Leilani Mitchell and Mikaela Dombkins inspired Inner West Bulls to win over Central Coast Crusaders in Sunday's NBL1 East before AJ Lawton turned the tables in the men's clash while Newcastle Falcons women won to stay second, and Maitland Mustangs men won a 10th straight.
The three women's matches on Sunday in the NBL1 East to close First Nations Round saw the Inner West Bulls beat the Central Coast Crusaders 74-71 while the Newcastle Falcons won 72-45 against the Illawarra Hawks, and the Maitland Mustangs defeated the Penrith Panthers 54-48.
The men's matches also saw the Crusaders beat the Bulls 104-102, the Hawks defeat the Falcons 66-63, the Mustangs downed the Panthers 101-95.
NBL1 EAST RECAP | SATURDAY FIRST NATIONS ROUND
NBL1 EAST RECAP | FRIDAY FIRST NATIONS ROUND
WOMEN
Mitchell, Dombkins lead Bulls to thrilling win
The Central Coast Crusaders and Inner West Bulls put on quite the show on a Sunday afternoon featuring two teams out of the playoff race, and Leilani Mitchell and Mikaela Dombkins lifted the visitors to the thrilling win.
A late season win was on the cards for both teams at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium and it was a tight contest all the way.
Never did more than seven points separate the two teams throughout the afternoon with the Crusaders leading by a point at quarter-time before the Bulls turned it around just to lead by a point themselves at the main break.
Inner West did stretch that lead out to six points throughout the second half but the Crusaders weren’t giving up on that seventh win of the season. The home team hit the front thanks to Darneka Rowe with 2:30 on the clock.
There wouldn’t be another score for a minute and-a-half but it was the remarkable Leilani Mitchell who tied scores up for the Bulls. She would then ice the game at the foul line in the last 30 seconds along with two more late from Mikaela Dombkins.
It was the partners who were the difference in the game with Inner West scoring a fifth win of the 2023 season with Mitchell finishing with 31 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals including 6/12 from three-point range.
Dombkins added 24 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and two steals on what was a memorable afternoon for the Bulls.
Jasmine Forcadilla put up 16 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals for Central Coast, Darneka Rowe 15 points and seven boards, and Maddison Penn 11 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
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— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 9, 2023
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Falcons dominate Hawks to stay second
The Newcastle Falcons kept themselves solid in second position in the NBL1 East after holding the Illawarra Hawks to four first quarter points on the way to the 72-45 Sunday win.
The Falcons brought a seven-game winning streak into the home clash with the out of contention Hawks on Sunday afternoon with Newcastle fresh off beating Penrith by 30 points on Friday while Illawarra had lost to Maitland by 25.
Newcastle outscored Illawarra with 19 points to four in the first quarter and that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. The Falcons also had 16 points to eight in the third quarter on the way to the 27-point victory.
The result improves the Falcons to an 18-2 record on the season to have won eight in-a-row to be locked into a top two finish.
It was another tough afternoon for the Hawks who slip to a 5-15 record with the double loss weekend.
Abi Curtin had a tremendous afternoon for the Falcons with 25 points and four rebounds on 10/17 shooting from the field and 4/6 from three-point range.
Kate Kingham added 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, Mykea Gray 15 points, seven steals and three assists, and Nicole Munger seven points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals.
Rebecca Abel top-scored for Illawarra with 10 points and four rebounds with Emilia Garcia Leon adding eight points and 14 boards, and Courtney Jardine eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
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— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 9, 2023
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Shak Reilly fires Mustangs to win over Panthers
The Maitland Mustangs did all the work in the opening three quarters to set up an eventual 54-48 win over the Penrith Panthers with both teams just combining for 12 points in the last quarter.
Maitland came into the game having won five of the past six matches to lock themselves into a playoff spot as they took on the Panthers at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre.
Penrith was trying to snap a three-game losing run but the Mustangs had opened up a five-point lead already by the end of the opening quarter.
Penrith did hit back in the second term to grab the lead and turn into half-time leading 33-32.
Maitland responded in the third quarter and put the game to bed with 16 points to nine to lead by as much as six. The lead got out to seven in the fourth period and with both teams only scoring six points each in the last term, the Mustangs held on for the six-point win.
The victory improves Maitland to a 13-7 record on the season with the Panthers slipping to 4-15.
Shakera Reilly put together a standout performance for Maitland finishing with 24 points, five rebounds and two steals while Sydney Hunter contributed 13 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals, and Rachel Williams eight points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Chloe Williams delivered 18 points, five rebounds and two steals for Penrith with Kate Pozoglou also pulling down 13 rebounds to go with three assists.
MEN
Lawton leads Crusaders in thriller over Bulls
Another heroic performance from AJ Lawton has lifted the Central Coast Crusaders to a second win of the weekend as they stunned the second placed Inner West Bulls with the 104-102 victory.
