Featured image: James O'Donohue / @jamesodphotography
Lizzy Tonks had 39 points to help the Canberra Nationals overcome Shyla Heal's 52 points for Sydney Comets in overtime while Mikayla Pivec, Mason Bragg and Davo Hickey had triple-doubles in NBL1 East Saturday victories.
RECAP NBL1 EAST | FIRST NATIONS ROUND SATURDAY
RECAP NBL1 EAST | FIRST NATIONS ROUND FRIDAY
WOMEN
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (82) defeated Illawarra Hawks (51)
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles made it three straight wins with the 82-51 home victory against the Illawarra Hawks.
The Sea Eagles came into the match up still trying to end the season in third position while the Hawks did arrive at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre with an outside chance of still reaching playoffs should they go on a winning run.
Manly Warringah dominated the game from the outset opening up a 17-point lead in the first quarter on the way to the eventual 25-9 lead by quarter-time.
That lead continued to grow and was out to 28 points in the second term before the Sea Eagles went into the half-time break on top 51-25.
Then the advantage for Manly Warringah blew out to 33 points in the third quarter and 37 in the fourth on the way to the 31-point victory.
The win is a third in-a-row for the Sea Eagles as they improve to a 13-4 record with Alex Delaney top-scoring once more with 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists on 4/6 three-point shooting.
Brooke Flowers added 13 points, 15 rebounds and three assists, Kim Hodge 11 points, seven boards and two steals, Josie Bulman 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Zoey Miller nine points, four boards, four assists and two steals.
The Hawks are just clinging to the playoff race at 7-10 with Asha Phillips ending up with 12 points, two rebounds and two steals with Georgia Ohrdorf adding 11 points and two assists, and Emilia Garcia Leon 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
The Sea Eagles back up on Sunday on the road to the Hills Hornets with the Hawks to face the Maitland Mustangs also on the road on Sunday.
MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 82 (A Delaney 18, Flowers 13, Hodge 11)
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 51 (Phillips 12, Ohrdorf 11, Garcia Leon 10)
Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (64) lost to Newcastle Falcons (81)
The Newcastle Falcons maintained their hold on third position despite making just two three-pointers in the 81-64 road win against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.
The Falcons arrived at The Brickpit having won their past couple of games to stay in third position as they took on a Spiders team in third last place who had lost their previous two matches.
Newcastle had managed to work its way into a five-point lead by the end of the first quarter before then going on an 11-0 scoring run to be out to a 21-point lead in the second term.
Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai hit back with 10 straight points of their own, and with 25 points to 17 in the third term were right back in the contest, but Newcastle were able to respond and do enough to secure the eventual 17-point win.
The result improves Newcastle to a 14-4 record to remain in third place with two games to go with Elissa Brett stepping up with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Reigning MVP Nicole Munger also had 16 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and three steals with Hannah Chicken adding 15 points, eight boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks, and Isla Juffermans 15 points and 13 rebounds.
The Spiders have now lost their past three matches to be 5-13 with Ay'Anna Bey finishing up top-scoring with 18 points, seven rebounds and four steals on 7/12 shooting from the field.
Keira Hudson also had 15 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists, Haruna Inamura 13 points and four rebounds, and exciting teenager Jessie-May Hall another 11 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai is back in action on Friday night at home to the Central Coast Crusaders with the Falcons at home on Sunday to the Inner West Bulls.
HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 64 (Bey 18, Hudson 15, Inamura 13)
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 81 (Brett 20, Munger 16, Chicken 15)
Maitland Mustangs (65) lost to Sutherland Sharks (87)
The Sutherland Sharks maintained their hold on a playoff position by beating the Maitland Mustangs 87-65 on the road as they hit back emphatically.
Sutherland suffered a rough 41-point defeat the night before to the defending champion Norths Bears but were still in sixth position ahead of taking on the Mustangs on Saturday at Maitland Federation Centre.
Maitland were looking for a sixth win of the season and started well to be on top 24-20 by quarter-time and leading by as much as six points in the second term, but then the Sharks worked their way on top.
Sutherland went on to outscore them 24 points to 13 in the second quarter to go into half-time leading 44-37 and then going on with the job with another 24 points to nine in the third frame.
