Recap NBL1 East | Anzac Round Saturday

Feature images via: Viesther Rex Bergas | @capturedbyrekz

Lauren Jackson, Lizzy Tonks, Nicole Munger, Leilani Mitchell and Alex Delaney produced match-winning NBL1 East performances while Mason Bragg and Davo Hickey put up triple-doubles for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

The women's Saturday results saw the Canberra Nationals defeat the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 100-78 with the Centre of Excellence beating the Hills Hornets 69-56, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles down the Sydney Comets 87-55, and the Central Coast Crusaders beat the Maitland Mustangs 78-73.

The Albury-Wodonga Bandits also beat the Illawarra Hawks 88-52 and the Newcastle Falcons defeated the Penrith Panthers 80-75.

The men's matches then saw the Canberra Gunners beat the Spiders 90-54 while the Hornets defeated the CoE 77-76, the Sea Eagles downed the Comets 96-73, the Mustangs won 96-70 against the Crusaders, the Bandits defeated the Hawks 113-91, and the Falcons beat the Panthers 80-65.

RECAP NBL1 EAST | ANZAC ROUND FRIDAY

RECAP NBL1 EAST | ROUND 4 ANZAC DAY

WOMEN

Canberra Nationals (100) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (78)

The Canberra Nationals denied the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders consecutive NBL1 East wins with Lizzy Tonks starring in Saturday's 100-78 home victory.

Hornsby snapped their losing slide with a second ever NBL1 East win back on Anzac Day against the Maitland Mustangs before taking on the Nationals at Tuggeranong on Saturday.

Canberra was looking to snap its own three-game losing slide and they delivered a monstrous opening quarter by piling on 35 points to 26 from the Spiders.

With both teams combining for 61 points, it was quite the exciting opening with the Nationals then still leading 56-47 by the half-time break.

The home team were able to push away further in the second half to lead by as much as 18 points in the third frame and then 22 in the fourth to secure the 22-point victory.

The win improves the Nationals to the 2-3 record on the season and snapping a three-game losing slide with Lizzy Tonks the standout with 24 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and two steals on 6/9 three-point shooting.

Callie Bourne added 19 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in the win for Canberra with Bianca Dufelmeier contributing 14 points and five assists, Elise Finney 12 points and six rebounds, and Jasmyn Boutzos nine points and four assists.

Jessie May Hall put in a standout showing despite the loss for the Spiders with 33 points, five rebounds and five steals with Keira Hudson contributing nine points and four assists, and Nicola Sainsbury nine points and three boards.

Canberra is also in action on Sunday at home to the Bankstown Bruins at 3pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. The Spiders host the Sutherland Sharks next Saturday.

CANBERRA NATIONALS 100 (Tonks 24, Bourne 19, Dufelmeier 14)

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 78 (Hall 33, Hudson 9, Sainsbury 9)

Hills Hornets (56) lost to Centre of Excellence (69)

Bonnie Deas starred again as the Centre of Excellence continued their winning form early in the NBL1 East season to beat the Hills Hornets 69-56.

The CoE came into the game at Hills Basketball Stadium having won their past two games following a first up loss to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits with the Hornets looking to snap their own three-game losing run.

The young stars from Basketball Australia got off to the flying start fresh off a Friday night win over the Central Coast Crusaders opening up a 14-point lead thanks to scoring 11 consecutive points in the first quarter.

The Centre of Excellence extended their lead to 18 points in the second quarter and were still leading 40-26 by half-time.

The CoE remained in control throughout the second half too to end up leading by 21 points and then winning by 13 to make it three wins in-a-row to improve to 3-1.

Bonnie Deas once again top-scored in the win for the CoE with 14 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists on 6/11 shooting from the field.

Sienna Harvey added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Monique Bobongie 12 points, nine boards, five assists and four steals, Zara Russell eight points and four rebounds, and Jade Crook seven points and four boards.

The Hornets are now 1-4 with four straight defeats with Hannah Griffin finishing with 12 points, three assists and two rebounds.

Emma Kary also had 12 points and six rebounds, Meg Jefferson 10 points, four boards, two assists and two steals, and Lucy Corke eight points and seven rebounds.

The Hornets will next host the Illawarra Hawks next Saturday with the CoE at home to the Sydney Comets on the same day.

