday NBL1 East Round 4 highlights.
The women's action in Round 4 of the NBL1 East saw the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles beat the Illawarra Hawks 84-50, the Norths Bears beat the Centre of Excellence 75-70 and the Maitland Mustangs defeat Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 104-52.
The Sutherland Sharks prevailed 68-54 against the Canberra Nationals, the Newcastle Falcons defeated the Hills Hornets 67-57, Albury-Wodonga Bandits won big 97-74 over the Inner West Bulls, and the Sydney Comets beat the Bankstown Bruins 74-62.
Meanwhile in the men's action, the Sydney Comets beat the Bankstown Bruins 97-87 while the Hawks beat the Sea Eagles 94-69, the Centre of Excellence downed the Bears 114-68, Maitland defeated Hornsby 83-63, the Canberra Gunners won a thriller 73-71 over the Sharks, the Falcons beat the Hornets 104-77 and the Bulls defeated the Bandits 111-84.
WOMEN
Sea Eagles keep Hawks winless with even spread
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles continued their strong start to the NBL1 East and kept the Illawarra Hawks winless with the 84-50 victory.
The Hawks were just staying in touch with the Sea Eagles throughout the opening three quarters at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre, but Manly-Warringah put their foot down with 21 points to eight in the fourth period to end up winning by 34.
Zoey Miller, Alex Delaney, Bree Delaney, Kim Hodge and Sari Mowbray all finished with 12 points each in the win for the Sea Eagles.
Rebecca Abel did what she could for Illawarra finishing with 19 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists while connecting on 4/10 from three-point territory.
What a lead pass by Bree Delaney! ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) April 1, 2023
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Bears hold off fast finishing young guns to give CoE first loss
The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence have suffered their first defeat of the NBL1 East season, falling short of a big fightback with the North Bears winning 75-70.
The CoE team had won their opening five matches in the first three rounds of the NBL1 East season, but found the going tough especially in the first half against the Bears at AIS Basketball and Netball Centre.
The Bears led 49-34 by half-time but the young guns from the CoE did throw everything into a fightback including an 8-0 run in the fourth term, but couldn’t quite bridge the gap with Norths holding on for the five-point win.
Carla Pitman finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Bears with Madeleine O'Hehir contributing 20 points and three assists, and Emily Simons 15 points and five steals.
Jayda Clark produced 19 points and eight rebounds for the CoE with Jess Petrie contributing 19 points and 14 boards, and Isla Juffermans 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Shak Reilly with seven triples in Mustangs' big win
The Maitland Mustangs continued the rough start to life in the NBL1 East for the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders with the 104-52 thumping win at home.
The Mustangs dominated from the outset at Maitland Federation Centre with 34 points to seven in the opening quarter which set the tone for the eventual 52-point win against the winless Spiders.
Sydney Hunter delivered 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win for Maitland on 10/13 shooting while Shakera Reilly landed 7/12 from three-point land on her way to 27 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Keira Hudgson top-scored for Hornsby with 19 points with Tylah Mundine contributing 11 points and seven rebounds.
Sharks produce solid performance in home win over Nationals
The Sutherland Sharks produced a strong showing at home on Saturday to defeat the Canberra Nationals 68-54.
The Sharks were able to build a 30-21 lead by half-time at Sutherland Basketball Stadium before converting that into the 14-point win over the Nationals.
Olivia White finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals for Sutherland while Emily Garland top-scored with 14 points and Madeleine Norris added 10 points and eight rebounds, and Aliza Fabbro 10 points and five boards.
Abbie Ketels put up 19 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals for Canberra while Lizzy Tonks had 12 points, 11 boards, seven assists and six steals despite shooting 3/17.
It's hard to keep an Opal off the court, Leilani Mitchell has still got it ?
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Incredible 20-20 from Munger and Newcastle hold out Hills
Nicole Munger produced one of the most dominant performances so far this NBL1 East season to put the Newcastle Falcons on her back in the 67-57 win over the Hills Hornets.
After a tightly contested opening half at Hills Basketball Stadium, Newcastle dominated the third quarter with 18 points to five and that was enough to secure the eventual 10-point road win.
It was quite the incredible display from Munger for the Falcons finishing with 25 points, 23 rebounds, four assists and two steals while playing every second of the game.
Kate Kingham added 16 points and Abigail Curtin 12 points to go with six rebounds.
Taryn Mahoney top-scored for the Hornets with 15 points and five rebounds with Taylah Cottees adding 11 points, six rebounds and three steals, and Kelsey Curtin 11 points.
Mahady dominates as defending champs remain undefeated
The Albury-Wodonga Bandits remain undefeated in their NBL1 East championship defence with a 97-74 win on the road to the Inner West Bulls.
The Bandits started strongly with 23 points to 13 in the first quarter at ELS Hall Park, and remained in control of the contest to win by 23 and improve to 4-0 on the season.
Emma Mahady produced a monstrous performance again for an Albury-Wodonga team with just the seven players hitting the floor once more. She produced 35 points and 20 rebounds.
Ashlee Hannan added 22 points and 10 rebounds, Elizabeth Murphy 17 points and 12 boards, and Brodie-Paige Theodore 13 points and 11 assists.
Mikaela Dombkins ended up with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Bulls with Leilani Mitchell contributing 14 points, five boards, four assists and three steals, and Maja Peric 13 points and eight rebounds.