The Sharks ended up scoring 15 consecutive points on the way to building up a 24-point lead and then going on to score the 22-point victory and staying in sixth spot with a 10-8 record.
Emily Garland delivered 22 points and three rebounds on 9/13 shooting from the field for Sutherland with Aliza Fabbro also putting up 20 points, nine boards and seven assists.
Maddy Norris delivered 15 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists while Olivia White contributed 12 points, 12 boards and four assists, and Taya Webb six points three steals.
The Mustangs are now 5-13 with two games of their season remaining in 2024 with Natsumi Kohama top-scoring with 18 points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists.
Shakera Reilly also had 17 points, two rebounds and two steals, and Sydney Hunter 13 points, seven boards, four steals and two assists.
Maitland plays again on Sunday when hosting the Illawarra Hawks with the Sharks hosting the Haws as well next Saturday night.
MAITLAND MUSTANGS 65 (Kohama 18, Reilly 17, Hunter 13)
SUTHERLAND SHARKS 87 (Garland 22, Fabbro 20, Norris 15)
Albury-Wodonga Bandits (99) defeated Bankstown Bruins (66)
The Albury-Wodonga Bandits continued their perfect season with another big performance from Unique Thompson and mighty impressive triple-double from Mikayla Pivec in 99-66 win at home to the Bankstown Bruins.
The Bandits were back home at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre and without Lauren Jackson putting their undefeated record on the line up against a Bruins team in second last spot on a three-game losing run.
Albury-Wodonga wasted no time taking charge of the contest with a 12-0 run in the opening quarter on the way to leading already by 17 points by quarter-time.
From there the lead continued to grow for the Bandits with it getting out to 26 points in the second frame, 29 in the third and 43 in the fourth on the back of another run of scoring 17 straight points.
The victory improves Albury-Wodonga to a 19-0 record on the season with Mikayla Pivec producing yet another standout triple-double consisting of 18 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds.
Grand Final MVP from 2022 Unique Thompson was outstanding too with 29 points, 16 rebounds and four assists while shooting 13/17 from the floor.
Emma Mahady also contributed 11 points and four rebounds, Awatea Leach 11 points and four boards, and Ash Hannan seven points and four blocked shots.
Bankstown has now lost four in-a-row at 4-15 with Violet Morrow delivering 20 points and three rebounds.
Jihyun Park also had 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals, Lily Austin 10 points and five steals, and Sienna Tutani 10 points.
The Bandits finish their regular season next Saturday at home to the Sydney Comets with the Bruins playing away to the Sutherland Sharks next Sunday.
ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 99 (Thompson 29, Pivec 18, Mahady 11, Leach 11)
BANKSTOWN BRUINS 66 (Morrow 20, Park 15, Austin 10, Tutani 10)
Canberra Nationals (101) defeated Sydney Comets (98)
Not even a second 50-plus point performance from Shyla Heal in 24 hours was enough for the Sydney Comets with Lizzy Tonks putting up 39 points as the Canberra Nationals prevailed 101-98 in a stunning overtime battle.
The Nationals were playing their last game of the season at home at Belconnen Basketball Stadium coming up against a Comets team sitting in fifth spot after beating Penrith on Friday where Heal put up 51 points.
The stage was set for a mouth watering battle and it was the Comets who went into quarter-time leading 31-24 after a high scoring first 10 minutes.
Canberra hit back with 22 points to 15 in the second term with scores all level at 46-46 by half-time but it was a game destined to go down to the wire with no more than eight points separating the two teams the entire game.
Janeen Camp did put the Comets on top by eight points at the start of the fourth quarter but Lizzy Tonks immediately responded with two three-pointers for the Nationals to make it a two-point ball game.
Callie Bourne then brought scores level in the space of a couple of minutes in between consecutive offensive foul calls going against Heal.
It was then Canberra out to a four-point lead when Tonks hit a triple on the back of a three-point play from Chloe Tugliach with 3:30 to play in regulation.
The twists continued with Sydney back up by four with 45 seconds to play after an offensive rebound and put back from Arisa Takamoto.
