NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Round 11

Kristina Moore starred as the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders scored their first NBL1 East win while Isla Juffermans and Alex Toohey dominated for the Centre of Excellence, Lizzy Tonks and Abby Solway shone for Canberra Nationals, and Chris Bryant was powerful for the Inner West Bulls.

Saturday's Round 11 women's NBL1 East results saw the Canberra Nationals defeat the Bankstown Bruins 85-65 while the Centre of Excellence beat the Central Coast Crusaders 84-65, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles down the Maitland Mustangs 92-55, and the Norths Bears prevail 76-69 against the Newcastle Falcons.

The Illawarra Hawks also beat the Inner West Bulls 87-68 with the Sutherland Sharks defeating the Penrith Panthers 99-47 and the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders downing the Hills Hornets 69-56.

In the men's action, the Albury-Wodonga Bandits beat the Sydney Comets 104-97 while the Canberra Gunners defeated the Bankstown Bruins 95-76, and the Centre of Excellence downed Central Coast 100-67.

Maitland also defeated Manly Warringah 99-73 while the Falcons beat the Bears 73-62, the Bulls defeated the Hawks 90-72, the Sharks downed the Panthers 92-79, and the Hornets prevailed 93-61 against the Spiders.

WOMEN

Tonks, Solway dominate for Nationals against Bruins

Lizzy Tonks and Abby Solway dominated for the Canberra Nationals in their eventual 85-65 victory on the road to the Bankstown Bruins.

Tonks and Solway combined for 48 points and 11 rebounds with 10/20 three-point shooting as Canberra made it consecutive victories in the NBL1 East.

It was a scintillating start from the Nationals at Bankstown Basketball Stadium with 32 points to 14 in the opening period. That set the tone for the rest of the afternoon with Canberra going on to score the 20-point victory in the finish.

The victory improves the Nationals to a 5-7 record on the season with back-to-back wins while Bankstown is now 6-7 after three successive defeats.

The combination of Abby Solway and Lizzy Tonks were brilliant in the win for Canberra. Solway finished with 24 points and six rebounds while hitting 6/13 from long-range. Tonks added 24 points, five rebounds and two steals while going 4/7 from downtown.

Jasmyn Boutzos also had 16 points and eight assists, Isabelle Bourne 12 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, and Abbie Ketels three points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

Kiahna Davis-White top-scored for Bankstown with 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Britney Wright added 16 points, five rebounds and two steals, and Briana Maimone eight points, eight boards and three assists.

Juffermans stars in CoE win over Crusaders

Isla Juffermans put her name up in the spotlight after producing a dominant showing as part of the Centre of Excellence's 84-65 win in Canberra against the Central Coast Crusaders.

Some of the brightest young talent in the country at the CoE got off to a hot start again on Saturday evening with the Basketball Australia team putting up 19 points to 10 in the opening quarter against the Crusaders.

Central Coast stayed in touch by scoring 23 points to 18 in the second term, but the Centre of Excellence controlled the second half from there with 39 points to 26 to end up winning by 19.

The victory improves the CoE to an 11-2 record on the season with three consecutive wins while Central Coast has now lost eight in-a-row at 4-10.

Isla Juffermans produced a huge performance for the Centre of Excellence with 29 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 14/21 from the floor.

Saffron Shiels added 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, Jess Petrie 11 points, four boards, two assists and two steals, and the newly signed UC Capitals young gun Jayda Clark nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Crusaders only had seven players to suit up and they all ended up playing at least 17 minutes. 

Darneka Rowe top-scored with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, Maddison Penn 16 points and eight boards, Kasey Quigley 10 points and six rebounds, and Jasmine Forcadilla 10 points, six boards and six assists.

Sea Eagles stretch winning streak to 12

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have maintained their hold on top spot in the NBL1 East by beating the Maitland Mustangs 92-55 at home on Saturday afternoon.

The Sea Eagles put their 11-game winning streak on the line against the Mustangs who were also attempting to string consecutive victories together.

It was a hot start from the league-leading Manly Warringah on their home court with 27 points to 12 in the opening quarter as their lead got out to as much as 20 points.

