Featured image: Greg Francis | @discoveryone_photography
The Newcastle Falcons shocked the Albury-Wodonga Bandits to hand their women a first loss of 2024 to open NBL1 East finals while Maddie O'Hehir led the Norths Bears to Grand Final rematch win as one of two heartbreaking Manly Warringah Sea Eagles defeats.
RECAP NBL1 EAST | ROUND 14 SUNDAY
WOMEN
Elimination Final – Sutherland Sharks (83) defeated Canberra Nationals (60)
Lauren Nicholson proved to be ultimately the difference as she came up huge to keep the Sutherland Sharks alive this season with the 83-60 home elimination final win against the Canberra Nationals.
The Sharks finished the regular season in fifth position to earn the rights to host the elimination final at Sutherland Basketball Stadium up against a Nationals team who finished eighth but locked in a finals spot with two wins to close proceedings.
Sutherland took charge during the first quarter with a 14-0 scoring run and that helped the home team to the 26-13 advantage by the end of one.
The lead continued to grow for the Sharks and got out to as much as 23 points in the second quarter before they went into the half-time interval leading 44-24.
That lead was out to 30 points with another 10-0 in the third term and the victory was secured for the Sharks as they went on to win by 23 points to book in a semi-final battle with the no longer undefeated Albury-Wodonga Bandits.
Lauren Nicholson had a big say in the victory for the Sharks with 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds including going 4/7 from three-point territory and 5/5 at the foul line.
Maddie Norris also had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with 4/10 three-point shooting while Emily Garland contributed 11 points, four boards and two assists, and Aliza Fabbro 10 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Olivia White finished with nine points, 21 rebounds and two steals with Taya Webb adding nine points on 3/5 three-point shooting.
It's the season over for Canberra who did a fine job to reach the finals in the first place with Lizzy Tonks finishing 2024 with another 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Maddison Penn also had 15 points, 16 rebounds and two steals, and Callie Bourne nine points, eight boards, three assists and two steals.
SUTHERLAND SHARKS 83 (Nicholson 29, Norris 12, Garland 11)
CANBERRA NATIONALS 60 (Tonks 17, Penn 15, Bourne 9)
Qualifying Final – Albury-Wodonga Bandits (84) lost to Newcastle Falcons (96)
They say the finals are like a whole different season and there was no better example than the Newcastle Falcons beating the previously undefeated Albury-Wodonga Bandits 96-84 with reigning MVP Nicole Munger outstanding.
The Bandits went through the regular season with a perfect 20-0 record and having dominated the NBL1 East competition with an average winning margin of 33.4 points.
They had only been outscored in nine of 80 quarters across the season as well highlighting their dominance and they were at home for Saturday's qualifying final at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre against the fourth placed Falcons also on a five-game winning run.
While undefeated, Albury-Wodonga did come into the contest missing Lauren Jackson, Ash Hannan and Elizabeth Murphy, and coming up against a dangerous Newcastle opponent.
Unique Thompson did her best to make up for the absentees with the Bandits with a crowd of over 1000 people on hand.
She had 14 points on her own in the first quarter, but the concern was that they were only leading by two on the back of that and they had just six other points from the rest of the team.
The Falcons then worked on top in the second quarter with 28 points to 19 to go into half-time leading 46-39 and for the first time all season the Bandits were in serious jeopardy of suffering a loss.
Newcastle then blew things out to a 17-point advantage in the third quarter and were able to complete the job with the eventual 12-point victory to move straight into a home preliminary final in two weeks' time.
Reigning MVP Nicole Munger was outstanding in the win for the Falcons with 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on 10/18 shooting from the floor and 6/7 at the foul line.
Elissa Brett also ended up with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists with Isla Juffermans contributing 14 points, seven boards and two blocks, Hannah Chicken 13 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Aarion Nichols 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Bandits remain at home next week to play host to the Sutherland Sharks in a tantalising semi-final match up with the winner to advance to a preliminary final on the road to the defending champion Norths Bears.
Despite the defeat, 2022 Grand Final MVP Unique Thompson put up 38 points, 15 rebounds and three assists for Albury-Wodonga with Mikayla Pivec adding 18 points, nine boards, nine assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
Awatea Leach also had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Emma Mahady eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 84 (Thompson 38, Pivec 18, Leach 11)
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 96 (Munger 28, Brett 16, Juffermans 14)
Qualifying Final – Norths Bears (71) defeated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (68)
The defending champion Norths Bears had to come from behind to score the eventual 71-68 win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in a tight and tense Grand Final rematch.