Amelia Motz and Callie Bourne both hit baskets for Canberra to brings scores back level and that's where things would stay heading to overtime.
It was a scoring fest in the extra five minutes with the two teams combining for 33 points with scores still level with just under 20 seconds to play and with Canberra having the ball and a timeout.
Coming out of that, Amelia Motz was fouled and then made the first but missed the second. The biggest play of the game was then Motz grabbing the offensive rebound and then scoring to give the Nationals the three-point lead, which they held on to with a Comets miss from Heal at the buzzer.
The win for the Nationals improves them to an 8-11 record to move a step closer to locking away a top eight position.
Lizzy Tonks came up huge for Canberra with 39 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals on 12/18 shooting from the floor, 7/13 from three-point land, and 8/11 at the foul line.
Amelia Motz also had 20 points, 14 boards and three assists, Madison Penn 18 points, six assists and five boards, and Caitlin Rowe nine points, four assists and three rebounds.
The Comets see their winning run ended to now sit on a 10-9 record despite a remarkable individual display from Shyla Heal. After 51 points the night before, she put up 52 to go with 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Heal shot 16/32 from the field to go with 8/16 from three-point range and 12/12 at the free-throw line.
Piper Anderson also had 19 points, four rebounds and two blocks, Arisa Takamoto 12 points and three rebounds, and Janeen Camp 10 points and nine boards.
Canberra end its regular season next Sunday away to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders with the Comets away to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Saturday.
CANBERRA NATIONALS 101 (Tonks 39, Motz 20, Penn 18)
SYDNEY COMETS 98 (Heal 52, Anderson 19, Takamoto 12)
Hills Hornets (74) lost to Central Coast Crusaders (79)
The Central Coast Crusaders had to come from behind in the final quarter but got the job done to beat the Hills Hornets 79-74 and further consolidate their hold on a playoff position.
While the Hornets had fallen out of playoff contention, they were back at home at Hills Basketball Stadium and capable of putting a spanner in the works for the Crusaders who arrived on a two-game winning run.
Central Coast had welcomed back Mikaela Dombkins and Leilani Mitchell just in time for the finals push and the Crusaders did start well opening up an early eight-point lead.
However, the Hornets then took charge and by the end of the first quarter were leading 21-15.
Hills were still leading 40-38 at half-time before the Hornets scored seven straight points in the third period to open up a 13-point lead, and they had thrown the challenge down to the Crusaders.
Central Coast were able to respond and with 26 points to 16 points in the final term, they overcame that deficit to end up prevailing by five points and improve to an 11-7 record to be right in the midst of the fight over spots inside the top eight.
Kristina Moore top-scored for the Crusaders with 20 points and three rebounds with Leilani Mitchell adding 15 points, six assists and four boards, and Jasmine Forcadilla 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Sara Matthews also had 12 points and three rebounds, and Mikaela Dombkins 10 points, 16 boards and four assists.
The Hornets have now lost three straight to be 6-11 with Emma Kary finishing with 21 points and six rebounds while Meg Jefferson contributed 18 points, five boards, four assists and three steals, and Rachel McLimore 16 points and four assists.
The Hornets back up on Sunday at home to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles with the Crusaders away to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders on Friday night.
HILLS HORNETS 74 (Kary 21, Jefferson 18, McLimore 16)
CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 79 (Moore 20, Mitchell 15, Forcadilla 14)
Penrith Panthers (45) lost to Norths Bears (92)
The defending champion Norths Bears made another emphatic statement by winning a 15th straight game with the 92-45 road victory over the Penrith Panthers.
The Bears arrived at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre having beaten the Sutherland Sharks by 41 points on Friday night to consolidate second spot before taking on a Panthers team who lost to the Sydney Comets.
Norths again shot out of the blocks quickly with 23 points to 10 in the first quarter and then continued to build the lead the rest of the evening in impressive fashion.
The Bears would end up leading by as much as 22 points in the second period, 33 in the third and 49 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 47-point victory.
The win improves the Bears to a 17-1 record having won 15 consecutive matches with Emily Simons delivering 26 points, nine rebounds and two steals on knocking down 4/6 from three-point territory.
