East Recap | Round 2 Saturday

Image credit: Greg Francis (@DiscoveryOne_Photography)

The Norths Bears stunned the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles women with the last 18 points of regulation before an NBL1 East overtime win while Carlie McAlister, Jessie-May Hall, Caitie Jones and Kobe McDowell-White were among the standouts.

WOMEN

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (74) lost to Norths Bears (77)

It's quite the rivalry these two teams have and the Norths Bears pulled off a miraculous fightback scoring the last 18 points of regulation before beating the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 77-74 in overtime.

After battling one another to open last year's finals with the Bears beating the Sea Eagles before both ended up having their seasons ended by the eventual champion Newcastle Falcons, they both opened their 2025 seasons with wins.

The Sea Eagles beat the Centre of Excellence while the Bears defeated the Bankstown Bruins, and they played out another classic at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.

Manly Warringah opened up an eight-point lead in the first quarter and that had grown to 11 in the second period where they held the Bears to just nine points and 22 in the entire first half.

The Sea Eagles remained in control with that lead growing out to 14 points in the third quarter and then they were in control with the 18-point advantage with only 2:45 to go in the game.

It appeared the game was over but Norths had other ideas starting with a layup to Carla Pitman before Maddie O'Hehir drained a three and then Caitlyn Martin hit a triple to give them eight quick points in less than a minute.

Ruby Perkins made a couple of quick buckets with the second becoming a three-point play before O'Hehir hit another triple to complete a 16-0 run in the space of two minutes to make it a two-point ball game.

Two free throws to Perkins then made it 18 straight points and the scores were level which is where they stayed as time expired.

Kim Dickinson restored the lead and stopped the run of the Bears to open the extra period but eventually another and-one from Perkins put the Bears in front and they secured the win with two clutch free throws from Sydney Flames WNBL star Pitman.

From the moment the Sea Eagles were leading 68-50, the Bears outscored them 27 points to six in the last 7:45 of the game to pull off a miraculous win.

Maddie O'Hehir ended up with 21 points and five rebounds with 5/11 three-point shooting for the Bears with Ruby Perkins delivering 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Carla Pitman threatened a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists with Peggy Schell contributing eight points and four boards.

The Sea Eagles controlled the contest for more than the first 37 minutes with Taylor Wurtz delivering 29 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Josie Bulman added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Alex Delaney 12 points, nine boards and three assists.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 74 (Wurtz 29, Bulman 19, Delaney 12)

NORTHS BEARS 77 (O'Hehir 21, Perkins 20, Pitman 17)

Hills Hornets (87) defeated Sutherland Sharks (73)

The Hills Hornets announced their entrance to the NBL1 East season with the 87-73 home victory against the Sutherland Sharks.

The Hornets had their Round 1 clash with the Inner West Bulls postponed meaning their hosting of the Sharks on Saturday at Hills Basketball Stadium was their first appearance of the 2025 season.

Coming off reaching the grand final last year, the Sharks lost their first game of the season to the Penrith Panthers, but life for now without expectant mother Lauren Nicholson was always going to be different.

The Hornets overcame an early five-point deficit to the Sharks before opening up a 28-21 lead by the end of the first quarter and they remained in control of the contest the rest of the way.

The lead for Hills was still six at half-time and three quarter-time before they pulled away further with 21 points to 13 in the fourth frame on the way to the eventual four-point win.

The Hornets finished up going 15/35 from three-point range as a team with Hannah Griffin leading that charge with 6/10 on her way to 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Jade Kirisome also delivered 21 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists with Ella Gale putting in a power of work for 15 points, 21 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Aliza Fabbro top-scored for Sutherland with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals with Maddie Norris ending up with 16 points, nine boards and five assists, and Olivia White 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

HILLS HORNETS 87 (Griffin 22, Kirisome 21, Gale 15)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 73 (Fabbro 21, Norris 16, White 10)

Central Coast Crusaders (47) lost to Newcastle Falcons (71)

The defending champion Newcastle Falcons have now won 10 straight NBL1 East matches after another statement performance beating the Central Coast Crusaders 71-47 on the road.

On the back of last year's championship triumph, Newcastle raised the banner last week and celebrated with a win at home over the Sydney Comets while the Crusaders had a tough opener losing to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

It was a dominant showing from the Falcons right from the outset as they held the Crusaders to just six points in the opening quarter while having 22 themselves.

Another 16 points to 10 in the second quarter and Newcastle were leading 38-16 at half-time with the lead only continuing to grow and getting out to as much as 33 points in the second half.

