NBL1 East Recap | Elimination Finals

Shyla Heal's 43 points led the Sydney Comets to an NBL1 East quarter-final win over the Newcastle Falcons on Saturday with wins also for the Centre of Excellence, Norths Bears and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles along with the CoE, Sutherland Sharks, Maitland Mustangs and Canberra Gunners men.

The women's NBL1 East quarter-final match ups saw the Centre of Excellence defeat the Sutherland Sharks 93-88 while the Norths Bears beat the Maitland Mustangs 81-57, the Sydney Comets downed the Newcastle Falcons 85-76, and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles won 80-72 against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

The men's match ups saw the Centre of Excellence beat the Newcastle Falcons 103-71, the Sutherland Sharks defeat the Norths Bears 85-66, the Maitland Mustangs win 92-81 against the Inner West Bulls, and the Canberra Gunners down the Hills Hornets 90-69.

NBL1 EAST RECAP | SUNDAY ROUND 18

NBL1 EAST RECAP | SATURDAY ROUND 18

NBL1 EAST RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 18

WOMEN

CoE young guns with huge fightback to beat Sharks 

The Centre of Excellence roared back from a 19-point deficit in the third quarter to win their quarter-final at home 93-88 against the Sutherland Sharks on Saturday.

It was the battle of fourth against fifth to open the quarter finals at the AIS Basketball and Netball Centre on Saturday with the CoE having earned home court advantage by finishing the regular season at 16-6 just ahead of the Sharks at 15-7.

Sutherland was looking to back up making last year's grand final but would have to do it the hard way against the young guns from Basketball Australia.

It was a tight first quarter with the Centre of Excellence leading by two points at quarter-time but then the Sharks led by superstar guard Lauren Nicholson took control of the contest.

Sutherland would open up a 10-point lead in the second term on the way to outscoring the CoE 30 points to 18 to head into the half-time break leading 53-43.

The Sharks maintained control for much of the third quarter as well to extend their advantage to 19 points when Aliza Fabbro knocked down a three-pointer with 3:30 to go in the period.

Lauren Nicholson is taking CoE to school ?

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The Centre of Excellence's season was hanging by a thread but they responded by scoring the game's next 12 points including consecutive three-point plays from Saffron Shiels, another and-one from Bonnie Deas, and then a three-point bomb from Monique Bobongie.

That cut the deficit back to seven and Sutherland's lead was just eight at three quarter-time setting up a big finish.

The key once again in the win from the Centre of Excellence was their array of contributors with Monique Bobongie top-scoring with 18 points and four rebounds while hitting 4/9 from three-point territory.

Saffron Shiels added 17 points and eight boards, Bonnie Deas 14 points, five rebounds and two steals, Lara Somfai 12 points, five boards and two steals, Jayda Clark 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Isla Juffermans nine points and six boards.

Lauren Nicholson was outstanding once more for Sutherland and couldn’t have done any more ending up with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and two steals on 11/21 shooting from the floor and 8/9 at the foul line.

Aliza Fabbro also had 19 points, three rebounds and three assists, Maddy Norris 13 points, 10 boards and three assists, Olivia White nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Kallie Hovatter eight points, three boards and two steals.

Jayda Clark found the perfect pass ?

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Bears overpower Mustangs to move into semis

The Norths Bears dominated the start and finish to its quarter-final at home on Saturday to defeat the Maitland Mustangs 81-57.

The Bears earned the right to host the quarter-final at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre having finished the NBL1 East regular season in third position with an 18-4 record to take on the sixth ranked Mustangs who were 14-8.

Norths came into the finals having won the past four matches and kept that momentum going to open up an 11-point lead already over the Mustangs by quarter-time.

That lead for the Bears grew to 15 points in the second quarter with the home team leading 44-29 at half-time.

It was a similar story in the second half with the lead for Norths growing to 24 points in the fourth stanza with the Bears ending up winning by 24 to advance to the semi finals while ending the season of the Mustangs in the process.

There were plenty of strong performances in the win for the Bears led by Carla Pitman with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in just 22 minutes of court time.

Emily Simons added 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists, Maddie O'Hehir 17 points, Jessica Bygate seven points and four boards, and Kate Seebohm five points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Madison Washington delivered 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists in the loss for Maitland with Sydney Hunter contributing 12 points and eight boards, and Shakera Reilly nine points and three rebounds.

Brilliant Heal leads Comets over Falcons

A remarkable performance from Shyla Heal with 43 points has delivered the Sydney Comets the 85-76 road quarter-final victory against the Newcastle Falcons on Saturday.

The Falcons did finish the regular season in second position with a 19-3 record to earn home court advantage at Newcastle Basketball Stadium but the Comets were never going to be a usual seventh seeded opponent with Heal and Vanessa Panousis in the line-up.