Carla Pitman added 14 points and nine rebounds, Maddie O'Hehir 12 points, nine assists and three steals, Holly Wills 11 points and three assists, and Sarah Schicher seven points and nine rebounds.
The Panthers had a tough weekend with the two losses to now be 6-13 with Tahlia Tupaea restricted to just five field goal attempts for the game on the way to 10 points.
The Panthers end the season next Saturday away to the Inner West Bulls with the Bears to host the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on Friday night.
PENRITH PANTHERS 45 (Tupaea 10, Edwards 6, Williams 6, Beaumont 6)
NORTHS BEARS 92 (Simons 26, Pitman 14, O'Hehir 12)
MEN
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (107) defeated Illawarra Hawks (79)
Mason Bragg continues to send a message that he might be worth giving another NBL opportunity to with another standout triple-double as the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles beat the Illawarra Hawks 107-79.
The Sea Eagles came into the match up at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre in third spot but needing to bounce back from a loss to the Bankstown Bruins up against an Illawarra team with just two wins so far in 2024.
Manly Warringah started well to already be leading by seven points at quarter-time before blowing the game open further in the second term on the back of 30 points to 15 to lead by as much as 22.
The Sea Eagles were on top 53-31 by half-time as a result and then went on with the job from there with the lead growing to 31 points in the third frame and 38 in the fourth which would be the final winning margin.
Dynamic point guard Mason Bragg was a standout again in the win for Manly Warringah finishing with a triple-double consisting of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on 10/17 shooting from the floor, 4/7 from downtown and 3/4 from the foul line.
Matthew Eldridge also had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Zackary Kimball 17 points and five boards, and Jonas Harper 15 points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds.
Illawarra has now lost six straight matches to slip to a 2-15 record with three games still to go with Riley Abercrombie top-scoring with 24 points and six rebounds.
Matthew Frierson also had 21 points, six rebounds and two assists while Jacob Smith had 13 points and four boards, Massimo Hobbs eight points and eight rebounds, and Lachie Dent seven points, seven assists and five boards.
The Sea Eagles back up on Sunday on the road to the Hills Hornets with the Hawks to face the Maitland Mustangs also on the road on Sunday.
MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 107 (Bragg 27, Eldridge 18, Kimball 17)
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 79 (Abercrombie 24, Frierson 21, Smith 13)
Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (97) lost to Newcastle Falcons (104)
Neither team might be in the playoff race still but that didn’t stop them putting on quite the show with the Newcastle Falcons beating the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 104-97.
The Spiders played host to the Falcons at The Brickpit with both teams wanting a positive finish to the season and what resulted was quite the exciting spectacle.
Newcastle started on fire with 30 points to 12 in the first quarter and then they were able to build a lead of as much as 27 points in the second quarter, but the Spiders were able to bring it all the way back.
The Spiders even hit the front in the third quarter and the teams would continue to swap the lead with one another the rest of the way and it was all about the big shots in the last few minutes.
Kobe Shannon landed a three to put Newcastle up four with 4:30 to play before Alexander Sidhu responded for the Spiders but he also turned it into a four-point play to level scores.
Raymond Takchi and Ryan Beisty then traded three ball but six straight Falcons points soon after saw the visitors up by four again with 1:30 on the clock.
Francis Wineera-Mulvihill stretched the lead to six at the foul line and in the end it would be Newcastle securing the seven-point win to improve to 7-11 on the season.
Leo O'Boyle finished with 32 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals for Newcastle on the back of making 19/21 at the free-throw line.
Kobe Shannon also had 19 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals, Francis Wineera-Mulvihill 15 points, eight assists and five boards, and Ryan Beisty nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai is now 2-16 with another defeat with Lachlan Arnot delivering 24 points and five assists while Alexander Sidhu added 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on 6/8 three-point shooting.
Brian Ansuh-Yeboah also had 13 points and two rebounds, Nathaniel Chappell 12 points, and Raymond Takchi 10 points, six boards and six assists.
Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai is back in action on Friday night at home to the Central Coast Crusaders with the Falcons at home on Sunday to the Inner West Bulls.
HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 97 (Arnot 24, Sidhu 19, Ansuh-Yeboah 13)
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 104 (O'Boyle 32, Shannon 19, Wineera-Mulvihill 15)
Maitland Mustangs (120) defeated Sutherland Sharks (74)
The Maitland Mustangs maintained their hold on second spot in emphatic style with the 120-74 home win over the Sutherland Sharks to earn a dominant measure of revenge for last year.
It was the second time the two teams have played this season since last year's Grand Final and after a three-point win earlier in the season, the Mustangs sent a message this time around at Maitland Federation Centre.
The Mustangs came into the game just about having locked away a top two finish while the Sharks were out of the playoff race despite being the defending champions.
And Saturday night's game looked every bit like one team gearing up for a title push and one just crying out for the end of a frustrating season.
It didn’t take long for Maitland to take charge of the contest with 33 points to 21 in the first quarter and the Mustangs didn’t let up from there.
They would end up leading by as much as 21 points in the second period, 42 in the third and 46 in the fourth and that would end up as the final margin in the Grand Final rematch.
The Mustangs improve to 15-3 on the season in second place as a result with Christian Little having a night out with 30 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals on 13/21 shooting from the field.
Will Cranston-Lown added 22 points, seven assists, five boards and three steals with Billy Parsons contributing 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks, Will Mortimore 12 points and seven boards, James Hunter 12 points and nine rebounds, and Matthew Gray 11 points and 11 boards.
The Sharks have now lost three straight to slip to 7-11 on the season with Klairus Amir putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Callum Norris added 16 points and three rebounds, Lochlan Hutchison 11 points and six assists, and Brian Williams 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Maitland plays again on Sunday when hosting the Illawarra Hawks with the Sharks hosting the Haws as well next Saturday night.
MAITLAND MUSTANGS 120 (Little 30, Cranston-Lown 22, Parsons 19)
SUTHERLAND SHARKS 74 (Amir 17, Norris 16, Hutchison 11, Williams 11)
Albury-Wodonga Bandits (87) defeated Bankstown Bruins (75)
Davo Hickey celebrated First Nations Round with another triple-double as the Albury-Wodonga Bandits confirmed their playoffs place with the 87-75 home win over the Bankstown Bruins.
The Bandits were back home at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre knowing a win would guarantee their spot in the playoffs up against a Bruins team having won their past three matches to be in the top eight hunt too.
The lead continued to change hands throughout the opening three quarters of a fascinating match up with the Bandits leading by four points at quarter-time and then by as much as nine in the second term, but then the Bruins hit back.
The visitors scored eight straight points to take their own lead of three points and would go into half-time with that advantage at 41-38.
Albury-Wodonga managed to turn that into its own three-point lead at three quarter-time before they then put up 33 points to 24 in the final stanza for the eventual 12-point victory.
The win locks in the Bandits for a playoff berth with a 13-6 record with Davo Hickey celebrating First Nations Round with another triple-double consisting of 12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
Kevion Blaylock ended up top-scoring with 21 points, nine rebounds, five steals and two assists with Mitchell Dance contributing 19 points and nine boards, Lochlan Cummings 16 points and six rebounds, and Shawn Montague 11 points, four boards and four steals.
The Bruins are still right in the playoff mix at 10-9 with Hayden Blankley producing 19 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Andre Wolford added 14 points, three rebounds and two steals, and Naaman Hightower 10 points, 10 boards and three assists.
The Bandits finish their regular season next Saturday at home to the Sydney Comets with the Bruins playing away to the Sutherland Sharks next Sunday.
ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 87 (Blaylock 21, Dance 19, Cummings 16)
BANKSTOWN BRUINS 75 (Blankley 19, Wolford 14, Hightower 10)
Canberra Gunners (85) defeated Sydney Comets (79)
The Canberra Gunners had to shake off a slow start but finished strongly to lock away top spot with the 85-79 home win against the Sydney Comets.
It shaped as a fascinating match up with Canberra playing its last home game of the season at Belconnen Basketball Stadium but the Comets brought plenty of momentum with them led by Biwali Bayles including beating Penrith on Friday to make it six in-a-row.
The Comets needed to try and cause the upset over the Gunners to consolidate a top eight spot and they started encouragingly with 31 points to 19 in the opening quarter.
