NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Round 3

It was another big Saturday of action across the NBL1 East competition as Round 3 got underway with terrific contests in both the women's and men's contests.

Across the women's competition on Saturday, the Bankstown Bruins defeated the Illawarra Hawks 78-70, the Centre of Excellence beat the Penrith Panthers 88-81, and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles downed the Central Coast Crusaders 88-79.

The Albury-Wodonga Bandits also defeated the Hills Hornets 101-53, the Newcastle Falcons beat the Canberra Nationals 61-52, the Sutherland Sharks won big 88-68 over the Inner West Bulls, and the Sydney Comets hammered Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 109-53.

Then in the men's action, the Hawks beat the Bruins 86-67, the Centre of Excellence thrashed Penrith 110-37, the Sea Eagles defeated the Crusaders 82-73, the Bandits downed the Hornets 80-70, the Bulls beat the Sharks 94-85, Newcastle defeated Canberra 81-72 and the Comets won big 88-56 against the Spiders.

WOMEN
Bruins overpower Hawks for first win of 2023
Little separated the two winless teams throughout the contest at Bankstown Basketball Stadium but the Bankstown Bruins finished the better to defeat the Illawarra Hawks 78-70.

Bankstown had to overcome a six-point deficit at the half-time break, but the Bruins outscored the Hawks 47 points to 33 in the second half to secure the eight-point home win to open their account for 2023.

Britney Wright finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for Bankstown with Kiahna Davis-White adding 16 points and seven boards, Shalome Dunlop 17 points and five rebounds, and Brianna Maimone 13 points, seven boards and five steals.

Ella Dent top-scored for Illawarra with 22 points, seven rebounds and seven steals while Chelsea Hogg contributed 15 points and Lauren Gatwood 10 to go with seven steals and four rebounds.

Ella Dent has come out of the locker room on ?

What a start to tip-off tonight's Saturday Night #NBL1 action!

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CoE young guns prevail despite 45 points from Tupaea
The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence stars of the future put in another impressive showing to beat the Penrith Panthers 88-81 at AIS Basketball and Netball Centre despite a huge game from Tahlia Tupaea.

The CoE team built up an impressive first half lead going into the main break leading 46-30 before holding out Penrith in the finish for the seven-point victory.

The Dave Herbert coached Centre of Excellence team received 26 points, four rebounds and four assists from daughter-of-a-legend Jess Petrie with Jayda Clark also adding 16 points and six assists.

Sienna Harvey added 12 points and five assists, Isla Juffermans 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks, Monique Bobongie 10 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Summah Hanson eight points and six boards.

Tupaea put in a phenomenal performance for Penrith with 45 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Meg Jefferson added 24 points and 13 boards.

Tahlia Tupaea is UNSTOPPABLE??

4??5?? Points
6?? Rebounds
4?? Assists
4?? Steals

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Sea Eagles deliver big finish to overrun Crusaders
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles had to come from behind but produced a huge fourth quarter to end up beating the Central Coast Crusaders 88-79 at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.

Manly-Warringah started well on their home court but Central Coast worked their way on top to be leading 66-63 by three quarter-time. However, the Sea Eagles put up 25 points to 13 in the fourth quarter to secure the nine-point win.

Alex Delaney finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Sea Eagles with Antonia Henderson delivering 16 points and six boards, Felicity Henderson 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, Kim Hodge 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks, and Zoey Miller 12 points and six boards.

 

Reigning champs continue winning run
The defending NBL1 East champion Albury-Wodonga Bandits had another strong win at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre, defeating the Hills Hornets 101-53.

Despite not having the stars of their championship, Lauren Jackson and Unique Thompson, and only suiting up eight players, the Bandits were too strong at home for the Hornets including a 36-point second quarter.

Brodie-Paige Theodore led the charge for Albury-Wodonga with 26 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals while hitting 5/6 from three-point land.

Emma Mahady added 23 points and eight rebounds and Elizabeth Murphy 21 points and eight boards.

Taryn Mahoney top-scored for the Hornets with 18 points and five rebounds.

Brodie-Paige Theodore on the ? from LONG RANGE ?

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Falcons hold out Nationals in second half grind
The Newcastle Falcons held off the Canberra Nationals for the 61-52 win at Newcastle Basketball Stadium with scoring really drying up in the second half.

It was a tight opening half with Canberra leading 36-35 at the main break, but the Nationals managed just the six points in the third quarter. Newcastle then also scored just six in the fourth themselves but held on for the nine-point home win.

Nicole Munger finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Falcons while Abigail Curtin contributed 14 points and six boards, and Alison Ebzery nine points and six rebounds.

Lizzy Tonks top-scored for Canberra with 21 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists with Abbie Ketels adding six points and 15 rebounds.

 

Garland inspires Sharks to keep Bulls winless
The Sutherland Sharks proved too strong for the winless Inner West Bulls, winning 88-68 at Sutherland Basketball Stadium.

It was a tight affair at half-time and Inner West were even leading 44-43 at the break, but Sutherland dominated the second half outscoring the Bulls 45 points to 24 to win by 20.

Emily Garland was the star for the Sharks with 31 points and eight rebounds on 13/17 shooting from the field and 4/5 from three-point range.

Olivia White added 17 points, five rebounds and five steals, Madeleine Norris 14 points, eight boards and eight assists, and Jordyn Dewhurst 13 points and six assists.