The Sea Eagles were still leading 49-30 by half-time and then it ballooned out to 27 in the third quarter, and 37 in the fourth for them to end up claiming the 37-point victory in the finish.

It makes it 12 consecutive wins for Manly Warringah as they improve to a 13-1 record on the season to maintain first place. Maitland slips to 7-6 with the defeat.

Kim Hodge produced another standout performance for the Sea Eagles with 24 points and five rebounds on 8/9 shooting from the field and 4/4 from the free-throw line.

Alex Delaney added 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Felicity Henderson 12 points and four assists, Josie Bulman six points, four assists and three rebounds, and Bree Delaney six points, six boards, five assists and two blocked shots.

Sydney Hunter top-scored for Maitland with nine points to go with 11 rebounds while Hannah Fox joined her with nine points, three assists and two boards. Shakera Reilly also had eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Fast break brilliance by Maitland ?

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Bears prevail in battle six-game winning streak teams

The Norths Bears made it seven straight wins by beating the Newcastle Falcons in a hard fought encounter on Saturday at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre.

After a good start away from home by Newcastle, the Bears took over heading towards quarter-time and were on top by six after the first period.

While the Falcons kept on fighting throughout the contest, the Bears also were able to keep on building on their lead to be up by 10 during both the second and third quarters even though the margin was only four at half-time.

The Bears led by as much as 13 during the fourth quarter and were able to hold out a Falcons team that never gave up the fight.

Norths would end up winning by seven to make it seven wins in-a-row to improve to a 10-2 record with Newcastle's own six-match winning streak ending with the Falcons also now 10-2.

Jolene Anderson top-scored for the Bears with 21 points and seven rebounds while knocking down 5/11 from three-point range.

Emily Simons also ended up with 18 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, Carla Pitman 13 points and four assists, and Madeleine O'Hehir 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Sarah Schicher also pulled down 12 rebounds.

Emily Foy top-scored for the Falcons with 22 points and seven rebounds with Mykea Gray adding 21 points and four boards, and Abigail Curtin 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Nicole Munger is too much to handle ?

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Dent lifts Hawks to third win of season

The Illawarra Hawks recorded their third win of the NBL1 East season with a dominant first three quarters to set up the 87-68 triumph over the Inner West Bulls.

The Hawks and Bulls both came into the contest at The Snakepit needing a win and it was Illawarra who started strongly with 26 points to 13 in the opening period.

The lead for the Hawks would grow to 19 points in the second quarter before it got out to 26 in the third period where the home team put up 33 points to end up securing the 19-point win.

The victory improves Illawarra to a 3-10 record on the season with Inner West now 3-10 as well with the defeat.

Ella Dent had a tremendous game for Illawarra in the win with 27 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals on 8/16 shooting from the floor, 3/7 from beyond the arc and 8/10 at the foul line.

Chelsea Hogg also delivered 15 points, five boards, four assists and two steals, Emilia Garcia Leon 14 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and three assists, and Imogen Thompson 10 points.

Mikaela Dombkins produced 21 points, 16 rebounds and three assists despite the loss for Inner West with Leilani Mitchell contributing 15 points, nine assists and four boards, and Ai Matsumoto 11 points and three steals.

Sharks make statement in thumping of Panthers

The Sutherland Sharks flexed their muscles highlighting their quality and depth on Saturday evening to beat the Penrith Panthers 99-47.

The Sharks were coming off a loss in a high quality affair with the Sydney Comets last week on the back of three consecutive wins, and they came out to make a statement on Saturday against the Panthers.

Sutherland put up 24 points to eight in the opening quarter and another 20 to eight in the second to head into the half-time interval leading 44-16.

It was more of the same throughout the second half with the Sharks outscoring the Panthers 55 points to 31 to end up winning by 52.

The victory improves Sutherland to a 9-5 record on the season while Penrith is now 3-10 with a third successive defeat.

Lauren Nicholson once again was the standout performer in the win for the Sharks backing up her 43 points last week against the Comets with another 22 points, six rebounds and six assists on 9/15 shooting from the field and 3/6 from beyond the arc.