Newcastle made the most of playing at home early as well to lead 27-21 by quarter-time with the Falcons then stretching their advantage to 12 during the second quarter before leading 46-40 by half-time.

Turns out you can't ?

4??3?? points, 5?? triples and 4?? assists to knock Newcastle OUT of the #NBL1EastFinals ?

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The Falcons had been in control of the contest for a lot of that first half but that sure changed quickly in the third quarter when Heal put the Comets on her back and they soon became unstoppable.

Sydney outscored Newcastle 24 points to 15 in the third quarter and then 21 to 15 in the fourth to turn that 12-point deficit from the second quarter into a 12-point lead of their own, and the eventual nine-point victory.

The victory means that the Comets advance to a semi-final next Saturday against the Norths Bears while the season is all of a sudden over for the Falcons despite a second place finish.

Shyla Heal ultimately was the difference between the two teams with 43 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals on shooting 16/26 from the floor, 5/8 from behind the three-point arc and 6/8 at the foul line.

Emerging star Jada Crawshaw also had 17 points and four rebounds for Sydney with Vanessa Panousis contributing seven points, nine boards and four assists, Dru Toleafoa seven points and nine rebounds, and Piper Anderson seven points.

Nicole Munger did all she could to try and keep Newcastle's season alive with 26 points, 17 rebounds and six assists with Mykea Gray contributing 24 points, two boards and two assists, and Hannah Chicken 10 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

What a move Nicole Munger ?

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Sea Eagles end championship defence of Bandits

This year's regular season champion Manly Warringah Sea Eagles ended the championship defence of the Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Saturday night with an 80-72 quarter-final victory.

The Sea Eagles were the standout team this NBL1 East season finishing in top spot with a 20-2 record while the Bandits scraped into eighth position with a 12-10 record in their championship defence minus their stars of 2022, Lauren Jackson and Unique Thompson.

That set up quite the fascinating first round finals match up on Saturday night at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre, and it was the visiting Bandits who got the better of the start to lead by as much as five points in the first quarter, and still 24-22 by quarter-time.

However, the Sea Eagles turned things around with 24 points to 13 in the second quarter to see them leading 46-37 heading into the half-time interval.

Manly Warringah maintained that advantage throughout the second half on the way to the eventual eight-point victory to book in a semi-final spot while ending the championship defence of Albury-Wodonga.

Bree Delaney finished up with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win for the Sea Eagles on the back of shooting 8/14 from the field, 3/6 from three-point territory and 2/2 from the free-throw line.

Antonia Henderson added 19 points and eight rebounds, Kim Hodge 16 points and eight boards, Zoey Miller 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Felicity Henderson seven points, seven assists, three boards and two steals.

Mikayla Pivec finished her strong form this season for Albury-Wodonga with 23 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals while Ashlee Hannan added 14 points and nine boards, Emma Mahady 13 points and six assists, and Malury Bates seven points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots.

MEN

Henshall leads Centre of Excellence past Falcons

It was first against eighth and the NBL1 East quarter-final went to script on Saturday afternoon with the Centre of Excellence defeating the Newcastle Falcons 103-71.

The Centre of Excellence finished the regular season on top of the NBL1 East table with a 20-2 record to earn home court advantage at the Australian Institute of Sport on Saturday to host the Falcons who ended in eighth spot at 14-8.

That set up Saturday's cut-throat quarter-final to open the NBL1 East playoffs and it was the Falcons who made a blistering start with an early 10-0 run to turn the heat back on the Basketball Australia young guns.

However, the CoE responded well to go on their own 11-0 scoring streak before quarter-time to take the 24-18 advantage.

It was then all the Centre of Excellence throughout the second quarter as they blew their advantage out to 22 points to go into the half-time break leading 53-31.

It was more of the CoE dominating in the third stanza with another 36 points to 14 to see that lead grow to as much as 44 points before they went on to claim the 32-point victory to advance to the semi finals and end the season of the Falcons.

Ahead of joining the Perth Wildcats for the upcoming NBL season, Ben Henshall was outstanding for the Centre of Excellence finishing the game with 23 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals on 9/14 shooting from the floor.

Kye Savage added 18 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals for the CoE, John Furphy 15 points, four boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks, and James O'Donnell 13 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Luke Fennell also nailed 3/6 from three-point territory for 17 points and two steals.

Anthony Gaines top-scored in the last game of the season for Newcastle with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals with Myles Cherry contributing 12 points, eight boards and two blocks, and Matur Maluach 10 points.

Sharks put clamps on Bears to advance

A standout defensive performance from the Sutherland Sharks has seen them score the 85-66 road quarter-final victory against the Norths Bears on Saturday afternoon.

Little separated the two teams at the end of the NBL1 East regular season with the Bears finishing fourth at 15-7 to earn home court advantage just ahead of the fifth ranked Sharks who were 14-8.