Mikaela Dombkins top-scored for Inner West with 27 points and 10 rebounds with Leiliana Mitchell adding 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Shiho Yamazaki 10 points, six boards and four assists, and Maja Peric 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

Panousis helps keep Comets undefeated to start season
The Sydney Comets continued their unbeaten start to the season and kept the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders winless with the 109-53 win at Cornets Stadium.

It was a dominant performance from the Comets with 33 points to nine in the opening quarter to set the tone for the eventual 56-point win where they nailed 13/31 from downtown.

Fresh off her WNBL season at the Sydney Flames, Vanessa Panousis was brilliant with 37 points and 10 assists including draining 7/14 from three-point land and 15/26 overall from the field.

Piper Anderson added 16 points, Dru Tolieafoa 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jade Crawshaw 13 points, nine boards, four blocks and three steals.

Keira Hudson finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Hornsby and Tylah Mundine 10 points and six boards. 

 

MEN
Fast start and Hawks get it done over Bruins
The Illawarra Hawks made a fast start to set up an eventual 86-67 road win against the Bankstown Bruins at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.

Illawarra put up 31 points in the opening quarter and that set the tone for the eventual 19-point win for the visitors with NBL guard Davo Hickey ending the evening with 16 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Former NBL veteran Lucas Walker added 14 points and six rebounds, Noah Pagotto 13 points and three boards, and Harry Morris 10 points and six rebounds.

Jack Lopez top-scored for Bankstown with 14 points and six rebounds with Dragan Elkaz contributing 12 points, and Josh Shephard 11 points and 11 rebounds.

 

Centre of Excellence stay undefeated with thumping win
The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence have continued their unbeaten start to the NBL1 East season, beating the Penrith Panthers in thumping fashion 110-37 at the AIS Basketball and Netball Centre.

The CoE young guns put up 35 points in the opening quarter to put the result beyond doubt from the outset before another 30 points to six in the fourth period to end up winning by 73 points.

They shot a phenomenal 64.2 per cent from the field for the game including knocking down 11/23 from three-point range with Akira Jacobs hitting 3/4 on his way to 13 points and seven rebounds.

Josh Hughes added 15 points and nine rebounds, Rocco Zikarsky 15 points and eight boards, Dragos Lungu 12 points and seven rebounds, James O'Donnell 12 points and five boards, and Luke Fennell 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe top-scored for Penrith with nine points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Rocco Zikarsky powering his way to another SLAM ?

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Sea Eagles record first win of 2023 season
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles have opened their account for 2023 beating the Central Coast Crusaders 82-73 at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.

It was a tight affair most of the way but the Sea Eagles did outscore the Crusaders 21 points to 14 in the first quarter, and that ultimately proved the difference in the nine-point home win.

Maxim Nesterov was one of several stars in the win for Manly-Warringah with 23 points and four rebounds while connecting on 4/9 from three-point range.

Noah Thomas hit 4/7 on his way to 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals with Mitch Evans contributing 11 points and five boards.

Luke Cassidy top-scored for Central Coast with 22 points, five rebounds and four steals while James Trustum ended up with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Aaron Redhead 14 points, four boards and three blocks.

 

Bandits pull out home win over the Hornets
The Albury-Wodonga Bandits pulled out a hard earned 80-70 win over the Hills Hornets at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre.

Not much separated the two teams but a 29-point to 21 second quarter ultimately put the Bandits on top at half-time and they were able to convert that into the 10-point win.

Jamir Coleman delivered 30 points and 11 rebounds for Albury-Wodonga with Michael Parks adding 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Shaquille Maharaj 16 points and eight boards.

Ben Kearins ended up with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Hornets while Shawn Montague contributed 13 points and 15 boards, and Liam Moss 13 points.

Michael Parks met him at the summit!?

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Falcons prevail on the back of strong start, finish at home
The Newcastle Falcons started strongly and then finished the better to beat the Canberra Gunners 81-72 at Newcastle Basketball Stadium.

Newcastle outscored Canberra 25 points to 19 in the opening quarter and then finished with 27 to 21 in the fourth for the eventual six-point win over the defending NBL1 East champions.

Myles Cherry ended up top-scoring in the win for the Falcons with 19 points and 12 rebounds with Ryan Beisty adding 16 points, 11 boards, eight assists and five steals in a spectacular all-round showing.

Glenn Morison delivered 17 points and six rebounds for Canberra with Nikhil Peters adding 15 points.

 

Bulls too strong in the finish on the road to Sharks
The Inner West Bulls finished strongly to overcome the Sutherland Sharks on the road and win 94-85 at Sutherland Basketball Stadium.

The game was up for grabs heading into the fourth quarter with the Bulls leading by just the three points, but they outscored the Sharks 22 points to 16 in the last period to win by nine.

Tony Tolovae put up 24 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls with Blake Morrow contributing 23 points and four assists, Chris Bryant 16 points and 10 boards, and Alex Higgins-Titsha 11 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks.

Lochlan Hutchison top-scored for Sutherland with 24 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

 

Comets hammer Spiders at home
Two of the NBL1 East's new teams locked horns at Comets Stadium with the Sydney Comets defeating the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 88-56.

The Comets proved too strong on their home court winning by 32 points including outscoring the Spiders 47 points to 20 in the second half.

Ilisia Washington put up 17 points and seven rebounds for Sydney with Johnny Crnogorac adding 17 points and 10 boards, Isaac Ayoubi 16 points and three steals, and Isaiah Oste-Pinder 11 points and four rebounds. 

Shareef Saipaia finished with 20 points, four rebounds and three steals, and Tom Gillis 12 points and four boards.