HILLS HORNETS 56 (Griffin 12, Kary 12, Jefferson 10)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 69 (Deas 14, Bobongie 12, Harvey 12)

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (87) defeated Sydney Comets (55)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles kept their unbeaten start to the season going with the 87-55 victory against the Sydney Comets.

The Sea Eagles finished in top spot at the end of the regular season last year before losing the Grand Final to the Norths Bears, and they have opened the 2024 season on a mission to go one step better.

The Sea Eagles were back home on Saturday at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre hosting a Comets team having now lost their past two including against the Bears back on Anzac Day.

It was a tight contest for a lot of the afternoon with scores level at 23-23 at quarter-time before Manly Warringah managed to push out to a 39-34 advantage by half-time.

The Sea Eagles then kept pushing further ahead to open up a 14-point lead in the third quarter and then with 26 points to eight in the final frame they were able to end up winning by 32 to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Alex Delaney continued her hot form to start the new season with 22 points, 17 rebounds and five assists with Zoey Miller adding 17 points, six assists and five boards.

Josie Bulman had a double-double made up of 13 points and 10 rebounds with Antonia Henderson contributing 12 points, five assists and four boards, and Bree Delaney 10 points and four boards.

Davida Dale stuffed the stats sheet once more for Sydney with 15 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals, five blocks and four assists with Piper Anderson adding 14 points, and Janeen Camp 12 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

The Sea Eagles are back home again next Saturday to the Central Coast Crusaders with the Comets away to the Centre of Excellence.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 87 (A Delaney 22, Miller 17, Bulman 13)

SYDNEY COMETS 55 (Dale 15, Anderson 14, Camp 12)

Central Coast Crusaders (78) defeated Maitland Mustangs (73)

It took until overtime but the Central Coast Crusaders eventually got the better of the Maitland Mustangs for the 78-73 victory to bounce back from Friday's loss.

The Crusaders suffered their first loss of the season the previous evening at the hands of the Centre of Excellence ahead of hosting a Mustangs team at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium attempting to hit back from their own loss to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders back on Anzac Day.

It was a close contest throughout the first half until Central Coast finished the half strongly with an 11-0 run to go into the break leading 39-30.

The lead for the Crusaders grew to 11 to start the second half too but the Mustangs were able to claw back into the contest and it took until the final minute, but eventually they were able to draw level.

It was a pair of Sydney Hunter free-throws that brought Maitland level with Central Coast with just over 30 seconds to go and scores would stay at 67-67 by the end of regulation with neither side able to take their chance to break the deadlock.

Then in overtime, the class and experience of the Crusaders came to the fore led by four-time WNBL champion Leilani Mitchell as they outscored the Mustangs 11 points to six to win the game by five and improve to 5-1 on the season.

Mitchell finished the evening with 23 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals for Central Coast with Jasmine Forcadilla contributing 15 points, seven boards and six assists.

Sara Matthews also ended up with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and Mikaela Dombkins 12 points, 12 boards and three assists.

Maitland slips to 3-3 as a result of the overtime defeat with Sydney Hunter top-scoring with 16 points and 10 rebounds with Shakera Reilly contributing 15 points, nine boards, five steals and four assists.

Rachel Williams added 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Isabella Jennings 11 points and seven boards, and Natsumi Kohama 10 points.

The Crusaders are on the road to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles next Saturday with the Mustangs away to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 78 (Mitchell 23, Forcadilla 15, Matthews 13)

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 73 (Hunter 16, Reilly 15, Jennings 11, Williams 11)

Albury-Wodonga Bandits (88) defeated Illawarra Hawks (52)

Every time Lauren Jackson hits the floor she sends a reminder why she's Australia's greatest basketballer and she dominated again in the 88-52 win for the Albury-Wodonga Bandits against the Illawarra Hawks.

The Bandits put their perfect record to start the season on the line at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre on Saturday up against a Hawks team looking to bounce back from a loss to the Sutherland Sharks back on Anzac Day.

Albury-Wodonga were leading at quarter-time but Illawarra had done well to stay within touch in the first half and at the break the Bandits were only leading 42-38.

It was all Albury-Wodonga from there, though, and the Bandits locked in defensively to hold the Hawks to just 14 points the entire second half.

Up the other end, Albury-Wodonga piled on another 46 points and would end up leading by 38 points after scoring 15 consecutive points on the way to the eventual 36-point victory.