The Falcons cruised to the 24-point win from there to make it 10 straight wins and to 2-0 to start the new season with Meg Jefferson outstanding with 18 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Two-time MVP Nicole Munger also had 14 points, 15 rebounds and four assists with Claudea Waihape-Andrews finishing with 11 points, six boards and two steals, and Kate Kingham 11 points, three rebounds and three steals.

Leilani Mitchell top-scored for Central Coast with 17 points and five rebounds with Mikaela Dombkins adding 13 points and nine boards, and Jasmine Forcadilla nine points and five rebounds.

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 47 (Mitchell 17, Dombkins 13, Forcadilla 9)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 71 (Jefferson 18, Munger 14, Kingham 11, Waihape-Andrews 11)

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (75) defeated Bankstown Bruins (62)

Teenager Jessie-May Hall was once again outstanding to keep the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders undefeated to start the NBL1 East season with the 75-62 win over the Bankstown Bruins.

The Spiders started the new season impressively beating the Central Coast Crusaders ahead of hosting the Bruins at The Brickpit with Bankstown already having racked up two losses against the Norths Bears and Centre of Excellence.

It was the Bruins who started the better hunting that first win of the season with 23 points to 18 and they were still clinging to the 38-34 half-time advantage.

The Spiders did manage to go on a 10-0 scoring run in the third quarter to grab the lead and then with 22 points to 11 in the fourth quarter converted that into the 13-point victory on their home deck.

Despite the Bruins winning the rebound count 54-41, Hornsby managed to win the possession game by attempting 32 more shots than Bankstown which helped them win despite Bankstown shooting 44 per cent opposed to 35.

Jessie-May Hall continued her blistering start to the season for the Spiders with another 29 points, 10 steals, seven assists and five rebounds with Keira Hudson adding 23 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals, and Lucy Mead 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Bruins have now lost their last eight NBL1 East games dating back to last year with Jada Rice finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks with Kiahna Davis-White adding 11 points and 11 boards, and Lily Austin eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 75 (Hall 29, Hudson 23, Mead 10)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 62 (Rice 20, Davis-White 11, S Dunlop 8, Austin 8)

Canberra Nationals (97) defeated Inner West Bulls (68)

The Canberra Nationals opened their account for the NBL1 East season with Carlie McAlister (nee Smith) dominant in the 97-68 home victory against the Inner West Bulls.

The Bulls were playing their first game of the season after their clash with the Hills Hornets from Round 1 was postponed while the Nationals were attempting to hit back from a first up road loss to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

Canberra got off to a flying start in their first home game of 2025 at Belconnen Basketball Stadium with 27 points to 13 in the opening quarter and never let up from there against a Bulls team having lost their last 16 games of 2024.

The Nationals put up another 31 points to 20 in the second frame to go into half-time leading 58-33 before the lead got out to as much as 29 in the second half which would remain the final scoreline.

Carlie McAlister had a standout performance for Canberra finishing with 27 points, 14 rebounds, seven steals and five assists but she also had plenty of support.

Abby Solway delivered 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, Mikala Williams 15 points, three boards and two assists, Jasmyn Boutzos 12 points, and Abbie Ketels pulled down 19 rebounds to go with three points and four assists.

The Bulls have now lost their last 17 NBL1 East matches despite Mizuki Wakamatsu delivering 23 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Tahlia Tupaea added 19 points, 12 boards, four steals and three assists, and Tylah Mundine eight points, eight rebounds and two assists.

CANBERRA NATIONALS 97 (McAlister 27, Solway 17, Williams 15)

INNER WEST BULLS 68 (Wakamatsu 23, Tupaea 19, Mundine 8)

Maitland Mustangs (82) lost to Albury-Wodonga Bandits (93)

The Albury-Wodonga Bandits continued their impressive start with a new-look group in 2025 with former NBL1 West star Caitie Jones dynamic in her team's 93-82 win over the Maitland Mustangs.

With Riley Lupfer on fire shooting the ball in their home opener last week, the Bandits beat the Canberra Nationals as they began a new era with a vastly new look team to the one that was undefeated in 2024 before losing in straight sets in the playoffs.

The Mustangs also had a first up win against the Illawarra Hawks ahead of hosting the Bandits at Maitland Federation Centre, and it was the visitors catching fire from the outset to already be leading 32-23 by quarter-time.

The Bandits were then still leading 47-38 at half-time but that set the tone for quite the rollercoaster ride in the second half starting with Maitland dominating the third frame with 30 points to 19.

The Mustangs turned that into a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Albury-Wodonga took back charge by scoring 17 consecutive points on the way to the eventual 11-point victory.