Aliza Fabbro added 20 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds, Emily Garland 13 points and five boards, Madeleine Norris 13 points and five assists, and Olivia White 13 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.

Meg Jefferson fought valiantly for Penrith with 26 points and eight rebounds with Kate Pozoglou pulling down 13 rebounds and dishing out five assists.

Steal and the dime by Lauren Nicholson ??

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Moore fires Hornsby to first win in the NBL1 East

A monster performance from Kristina Moore has lifted the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders to their first NBL1 East victory with Saturday night's 69-56 win away to the Hills Hornets.

It had been rough going so far in the NBL1 East competition for Hornsby suffering 13 straight losses with none of those by fewer than the 20 points they lost to the Penrith Panthers by and with an averaging margin of 43.7 points.

However, Saturday's trip to Hills Basketball Stadium presented a chance for a breakthrough win against a Hornets team who had just two wins to their name so far in 2023 and who had lost their past two matches by a combined 75 points.

It was in the second quarter when Hornsby made their move with 20 points to 12 to open up an 11-point advantage by intermission.

The Spiders then grew their lead out to 16 points in the second half and would hold out the Hornets from there to end up winning by 13 and open their account on their 14th attempt in the NBL1 East.

Kristina Moore was the star of the evening for Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai in the breakthrough win by delivering 33 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals including shooting 5/14 from three-point territory and 8/13 at the foul line.

Alicia Poto also put up 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, Mizuki Wakamatsu 10 points and seven boards, and Tylah Mundine five points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Taryn Mahoney top-scored for the Hornets with 16 points and five rebounds while knocking down 4/10 of her three-point attempts.

Kelsey Curtin added 11 points, six assists and four rebounds, Maddie Emmett-Duignan eight points and seven boards, and Cassandra Pentney eight points and eight rebounds.

MEN

Bandits produce huge last quarter in win over Comets 

The Albury-Wodonga Bandits produced a massive fourth quarter to go from 13 points down to end up scoring the 104-97 home victory on Saturday night against the Sydney Comets.

Both the Bandits and Comets came into the contest at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre with six wins to their name for the season, and little separated them through the first half.

Albury-Wodonga held a one-point lead by quarter-time before Sydney turned into half-time with a one-point lead of their own.

The Comets then put up 35 points to 23 in the third quarter which saw them lead by 15 points, and to still be on top 83-70 by three quarter-time.

What happened from there was the most spectacular turnaround with the Bandits putting up 34 points to 14 in the fourth quarter to turn that deficit into the eventual seven-point victory.

The win improves Albury-Wodonga to a 7-7 record snapping a two-game losing run while Sydney has now lost five in-a-row at 6-6.

Lochlan Cummings finished up top-scoring for the Bandits as the former two-time championship winning guard from out west put up 27 points while shooting 8/21 from the field, 4/12 from three-point land and 7/7 at the foul line.

Jamir Coleman added 26 points, nine rebounds, fie assists and two steals including making all four of his three-point attempts with Michael Parks delivering 18 points, 167 boards and five blocked shots.

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk played his first game for the Comets in between NBL seasons at the Illawarra Hawks, and he delivered 33 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Johnny Crnogorac added 23 points and nine boards, Archer Woodhill 18 points and seven rebounds, and Julian Revell-Reade six points, three steals and two boards.

In his 2023 NBL1 debut, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk is cooking ?

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Defending champs keep building momentum

The Canberra Gunners continue to build some momentum this NBL1 East season making it three consecutive wins beating the Bankstown Bruins 95-76 away from home.

Both teams came into the contest in winning form but it was Canberra who played some scintillating basketball in the opening period piling on 35 points.

The lead for the Gunners got out to as much as 16 points in the second quarter which is where it was with the 53-37 lead at half-time.

The advantage got out to as much 27 points in the last quarter as well in favour of Canberra before last year's NBL1 East champions claimed the 19-point win.

The victory improves Canberra to 8-4 on the season with three straight wins while the Bruins are now 3-10.

Nikhil Peters top-scored for Canberra with 20 points on 4/6 three-point shooting but he had plenty of support with James Toohey putting up 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Cameron Pender 15 points and nine boards.