So it always loomed as being a fascinating contest at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre and it was the Sharks who delivered a blistering opening to the contest away from home.

Sutherland raced to a 30-18 lead already by quarter-time and their defensive performance continued the rest of the night where they hounded the Bears into 20 turnovers for the game, and held them shooting just 30.1 per cent from the field.

The lead for the Sharks continued to grow throughout the contest and was out to 17 points in the second stanza, 25 in the third and 30 in the fourth before they settled on the eventual 19-point victory.

The win means that Sutherland advances to a semi-final where they will play the Centre of Excellence next Saturday while it's a tough way for the season to end for the Bears.

The Sharks might not have had a great shooting night themselves especially from downtown going 3/19 as a team, but their defence was brilliant while Adrian Cabrera top-scored with 21 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Lochlan Hutchison added 17 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals for Sutherland, Marquel Beasley 17 points and eight boards, and Jordan Mitchell 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Junior Madut did what he could to keep Norths in the contest with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists while Michael Yoong contributed 12 points, five boards and three assists, and Robert Moore nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Marquel Beasley is JAMMING IT ?

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Gray inspires Mustangs to upset over Bulls 

The Maitland Mustangs turned up the heat on the second placed Inner West Bulls on Saturday night at ELS Hall Park and ended their season unceremoniously with the 92-81 victory.

The Bulls earned home court advantage by finishing the regular season in second position at 18-4 to come up against the grand finalists from last year, the Mustangs who ended up seventh at 14-8 having lost their last two matches on the back of a 10-game winning streak.

Maitland was a team on a mission with their high-pressure defence taking Inner West right out of their game virtually from the outset, and the Mustangs would end up leading 26-21 by quarter-time.

While the Bulls did well to tie scores up by half-time thanks to an 8-0 scoring run, it didn’t take Maitland long to take back control including with Will Cranston-Lown scoring his first points of the contest midway through the third period.

It was only the free-throw shooting from the Mustangs that was continuing to give the Bulls a sniff. Maitland went just 15/31 from the charity stripe including 3/9 from Matthew Gray who had an otherwise brilliant night.

However, the Mustangs slammed the door on the Bulls with a 21-point lead in the final period before securing the 11-point win to advance to a semi-final against the Canberra Gunners.

It's a tough way to end the season from second place for the Bulls and to end the tenure of coach Daniel Kim who is taking up a coaching job in Japan.

Matthew Gray was unstoppable on the night for the Mustangs finishing with 30 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocks on shooting 11/18 from the field and 5/8 from downtown.

Will Cranston-Lown shook off a scoreless opening half for 18 points and six assists with 3/5 three-point shooting while Luka Vea added 11 points and nine rebounds, Billy Parsons 10 points and five boards, Kevin Warren nine points, three rebounds and two assists, and James Hunter eight points and nine boards.

Chris Bryant delivered 26 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for Inner West with Blake Morrow contributing 24 points, five boards and four assists, and Alex Higgins-Titsha 10 points, 10 boards and three assists.

Gunners deliver huge second half to overrun Hornets

The NBL1 East championship defence of the Canberra Gunners continues to gather momentum with the 90-69 home quarter-final win against the Hills Hornets on Saturday night.

On the back of winning last season's NBL1 East championship, the Gunners went through the 2023 season racking up a 15-7 record to end up in third position to earn home court advantage for the quarter finals.

Their opponent was a vastly improved Hornets team who put together a 14-8 record so it shaped as an intriguing contest at Belconnen Basketball Stadium.

Even though Canberra built up a seven-point lead in the opening quarter, Hills had fought back to tie scores up at 15-15 by quarter-time.

The Hornets then put together a strong second quarter outscoring the Gunners 20 points to 11 to head into half-time in control of the contest leading 35-26.

The stage was set for Canberra to need to respond after half-time to keep the championship defence alive and what the Gunners produced in the second half was quite the response indeed.

Canberra would score 30 points to 17 in the third quarter and 34 points to 17 in the fourth to outscore Hills 64 points to 34 in the second to turn that nine-point deficit into an eventual 21-point victory.

The win moves the Gunners into a quarter-final match up against the Maitland Mustangs while the season is over for the Hornets.

Reigning Grand Final MVP Glenn Morison was once again a powerful force for Canberra finishing with 26 points, 14 rebounds and three assists on 8/17 shooting from the field and 10/12 from the free-throw line.

Lachlan Smith added 21 points and three rebounds for the Gunners, James Toohey 16 points, three boards and three assists, Dhal Fieg 12 points and two rebounds, and Cameron Pender eight points, 13 boards and three assists.

Ben Kearins finished up with 16 points, two rebounds and two assists for the Hornets on 3/5 shooting from behind the three-point line.

Lachlan Charlton added 10 points and two rebounds, Liam Moss nine points, five assists, three boards and two steals, and Shawn Montague nine points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.