Former Warwick Senators and Lakeside Lightning NBL1 West star Caitie Jones, fresh off her first professional season in Europe, was outstanding for the Bandits with 38 points, four assists and three rebounds on 14/26 shooting from the field, 3/6 from deep and 7/10 at the foul line.

Riley Lupfer delivered another 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals on 6/12 three-point shooting with Brynn Masikewich adding 13 points and 11 boards, and Emma Mahady 10 points and seven rebounds.

Sydney Hunter finished with 25 points and seven rebounds for Maitland with Shakera Reilly playing all 40 minutes on her way to 16 points, five boards and three assists while shooting 4/12 from behind the three-point line.

Alexis Plater added 16 points and five rebounds, and Rachel Williams 14 points, five boards and four assists.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 82 (Hunter 25, Reilly 16, Plater 16)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 93 (Jones 38, Lupfer 23, Masikewich 13)

Sydney Comets (79) defeated Illawarra Hawks (56)

One of the two teams was going to get their first win of 2025 and it was the Sydney Comets beating the Illawarra Hawks 79-56 with Abi Curtin starring by putting up 27 points.

The Comets started their season with a 32-point loss last Saturday at the hands of the defending champion Newcastle Falcons while the Hawks went down at home to the Maitland Mustangs by 24 points.

That meant both teams were looking to bounce back when they clashed at Comets Stadium and scores were all level by quarter-time at 15-15.

The Comets then began to pull away with 20 points to 11 in the second quarter before continuing on with the job throughout the second half and by going on a 14-0 scoring run it helped the final margin settle at 23 points in their favour.

Abi Curtin starred for Sydney with 27 points and 13 rebounds on 11/21 shooting from the field with Piper Anderson adding 16 points on 3/7 three-point shooting, and Mikayla Pirini 11 points, five rebounds and four assists after she spent the previous six seasons in the NBL1 West.

Ella Dent top-scored for Illawarra with 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals with Ella Collins adding 12 points and two boards, and Ruby MacDonald 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals despite shooting 4/19.

SYDNEY COMETS 79 (Curtin 27, Anderson 16, Pirini 11)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 56 (Dent 18, Collins 12, MacDonald 10)

MEN

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (80) defeated Norths Bears (61)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles locked in defensively to hold the Norths Bears to just 36 points in the last three quarters on the way to the eventual 80-61 victory.

Both teams suffered first up losses to open the new season with the Sea Eagles losing by 28 points to the Centre of Excellence while the Bears lost to the Bankstown Bruins by 16 ahead of their match up at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.

The Bears started well away from home to be leading 25-23 at quarter-time and then to open up an eight-point lead in the second quarter, but the Sea Eagles took control from there.

Manly Warringah would still be a point down at half-time, but in the second half were able to restrict Norths to just 12 points in the third frame and eight in the fourth.

Opposed to that, the Sea Eagles put up 17 points in the third period and 23 in the fourth including going on a 15-0 scoring run to lead by as much as 19 points which was the final winning margin.

Preston Purifoy stepped up to deliver 21 points and four rebounds in the win for Manly Warringah while captain Mason Bragg produced 19 points, 10 boards, seven assists and five steals after a quiet first up showing.

Stefan Valkovic also had 14 points, four rebounds and two steals, and Matthew Eldridge 11 points, 10 boards, three assists and three blocked shots.

The Bears have now lost their last four matches dating back to last year despite Hunter Goodrick ending up with 14 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.

Michael Yoong contributed 10 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Matthew Wacher 12 points, three boards and two steals.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 80 (Purifoy 21, Bragg 19, Valkovic 14)

NORTHS BEARS 61 (Goodrick 14, Wacher 12, Yoong 10)

Hills Hornets (70) lost to Sutherland Sharks (77)

The Sutherland Sharks look on track to be back in the hunt of the NBL1 East in 2025 after a second straight win with the 77-70 road victory over the Hills Hornets.

The Sharks had a down year in 2024 on the back of winning the 2023 championship where they ended up out of the finals with an 8-12 record, but they opened up the new season last week beating the Penrith Panthers.

The Hornets didn’t end up playing in the opening round with their scheduled clash with the Inner West Bulls postponed and with them coming off just narrowly missing the finals in 2024.

Hills went into the quarter-time break leading 22-20 before Sutherland had 20 points to 15 in the second term to see them go into half-time leading 40-37.

The Sharks completed a 13-0 scoring run into the third quarter which saw them end up opening up a lead as big as 18 points, and while the Hornets mounted a fightback, Sutherland did enough for the seven-point win to move to 2-0 on the new season.