With the Bears having finished second at 18-2 on the back of winning last year's championship with the win over the Sea Eagles in the Grand Final who backed up to end up third at 16-4, it was always going to be quite the encounter.
The two teams locked horns at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre and it certainly delivered and it went right down to the wire.
The Bears did manage to open up a 12-point lead in the first half and were on top 41-33 by half-time, but the Sea Eagles produced a massive third quarter with 25 points to 12.
That saw Manly Warringah lead themselves by as much as six points but it was always a game that was to have a thrilling finish.
It was a huge three from Maddie O'Hehir with just over a minute to play that put the Bears back in front by a point before Bree Delaney was fouled down low up the other end.
She hit the second to tie scores up at 67-67 before O'Hehir was fouled on the drive for the Bears and she went on to make both with 45 seconds to go for the two-point lead for the reigning champions.
Then things got even more interesting. Emily Simons picked up her fifth foul for Norths before Manly Warringah inbounded the ball and Kim Hodge knocked it down to bring it back to a one-point ball game.
The big calls continued with an offensive foul called on Hodge to give the ball back to the Bears. While it was a similar looking play up the other end it was a blocking foul judged this time and as a result, Carla Pitman went to the line but missed both with 26 seconds to go.
That gave Manly Warringah the chance still down a point but Hodge couldn’t finish in traffic under the basket.
The Bears grabbed the defensive rebound and then Pitman was fouled again, made both and in the end that was enough for the reigning champs to win by three when Bree Delaney'sd shot on the buzzer didn't quite drop.
As a result of the win the Bears now will be at home in a preliminary final against either the Albury-Wodonga Bandits or Sutherland Sharks.
Maddie O'Hehir came up huge in the win for Norths with 31 points, three steals and two rebounds with 5/12 three-point shooting and going 8/9 at the foul line.
Carla Pitman added 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals with Ae'Rianna Harris adding seven points and 14 boards, and Emily Simons six points and 11 rebounds.
The Sea Eagles now have a second chance to reach a preliminary final against the Newcastle Falcons and will host the Central Coast Crusaders next Sunday.
Kim Hodge top-scored with 19 points and six rebounds with 11/11 free-throw shooting with Bree Delaney contributing 11 points and five boards, Alex Delaney 10 points and six rebounds, and Brooke Flowers 10 points, 12 boards and three blocked shots.
NORTHS BEARS 71 (O'Hehir 31, Pitman 23, Harris 7)
MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 68 (Hodge 19, B Delaney 11, A Delaney 10, Flowers 10)
MEN
Elimination Final – Albury-Wodonga Bandits (89) defeated Bankstown Bruins (75)
Kevion Blaylock and Davo Hickey were on fire as the Albury-Wodonga Bandits kept their season alive and ended that of the Bankstown Bruins with the 89-75 victory.
The Bandits ended the regular season in fifth position at 13-7 to be at home at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre for the elimination final against a Bruins team who scraped into eighth spot thanks to a final day thrilling win over the Sutherland Sharks.
It was a tight contest throughout the first half as well with no more than six points ever separating the two teams with the Bandits leading 16-15 by quarter-time and 41-37 by half-time.
However, Albury-Wodonga pulled away in the third quarter with 24 points to 15 and then the lead got out to as much as 16 points before the Bandits secured the 14-point victory.
Albury-Wodonga now advance to a semi-final next Saturday on the road to the Centre of Excellence after Kevion Blaylock delivered 27 points, nine rebounds and three steals on shooting 10/17 from the floor and 5/5 at the foul line.
Davo Hickey maintained his standout form with 26 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals on 4/9 three-point shooting with Mitchell Dance adding 14 points, three boards and two steals, and Shawn Montague 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The season is over for the Bruins with Andre Wolford top-scoring with 15 points and four rebounds despite shooting just 5/17 from the field.
Naaman Hightower also had 14 points and 12 rebounds with Charlie McBeath contributing 10 points and two boards, Thomas Buvac nine points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Hayden Blankley nine points, six boards and three assists.
ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 89 (Blaylock 27, Hickey 26, Dance 14)
BANKSTOWN BRUINS 75 (Wolford 15, Hightower 14, McBeath 10)
Qualifying Final – Canberra Gunners (95) defeated Centre of Excellence (74)
The Canberra Gunners are going to take some stopping from winning a second NBL1 East championship in three years on the back of the 95-74 qualifying win at home over the Centre of Excellence.