MEN
Hawks too much overall for the Sea Eagles
With Davo Hickey running the ship and Noah Pagotto outstanding, the Illawarra Hawks were too strong for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles winning 94-69.
Illawarra made a statement early on the road with 25 points to eight in the opening period and that set the tone for the eventual 25-point victory.
Hawks NBL point guard Hickey was tremendous with 17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals while Pagotto delivered 27 points, 11 boards and two blocks on 10/13 shooting.
Frederick Webb also finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Phillip Dopud 11 points, 11 boards and five blocks.
Noah Thomas finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals for the Sea Eagles while Mitch Evans had 13 points and four boards, and Maxim Nesterov 13 points and five rebounds.
Will Hickey is dropping dimes ?
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CoE young guns continue unbeaten start with win over Bears
The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence remain undefeated six games into the NBL1 East season after beating the Norths Bears 114-68.
On the back of winning the first five games of the season, the CoE youngsters continued their impressive form breaking the game open in the second quarter with 29 points to eight to head into half-time leading 56-33.
From there the CoE outscored the Bears 58-35 in the second half as well on the way to the 46-point victory.
Ben Henshall delivered 29 points, six assists and three rebounds for the CoE while Jensen Bradtke added 21 points and seven boards, Luke Fennell 16 points and three rebounds, and Alex Condon 16 points and six boards.
Junior Madut top-scored for the Bears with 24 points and four assists with Lewis Holey adding 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Mustangs keep Spiders winless in first NBL1 East season
The Maitland Mustangs kept the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders winless in the NBL1 East with the 83-63 home win on Saturday evening.
After a close start to the game, Maitland pulled away with 27 points to 18 in the second period and another 24 to 13 in the third to set up the eventual 20-point win over the winless Spiders.
Will Cranston top-scored for the Mustangs with 13 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals while Kevin Warren contributed 12 points and four steals, and Matt Gray 11 points and five rebounds.
Patrick Fraser hit two threes on his way to 12 points and three steals for Hornsby while Moses Bartley and Ben White both scored 11 points.
Gunners hold off Sharks in dramatic finish
Defending NBL1 East champions the Canberra Gunners claimed a dramatic road victory 73-71 against the Sutherland Sharks on Saturday night.
Following a pair of free-throws for Canberra to Dhal Fieg, the Sharks had a chance to either tie scores up and send it to overtime or to even hit the game winner with the last possession.
In the end, Adrian Cabrera missed a three-pointer but got the offensive rebound and found Marquel Beasley in the corner. He drove hard to the basket and finished up over the defence.
The home crowd felt he made the basket and had the chance to win it with the extra free-throw. Instead, he was called for the offensive foul and Canberra held on for the two-point win as a result.
Reigning Grand Final MVP Glenn Morison had a big night for the Gunners with 22 points and 20 rebounds with Fieg adding 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals as well as those clinching free-throws.
Geoff Gerlach top-scored for Sutherland with 19 points and 14 rebounds with Beasley contributing 18 points, 13 boards and three blocked shots.
Marquel Beasley is throwing that DOWN ?
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Cherry sparks Falcons to big win over Hornets
Myles Cherry was a dominant force for the Newcastle Falcons leading his team to the 104-77 victory on the road to the Hills Hornets.
Newcastle pulled away with 22 points to 11 in the second quarter to lead 49-33 by half-time before another 31 points in the third term set up the eventual 27-point victory.
Cherry ended the evening for the Falcons with 27 points, 12 rebounds and three assists on the back of shooting 11/13 from the field.
Anthony Gaines added 20 points and four boards, and Matur Maluach 18 points and four rebounds. Ryan Beisty had a strong all-round showing too with 13 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Lachlan Charlton top-scored for the Hornets with 15 points and two assists while Shawn Montague contributed 12 points and five rebounds.
Morrow, Higgins-Titsha brilliant in big win for the Bulls
The Inner West Bulls flexed their muscles at home on Saturday night to beat the Albury-Wodonga Bandits 111-84.
It was a flying start from last year's Grand Finalists with the Bulls scoring 36 points to 17 from the Bandits. That set the tone and another 37 points to 21 in the second period set the tone for the eventual 27-point win.
Blake Morrow was brilliant for Inner West with 30 points on 5/6 three-point shooting with Alex Higgins-Titsha also producing 29 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists on 13/15 shooting from the floor.
Lochlan Cummings top-scored for the Bandits with 20 points and five steals with Shaquille Maharaj adding 15 points and seven rebounds, Jacob Cincurak 14 points and five assists, and Jamir Coleman 13 points.
.@SydneyKings champion Archie Woodhill slams it home ?
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Comets get the win at home over the Bruins
The Sydney Comets held out the fast-finishing Bankstown Bruins for the 97-87 home victory on Saturday.
The Comets opened up a handy 49-41 lead by half-time at Comets Stadium and then pushed that advantage out to 18 points by three quarter-time before holding on to win by 10.
Archer Woodhill ended the evening with 23 points and nine rebounds for the Comets with Christian Aukuso adding 16 points and five boards, Ilisia Washington 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Julian Revell-Reade 13 points and nine boards.
Despite the loss, it was a huge game from Dragan Elkaz for Bankstown with 36 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals with Miguel Campos, Nathaniel Brown and Jack Lopez all scoring 12 points.
Ilisia Washington has vision ?
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