Sydney Kings NBL centre Jason Spurgin was powerful inside for Sutherland with 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks on 9/14 shooting with Lochlan Hutchison adding 19 points, five boards, five assists and two steals.

Luke Jamieson also delivered 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Bailey MacArthur eight points, eight boards and two assists.

In their first appearance of the season, Liam Moss top-scored for Hills with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals with 3/5 three-point shooting with Zach Hudson adding 14 points, nine boards and three steals, and Meekness Payne 12 points, three rebounds and two steals.

HILLS HORNETS 70 (Moss 18, Hudson 14, Payne 12)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 77 (Spurgin 23, Hutchison 19, Jamieson 10)

Central Coast Crusaders (98) defeated Newcastle Falcons (71)

The Central Coast Crusaders continued their strong form to start the NBL1 East season with Garric Young delivering 28 points and 13 rebounds in the 98-71 home win over the Newcastle Falcons.

Central Coast opened the season beating the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders while Newcastle had a narrow first up four-point loss at home to the Sydney Comets.

The Crusaders had their first home game of the season at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium and they started well and then took complete charge with 25 points to 11 in the second quarter to be leading 49-31 by half-time.

While Newcastle attempted to mount a fightback in the third term, Central Coast completed the job with 28 points to 14 in the final period on the way to the eventual 27-point victory.

The Crusaders ended up dominating the glass with 54 rebounds to 33 including 23 to 13 at the offensive end as they ended up attempting seven extra shots and five more free throws.

Combine that with them shooting 50 per cent from the field to Newcastle's 38, and you have the 27-point margin with Garric Young dominating with 28 points and 13 rebounds on 10/16 shooting.

Klairus Amir also had 22 points with 5/10 three-point shooting while Lino Manhom provided 15 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, Ilisia Washington eight points and three boards, and Luke Cassidy seven points, 10 assists and four rebounds.

Ryan Beisty put up 18 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and four steals for Newcastle to narrowly miss the triple-double with Myles Cherry adding 16 points and seven boards, Kobe Shannon 12 points and two rebounds, and Eylijah Stephens nine points and four assists.

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 98 (Young 28, Amir 22, Manhom 15)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 71 (Beisty 18, Cherry 16, Shannon 12)

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (64) lost to Bankstown Bruins (74)

The Bankstown Bruins scored their second win of the season with Hayden Blankley and Andre Wolford combining for 37 points and six three-pointers in the 74-64 win over the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

The Spiders were looking for their first win of the season after a first up defeat to the Central Coast Crusaders ahead of hosting the Bruins at The Brickpit.

The Bruins split their two Round 1 match ups with a win against the Norths Bears and loss to the Centre of Excellence, and it was a tight contest through the first three quarters.

Across those first three periods, no more than six points ever separated the teams with the Bruins leading by six during the first term but by quarter-time it was the Spiders leading 20-19.

Bankstown were then up by a point at half-time and maintained that one-point lead by three quarter-time.

It was in the fourth frame that the Bruins pulled away with 20 points to 11 on the way to the 10-point win to improve to 2-1 early in the new season.

Hayden Blankley made 3/6 from downtown on his way to 19 points, five rebounds and three assists in the win for Bankstown with Andre Wolford adding 18 points, three boards and two steals.

Charlie McBeath added 12 points and seven rebounds, Jason Cadee eight points, five boards, four assists and four steals, and Gum Majak eight points and eight rebounds.

Aaron Redhead ended up top-scoring for Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai with 25 points and seven rebounds on the back of shooting 9/16 from the field and 7/9 at the free-throw line.

Atien Acuel added 11 points, five steals and four rebounds with Daniel Titus contributing nine points, six boards and six assists, and Steven Hall nine points, four rebounds and four assists.

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 64 (Redhead 25, Acuel 11, Hall 9, Titus 9)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 74 (Blankley 19, Wolford 18, McBeath 12)

Canberra Gunners (89) defeated Inner West Bulls (83)

The Canberra Gunners held out the fast finishing Inner West Bulls to go 2-0 to start the new season with the 89-83 home victory.

With the Gunners having played in two of the last three NBL1 East grand finals including winning the 2022 championship, they look as switched on as ever coming into the 2025 season.

That saw Canberra beat the Albury-Wodonga Bandits by 21 points last week to open the campaign ahead of hosting the Bulls on Saturday night at Belconnen Basketball Stadium.

The Bulls were playing their first game of the season with their clash with the Hills Hornets postponed last Saturday night.

Both teams had their turns leading throughout the first half with Canberra narrowly leading by three points at quarter-time and then extending that to an eight-point edge by half-time.