Canberra then turned the tide in the second period with a 12-0 scoring run on the way to putting up 30 points to 11 to turn into half-time leading 49-42.
The Comets grabbed back the momentum again to lead by three points early in the second half, but from there the Gunners worked back on top to lead by as much as 10 points in the final term on the way to the eventual six-point victory.
The win secures Canberra into top spot at 17-2 with 2022 Grand Final MVP Glenn Morison producing 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists on 9/15 shooting from the floor.
James Toohey also put up 18 points, four rebounds and four assists, Austin Clarke 14 points and nine boards, Will Mayfield 12 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and two steals, and Derek Emelifeonwu 10 points, seven boards and seven assists.
The Comets see their six-game winning streak ending at 11-8 with Biwali Bayles producing another 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Matthew Wacher also had 18 points and nine rebounds, Obi Kyei 16 points and eight boards, and Johnny Crnogorac eight points, five rebounds and two assists.
Canberra end its regular season next Sunday away to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders with the Comets away to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Saturday.
CANBERRA GUNNERS 85 (Morison 21, Toohey 18, Clarke 14)
SYDNEY COMETS 79 (Bayles 25, Wacher 18, Kyei 16)
Hills Hornets (95) defeated Central Coast Crusaders (81)
The Hills Hornets kept hope of the playoffs alive on the back of a flying start to beat the Central Coast Crusaders 95-81 at home on Saturday.
The Hornets havd lost the last four games before arriving at Hills Basketball Stadium, but winning their last four games could still see them sneak into a top eight spot.
The Hornets have three of their last four games at home starting on Saturday and they opened up with 32 points to 18 in the opening quarter to set the tone against the Crusaders.
Hills put up another 27 points to 15 in the second period too and that saw the lead grow to as much as 27 points, and at half-time the Hornets were leading 59-33.
The lead got out to as much as 28 points in the second half before the Hornets went on to score the 14-point victory with Central Coast firing back when the game was out of reach.
Hills improves to a 9-8 record with the victory with Chris Bryant putting up another 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals on 8/13 shooting from the floor and 3/4 from downtown.
Ishmael Sanders added 16 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals with Liam Moss contributing 13 points, four boards and three assists, and Jamie Munro 12 points and six rebounds.
Central Coast couldn’t back up a win over the Illawarra Hawks to now sit on a 4-14 record with Luke Cassidy providing 24 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Ben Stevens also had 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks with Thomas Akamarmoi contributing 11 points and two assists, and Chan Nai 10 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and two assists.
The Hornets back up on Sunday at home to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles with the Crusaders away to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders on Friday night.
HILLS HORNETS 95 (Bryant 22, Sanders 16, Moss 13)
CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 81 (Cassidy 24, Stevens 19, Akamarmoi 11)
Penrith Panthers (81) lost to Norths Bears (98)
Robert Moore scored another 26 points and the Norths Bears made it a double win weekend with the 98-81 road victory against the Penrith Panthers.
The Bears scored the eight-point win on Friday to open the round over the Sutherland Sharks ahead of arriving at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre still needing to keep winning to be an outside chance of breaking into a playoff spot.
They were taking on a Penrith team who also lost to the Sydney Comets by 31 points on Friday night but it was the Panthers who took a 17-15 lead into quarter-time having been up by as much as 10 points.
The Bears, however, began to work on top in the second period with 29 points to 20 and that saw them go into half-time leading 44-37.
Then it was a dominant third quarter from Norths with 31 points to 14 to see that lead get out to 24 points and from there the Bears scored the 17-point win to improve to a 10-8 record with two games to go.
The Panthers have now lost 15 matches in-a-row for a 1-18 record despite Ben Kearins fighting hard for 22 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Jack McWilliams added 14 points and eight rebounds, Atien Acuel 19 points and four boards, and Jaedyn Fetui-Fa'amoe 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Panthers end the season next Saturday away to the Inner West Bulls with the Bears to host the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on Friday night.
PENRITH PANTHERS 81 (Kearins 22, Acuel 19, McWilliams 14)
NORTHS BEARS 98 (Moore 26, Worthy 14, Wilks 14)