The result improves the Bandits to a 6-0 record on the season while the Hawks are now 3-3 with consecutive Anzac Round losses.

In the end it was Lauren Jackson who was the major difference between the two teams. She finished the night with 40 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and two assists on 15/23 shooting from the floor and 10/10 at the free-throw line.

Mikayla Pivec also delivered another 20 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks for Albury-Wodonga with Awatea Leach contributing seven points and three assists, and Emma Mahady seven points, four rebounds and three assists.

Asha Phillips top-scored for Illawarra with 18 points and five rebounds with Emilia Garcia Leon adding nine points, and Ella Dent seven points and five boards.

The Bandits remain at home next Saturday to the Maitland Mustangs with the Hawks away to the Hills Hornets.

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 88 (Jackson 40, Pivec 20, Mahady 7, Leach 7)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 52 (Phillips 18, Garcia Leon 9, Dent 7)

Penrith Panthers (75) lost to Newcastle Falcons (80)

Another huge performance from Nicole Munger saw the Newcastle Falcons hold out the Penrith Panthers and stay undefeated in 2024 with the 80-75 road victory.

The Panthers had opened their account for 2024 with the Friday night win over the Hills Hornets ahead of backing up to host the undefeated Falcons on Saturday at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre.

Newcastle did open up a nine-point lead in the first quarter but by quarter-time Penrith had the deficit back to just three.

It was still just a four-point lead for the Falcons at half-time but the visitors did begin to push further ahead in the second half to lead by as much as 11 points.

They were then able to hold out the Panthers down the stretch for the five-point win to improve to 6-0 on the season with Penrith slipping to 1-5.

Nicole Munger ultimately was the difference between the two teams as she continued her outstanding form to start the season. She delivered 39 points, 15 rebounds and two steals on 13/25 shooting from the field and 10/12 at the free-throw line.

Aarion Nichols contributed 19 points, seven boards, four steals and three assists, Kate Kingham eight points and four rebounds, and Hannah Chicken seven points, three boards and two steals.

Tahlia Tupaea was the hero the previous night in the breakthrough win for Penrith and she had another 26 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Mia Heide also had 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks, and Chloe Williams 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

The Panthers remain home next Saturday to Canberra with Newcastle hosting the Bankstown Bruins.

PENRITH PANTHERS 75 (Tupaea 26, Heide 20, Williams 12)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 80 (Munger 39, Nichols 19, Kingham 8)

 

MEN

Canberra Gunners (90) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (54)

The Canberra Gunners proved too strong at home for the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders at home on Saturday night ending up winning 90-54.

The 2022 NBL1 East champions came into the game at Tuggeranong having won three of their four matches so far this season ahead of hosting the winless Spiders.

It didn’t take long for Canberra to take control leading by as much as eight points in the opening quarter before extending that advantage to 15 in the second term before the Gunners went into half-time leading 40-25.

Canberra continued to build the lead going out to a 32-point advantage in the third frame and then 38 in the fourth before winning by 36 even with Hornsby going on an 11-0 scoring run.

The Gunners improve to a 4-1 record with the win with Glenn Morison putting up 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots on 8/12 field goal shooting.

Austin Clarke also contributed 16 points, four rebounds and two assists with Will Mayfield adding 14 points, eight boards and five steals, and Lachlan Smith 13 points, four steals and three rebounds.

Nathaniel Chappell scored nine points for Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai to go with seven rebounds and two assists with Brian Ansuh-Yeboah eight points, six boards and two steals, and Kingsley Gyesi-Bisah seven points and three rebounds.

Canberra is also in action on Sunday at home to the Bankstown Bruins at 1pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. The Spiders host the Sutherland Sharks next Saturday.

CANBERRA GUNNERS 90 (Morison 20, Clarke 16, Mayfield 14)

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 54 (Chappell 9, Sidhu 8, Ansuh-Yeboah 8)

Hills Hornets (77) defeated Centre of Excellence (76)

The Hills Hornets held on thanks to a missed Luke Fennell layup on the buzzer for the Centre of Excellence for the 77-76 dramatic home victory.

The Hornets were back home at Hills Basketball Stadium having won their past two matches ahead of hosting the Centre of Excellence looking to hit back from a Friday night loss to the Central Coast Crusaders.