The lead for the Gunners did grow to as much as 14 points in the third quarter but the Bulls did continue to make things interesting and got back within two points early in the fourth term on the back of scoring seven quick points.

Glenn Morison and Will Mayfield responded with buckets for Canberra and from there they were able to complete the job with the six-point victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Championship captain Morison delivered another 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 10/15 shooting for the Gunners with Mayfield adding 18 points, nine boards, seven assists and two steals.

They had plenty more help too with James Toohey putting up 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, Lachlan Smith 13 points and four boards, and Mitchell Robinson nine points and four rebounds.

Despite the loss there was plenty to be encouraged about for the Bulls with Maxwell Clark leading the charge with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists on shooting 6/11 from long-range.

Ramon Cao added 19 points, four rebounds and two assists, Andrew Swanson 12 points and three boards, and Tony Tolovae 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.

CANBERRA GUNNERS 89 (Morison 23, Mayfield 18, Toohey 14)

INNER WEST BULLS 83 (Clark 22, Cao 19, Swanson 12)

Maitland Mustangs (104) defeated Albury-Wodonga Bandits (62)

The defending champion Maitland Mustangs recorded their first win of the title defence and did it in style ensuring Matthew Gray didn’t have a happy return with he 104-62 win over the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

It was a first home game at Maitland Federation Centre for the season for the Mustangs meaning it was time to celebrate last season's championship triumph.

Just to add to the occasion and one player who has been part of their three straight grand final appearances, for losses to Canberra and Sutherland before breaking through against the Gunners, Gray was also on hand for the ceremony albeit in an Albury-Wodonga uniform.

The Mustangs did lose their first game of the season last week to the Illawarra Hawks but it wasn’t about to happen again on their big night with them starting with 32 points to 22 in the first quarter.

It was then another 30 points to 12 in the second term with Maitland well in control with the 62-34 lead by half-time.

The Mustangs didn’t let up and had another 27 points to 14 in the third frame with the lead getting out to as much as 45 points before settling on the final 42-point margin.

Neither team had great shooting nights including Maitland going 4/16 from three-point range and Albury-Wodonga 5/28, but the Mustangs did attempt 23 extra shots than the Bandits on the back of 25 offensive rebounds and forcing their opponent into 23 turnovers.

James Hunter produced 19 points and five rebounds in the win for Maitland while Mandrell Worthy contributed 15 points and five boards, Christian Little 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals, Jay Cole 12 points and three boards, and Luka Vea 11 points, three rebounds and two steals.

The loss leaves Albury-Wodonga without a win this season following mass personnel changes over summer with Matthew Gray top-scoring up against the team he went to three grand finals with by putting up 15 points but only shooting 5/16.

Imanuel Allen added 12 points and two rebounds, Ahren Freeman 11 points, 12 boards, four blocks and three steals, and Simon Lafaele eight points and 10 rebounds.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 104 (Hunter 19, Worthy 15, Little 14)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 62 (Gray 15, Allen 12, Freeman 11)

Sydney Comets (77) lost to Illawarra Hawks (84)

The Illawarra Hawks continued their winning start to the NBl1 East season with a big showing from Kobe McDowell-White on the way to the 84-77 road win over the Sydney Comets.

With basketball in Wollongong on a high following the Hawks breaking through to win the NBL championship, they opened the season beating the Maitland Mustangs at home last week with Todd Blanchfield, Brad Ballinger, McDowell-White and coach Matt Flinn off that Championship Series win.

They hit the road on Saturday to take on Sydney at Comets Stadium with the Comets also having a first up win last weekend against the Newcastle Falcons.

It was a blistering opening from Illawarra as they put up 34 points to 14 in the first quarter having led by as much as 22, but the Comets fired back in the second frame to cut the Hawks lead to 45-42 by half-time.

The Hawks were able to push back out to a double-figure lead in the second half and never surrendered their advantage despite the Comets getting back as close as two points in the final minutes.

Illawarra managed to close the deal on the seven-point win with Kobe McDowell-White the standout with 32 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Todd Blanchfield also delivered 19 points and 10 rebounds with 4/10 three-point shooting while Matthew Mims added 17 points and six boards, and Christian Maran nine points, 14 rebounds and four assists.

Obi Kyei put in a big showing for the Comets with 26 points, 15 rebounds and four assists with Johnny Crnogorac delivering 15 points, six boards, two steals and two blocks, and Shareef Saipaia 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

SYDNEY COMETS 77 (Kyei 26, Crnogorac 15, Saipaia 13)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 84 (McDowell-White 32, Blanchfield 19, Mims 17)