Glenn Morison had another 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Gunners with Pietro Badalassi adding 11 points, eight boards, four steals and two assists, and Shaun Mills 10 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Dragan Elkaz finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for Bankstown while hitting 5/6 from beyond the arc with Jack Lopez producing 15 points, six boards, six assists and two steals.

Hayden Blankley also had 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, Josh Shepherd 11 points and four boards, and Kobe Shannon eight points, three rebounds and two assists.

 

Toohey dominates in another big CoE win

The Centre of Excellence had another dominant performance on Saturday night with Alex Toohey starring in the 100-67 victory against the Central Coast Crusaders.

The young guns from Basketball Australia have come into Round 11 in the NBL1 East on top of the standings and were out to maintain the hold on that position up against a Crusaders team who was on a six-game losing run.

It didn’t take long for the Centre of Excellence team to stamp their authority with 28 points to 12 in the opening quarter. Another 28 to 14 in the second period and CoE was heading into the half-time break leading 56-26.

From there, the Centre of Excellence team went on to win by 33 points to improve to a 12-1 record to have won six games straight. Central Coast is now sitting at 3-9 on the season with seven consecutive defeats.

The Gonzaga bound Alex Toohey was the star of the big win again for CoE finishing with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four steals while hitting 10/15 of his shots from the floor.

There were plenty more strong contributors too with Kye Savage finishing with 17 points and four assists, James O'Donnell 15 points and 10 rebounds, Akira Jacobs 10 points, five rebounds and three assists, Emmett Adair 10 points and six boards, and Ben Henshall 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Aaron Lawton ended up top-scoring for Central Coast with 27 points and three steals while hitting 7/12 from beyond the three-point line.

Luke Cassidy also finished with 13 points and four rebounds for the Crusaders, and Tye McGann 11 points, five boards and two blocks.

Another day at the office for Alex Toohey ?

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Mustangs blow Sea Eagles away in second half

The Maitland Mustangs produced a huge second half to blow away the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on the way to the 99-73 victory.

The Mustangs arrived at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday evening on a two-game winning streak while the Sea Eagles had just two wins for the season, but it was a tight contest for the opening half.

Maitland then put up 21 points to 11 in the third quarter, and another 33 to 20 in the fourth to end up winning the game by 26 to improve to 7-6 on the season with three consecutive wins.

The Sea Eagles have now lost consecutive matches again to sit with a 2-12 record.

Fresh off hitting the game winner last Sunday against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders, Will Cranston-Lown was terrific again for Maitland finishing with 20 points while knocking down another 4/6 from three-point territory.

Will Mortimore added 19 points and seven rebounds on 8/11 shooting from the floor with James Hunter contributing 18 points, three boards and three blocks, Billy Parsons 13 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Kevin Warren 12 points, seven assists and six steals.

Matthew Eldridge top-scored for Manly Warringah with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks with Mitch Evans contributing 13 points and six assists, Maxim Nesterov 13 points and five rebounds, and Esiai Majur 11 points and four boards.

Falcons close in on top four spot with win over Bears

The Newcastle Falcons enhanced their top four prospects in the NBL1 East thanks to a strong finish to beat the Norths Bears 73-62 on Saturday night.

Both teams came into the match up at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre on winning streaks as the battle over top four positions intensifies, and it was a tight battle for much of the evening.

No more than seven points separated the two teams over the first three quarters with the Falcons clinging to a narrow 52-49 advantage at three quarter-time.

However, Newcastle blew the game open from there by scoring 11 straight points to open up a 15-point lead and turning that into the 11-point victory.

As a result of the win, the Falcons improve to an 8-4 record on the season with four straight wins while the four-game winning run of the Bears came to an end with them now sitting at 10-3.

Ryan Beisty had another huge say in the result for Newcastle finishing with 18 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots with Myles Cherry contributing 18 points and seven boards on 8/9 shooting from the floor.

Reed Nottage added 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, Matur Maluach 12 points and five boards, and Anthony Gaines six points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Brennan Rymer top-scored for the Bears with 28 points, six steals, four rebounds and two assists.