Determined to get back in the championship hunt in 2024 on the back of that triumph in 2022, the Gunners ended the regular season a game clear in top spot at 18-2 to book in a qualifying final at Tuggeranong.
It was the Centre of Excellence they were taking on who finished fourth at 14-6 but hadn’t played since losing to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles back on June 29, and being without James O'Donnell, Julius Halaifonua, Kye Savage and Luke Fennell.
That meant the CoE were right up against it from the outset and Canberra opened up a 13-point lead during the first quarter and went on with the job from there.
The Gunners would lead by as much as 14 points in the second period and then it got out to 21 by the final buzzer as they booked their place in a preliminary final in two weeks' time and having earned the week off.
Glenn Morison was Grand Final MVP two years ago and wants the chance to do it again after finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Will Mayfield added 22 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals while Derek Emelifeonwu contributed 21 points, four boards and four assists, and Austin Clarke nine points on 3/6 three-point shooting.
Having finished fourth, the Centre of Excellence are still alive and will be hosting the Albury-Wodonga Bandits next Saturday night with a spot in the preliminary final against the Maitland Mustangs on the line.
Jacob Furphy ended up with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists for the CoE with Che Brogan contributing 14 points, five boards and four assists, Ajak Nyuon 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, Emmett Adair 10 points and five boards, and Nash Walker 10 points and three rebounds.
CANBERRA GUNNERS 95 (Morison 22, Mayfield 22, Emelifeonwu 21)
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 74 (Furphy 19, Brogan 14, Nyuon 11)
Qualifying Final – Maitland Mustangs (104) defeated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (99)
With the rights to host a preliminary final on the line, the two teams put on quite the show and there was no shortage of excitement and drama as the Maitland Mustangs ended up beating the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 104-99 in overtime.
The chance to earn a week off and wait to find out who they would host in a preliminary final was at stake with the Mustangs hosting the Sea Eagles at Maitland Federation Centre having finished the regular season second and third respectively.
With the advantage of playing at home, Maitland did open up a double-digit lead by quarter-time and were will still holding onto a 51-42 advantage by the half-time break.
The lead got out to a game high 12 points in the third quarter as well for the Mustangs, but the Sea Eagles weren't going away and it was Mason Bragg inspiring their comeback and putting them in front with a pair of free throws with six minutes to play.
Matthew Eldridge then hit a huge three for the Sea Eagles to bring scores back level two minutes later and then Stefan Valkovic put Manly Warringah in front again before Billy Parsons and Jonas Harper traded buckets.
Six straight points for Will Cranston-Lown had Maitland back out to a four-point lead with just over a minute to play but Harper answered with the next four for the Sea Eagles to tie scores up.
Cranston-Lown got two looks at a winner on the last two possessions for the Mustangs, but couldn’t connect and the game went to overtime with the tension only continuing to build.
It was bucket for bucket virtually for the first four minutes of extra time until a huge three for the Mustangs from Matthew Gray followed by a Parsons block on Zackary Kimball that led to an offensive rebound and dunk from Parsons as well.
That had Maitland leading by six and the Mustangs were able to close it out at the foul line in what still was a drama filled finish to advance to a home preliminary final.
There were big plenty of big performances in the win for Maitland with Will Cranston-Lown putting up 22 points, 10 assists and six rebounds on 14/15 shooting at the free-throw line.
Matthew Gray knocked down 5/11 from behind the three-point arc with 22 points, five rebounds and two steals with Billy Parsons adding 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two assists, and James Hunter 18 points, four boards and two assists.
The Sea Eagles remain alive and will play host to the Sydney Comets in a mouth watering semi-final battle next Sunday.
Mason Bragg continued his standout form for Manly Warringah with the dynamic point guard delivering another 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds with 12/15 shooting at the foul line.
Jonas Harper added 21 points and four rebounds with Matthew Eldridge delivering 20 points, 10 boards, four blocks, three assists and two steals, Stefan Valkovic 15 points, two assists and two steals, and Zackary Kimball nine points, 11 rebounds and three steals.
MAITLAND MUSTANGS 104 (Gray 22, Cranston-Lown 22, Parsons 22)
MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 99 (Bragg 27, Harper 21, Eldridge 20)