The Crusaders opened First Nations Round beating the Bankstown Bruins ahead of hosting the Bulls team who were sitting clear in second spot having won five of the past six.
Central Coast was looking to continue to build some momentum to close the season, though, and started well with 32 points to 25 in the opening quarter.
The Crusaders then really blew the game open in the second quarter to lead by as much as 18 points and then continued on with it from there to lead by a game-high 24 points in the third period.
The lead was still 18 points in the fourth term but the Bulls weren’t going to lie down and the game still had quite the dramatic finish.
Central Coast was up 18 with just over seven minutes to go and while Inner West did try to work back into the contest, the Crusaders were still in control leading 102-88 with just over a minute to play.
What a final minute it then proved to be. Alex Higgins-Titsha started it with a three-point bomb for Inner West and then Blake Morrow completed a three-point play.
Then when Tony Tolovae dropped another from beyond the arc, the margin was just five and then out of nowhere it was two when he nailed another with 5.8 seconds on the clock.
Remarkably, the Crusaders then turned it over on the inbounds pass and the Bulls had the chance at a final possession to either tie scores up or win the game.
Higgins-Titsha had a good look at a shot in the post too and while there was plenty of contact, the block from Tye McGann was given the thumbs up and the Crusaders held on for the most dramatic two-point win.
Central Coast import guard AJ Lawton was once again inspirational in the win with 37 points, six assists, six steals and four rebounds with Tye McGann adding 18 points and six boards, and Luke Cassidy 13 points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists.
Blake Morrow had a huge performance as well for Inner West ending up with 37 points, nine rebounds and two assists with Alex Higgins-Titsha contributing 26 points, six boards and four steals.
Chris Bryant also ended up with 20 points and seven rebounds, and Tony Tolovae 11 points with 2/3 from three-point land.
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— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 9, 2023
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Hawks hold on in tight battle with Falcons
The continued emergence of Davo Hickey and the experience of Lucas Walker helped the Illawarra Hawks complete the job for a 66-63 road victory against the Newcastle Falcons on Sunday.
With three games of their season to go, the only hope the Hawks still had of making the finals is by winning out and hoping the Falcons lose out, and they could take care of the first part on Sunday themselves.
Newcastle had the chance to secure a playoff berth with the win and the Falcons were well on track to do just that leading by as much as 12 points in the third quarter.
However, the Hawks responded by scoring the next 12 points to tie scores up and have all the momentum heading into the fourth period.
Illawarra was then then able to slam the door shut on Newcastle late with some big buckets to both Davo Hickey and Lucas Walker to end up winning by three.
The victory improves the Hawks to a 10-10 record on the season with two games to go while the Falcons are 12-8 in eighth spot.
Noah Pagotto ended up with a huge afternoon in the win for Illawarra putting up 25 points and 12 rebounds on 11/15 shooting from the field.
Davo Hickey contributed 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals, Lucas Walker 14 points, five boards, five assists and three steals, and Ethan-James Laudato seven points, three rebounds and two assists.
Anthony Gaines finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists for Newcastle with Myles Cherry contributing 16 points, 16 boards, three assists and two blocks, and Tom Akamarmoi 16 points.
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— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 9, 2023
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Cranston-Lown, Gray lift Mustangs to 10th straight
Will Cranston-Lown starred again with great support from Matthew Gray to lift the Maitland Mustangs to a 10th straight win by overcoming the Penrith Panthers 101-95 to close First Nations Round.
The Mustangs arrived at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre on Sunday on a nine-game winning streak to have shot up to fourth position in the NBL1 East and they certainly wanted to stay there.
In contrast, Penrith had lost eight straight but the Panthers did well to start at home to lead by a point at quarter-time.
However, the Mustangs worked their way on top in the second quarter to head into the half-time interval leading 52-45.
That advantage for Maitland got out to as much as 11 points in the third quarter, 12 in the fourth and while the Panthers kept on coming, they could never quite overtake the Mustangs who held firm to win by six.
The win gives the Mustangs a 10th victory in succession to improve to a 14-6 record in third place. The Panthers have now lost nine in-a-row at 3-16.
Will Cranston-Lown was outstanding once more for Maitland delivering another 27 points and five assists while hitting 3/5 from behind the three-point line.
Matthew Gray added 26 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, James Hunter 16 points and four rebounds, and Kevin Warren 11 points, six boards, two assists and two steals.
It was a fighting effort from the second last placed Panthers with Tomas Ramos putting up 22 points, five rebounds and five assists on 4/8 shooting from downtown.
Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe 19 points, 13 rebounds and three assists, Jaedyn Fetui-Fa'amoe 15 points, five boards and two assists, and Kaylis Beaumont-Tafua nine points, two assists and two steals.