Michael Golding added 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Nathaniel Musters six points and four boards.

Bryant helps deliver Bulls win over Hawks

An emphatic performance from Chris Bryant helped the inner West Bulls beat the Illawarra Hawks 90-72 on Saturday night to bounce back from a rare loss in the NBL1 East.

The Bulls suffered just their second loss of the season last Saturday to the Canberra Gunners ahead of arriving at The Snakepit on Saturday night to take on a Hawks team also attempting to hit back from a narrow loss to the Centre of Excellence.

For three quarters it was quite the seesaw battle too with the Bulls going on a 13-0 run in the opening quarter to lead by as much as 10 but 10 straight points for the Hawks saw the home team turn things around and grab back the lead in the second quarter.

The swings continued and Inner West took back control in the third period and this time the Bulls remained in charge to end up leading by 18 points in the last term on the way to the eventual 18-point victory.

The result sees the Bulls improve to 11-2 on the season while the Hawks are now 6-7 with the back-to-back defeats.

Chris Bryant was a commanding presence once more for Inner West finishing the evening with 25 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block from 10/15 shooting from the field and 5/6 at the foul line.

Alex Higgins-Titsha added 19 points and nine rebounds, Tony Tolovae 16 points and four boards, Blake Morrow 10 points and seven rebounds, and James MacCann nine points, five assists, four steals and three boards.

Davo Hickey was impressive for the Hawks as he gears up for his NBL24 campaign back in Illawarra by delivering 28 points, four rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks.

Tim Coenraad put up 22 points and three steals as well for the Hawks, Frederick Webb eight points and seven assists, and Noah Pagotto seven points and five rebounds.

Deep Sharks too much for Panthers

The Sutherland Sharks showcased their depth and quality once again on Saturday night beating the Penrith Panthers 92-79.

The Sharks again had at least six players making standout contributions in the eventual win against the Panthers at Sutherland Basketball Stadium.

Sutherland opened up an eight-point lead by the end of the first quarter before stretching that advantage to 13 by half-time, 16 at three quarter-time and then ending up winning by 13.

The victory improves the Sharks to a 10-4 record with three straight wins to remain inside the top four while the Panthers have now lost three in-a-row to be 3-10.

Marquel Beasley finished the night with 22 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals for Sutherland with Jordan Mitchell contributing 18 points and seven assists, and Josh Sheehy 15 points and four boards.

Deng Gak also put up 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Angus Lake 12 points, two boards and two steals, and Geoff Gerlach nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe put up 22 points, five rebounds and two steals on 8/11 field goal shooting for Penrith with Jaedyn Fetui-Fa'amoe producing 11 points and two rebounds, and Preston Matia 10 points, four assists and two boards.

Emphatic bounce back win for the Hornets

After weeks of heartbreaking losses, the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders couldn’t stick with the Hills Hornets on Saturday night who went on to claim the 93-61 victory.

The Hornets saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end last week at the hands of the Sutherland Sharks while the Spiders suffered yet another devastating loss on Sunday losing on the buzzer to the Maitland Mustangs.

That meant Hornsby were still winless coming to Hills Basketball Stadium on Saturday night but eight of those 13 defeats had been by 10 points or fewer, and four of them by either one or two points.

However, it was all the Hornets who were determined to get back to their winning ways and they outscored the Spiders 28 points to 12 in the opening period.

By the fourth quarter, the lead for Hills had blown out to 37 points and they would end up winning by 32 to improve to an 8-5 record as a result. Hornsby is now 0-14 with the defeat.

There were plenty of impressive performers in the win for the Hornets with Mitchell Smith top-scoring with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Shawn Montague added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, Lachlan Charlton 15 points, eight boards, five assists and two steals, Saxon Orsini 10 points and six rebounds, and Campbell Green 10 points and three boards.

Patrick Fraser finished up top-scoring for Hornsby with 23 points, five rebounds and three steals on shooting 4/12 from three-point land.

Shareef Saipaia also had 16 points and three rebounds for the Spiders despite shooting 5/16.