The CoE raced out to a 10-point lead early in the game but the Hornets fired back with a 10-0 run to go into quarter-time on top 25-22.

The momentum swings continued with both teams having time in the lead in the second period before the Centre of Excellence went into half-time leading 42-37.

The lead for the Basketball Australia young guns grew back out to 10 points in the third frame but again the Hornets hit back and it was a game destined to go down to the wire.

Hills went out to a six-point lead with just under three minutes to go when Jamie Munro hit a jumper but Luke Fennell responded with a three-pointer to bring it back to a three-point ball game.

With just under a minute to go it was Ishmael Sanders who hit from downtown to give the Hornets a four-point advantage once more but Josh Dent then responded with 18 seconds to go from deep for the CoE to make it a one-point game again.

Rather than foul, the CoE were able to force a turnover from the Hornets to give them the chance to snatch it at the death.

Fennell got a great look driving to the basket too but his layup attempt just happened to bounce out and the buzzer went with the Hornets holding on for the one-point win.

Chris Bryant produced another standout performance for the Hornets with 26 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks with Ishmael Sanders delivering another 22 points, five boards and three assists on 5/14 three-point shooting.

Liam Moss added 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Jamie Munro nine points, four boards and three steals.

Josh Dent ended up with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Centre of Excellence with James O'Donnell adding 18 points, six boards and three blocked shots, and Luke Fennell 13 points and four assists.

The Hornets will next host the Illawarra Hawks next Saturday with the CoE at home to the Sydney Comets on the same day.

HILLS HORNETS 77 (Bryant 26, Sanders 22, Moss 11)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 76 (Dent 20, O'Donnell 18, Fennell 13)

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (96) defeated Sydney Comets (73)

A monstrous triple-double from former NBL point guard Mason Bragg has led Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to the supremely impressive 96-73 win over the Sydney Comets.

Both teams came into the Saturday night contest at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre looking for the bounce back victory, and by quarter-time Manly Warringah had managed to open up a six-point advantage.

The lead for the Sea Eagles got out to 10 points in the second period but Sydney stayed in touch going into half-time to cut Manly Warringah's lead to 46-44.

It might have been a two-point ball game at half-time but the Sea Eagles dominated the second half outscoring the Comets 50 points to 29 to end up scoring the 23-point victory to improve to a 2-1 record on the season.

Mason Bragg was the star of the victory and not only did he have a triple-double for the Sea Eagles, but it was a massive one where he finished the evening with 24 points, 16 assists and 13 rebounds in his 33 minutes of court time.

Jonas Harper added 21 points and four steals, Matthew Eldridge 19 points, 11 boards, three blocks and two assists with Stefan Valkovic producing seven points, three rebounds and three blocked shots.

Obi Kyei continued his good form for the Comets despite the loss and finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals with Chol Adup adding 17 points and three boards, and Anthony Mundine III nine points and two rebounds.

The Sea Eagles are back home again next Saturday to the Central Coast Crusaders with the Comets away to the Centre of Excellence.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 96 (Bragg 24, Harper 21, Eldridge 19)

SYDNEY COMETS 73 (Kyei 20, Adup 17, Mundine 9)

Central Coast Crusaders (70) lost to Maitland Mustangs (96)

The Maitland Mustangs dominated the Central Coast Crusaders in the second half to keep their undefeated run going with the 96-70 victory.

The Mustangs arrived at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium as the lone undefeated team left in the NBL1 East this season with the Crusaders having also been impressive to date with three wins from the opening five matches.

Maitland put its unbeaten record on the line and raced to a 12-point lead in the first quarter away from home, but Central Coast did hang around for the first half cutting the deficit to four by the main break.

The Mustangs pulled away the longer the game went, though, with 28 points to 13 in the third quarter, and 21 to 14 in the fourth to lead by as much as 26 points on the way to winning by that margin.

The win means Maitland remains undefeated at 6-0 on the season with Central Coast now 3-3 with the defeat.

The were plenty of strong contributors in the win for the Mustangs with Christian Little delivering 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

James Hunter added 17 points and four rebounds, Billy Parsons 13 points and 12 boards, and Will Cranston-Lown 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Robbie Heath continued his terrific form for Central Coast with another 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists with 12/13 shooting at the foul line, but he didn’t get enough help on the night.

The Crusaders are on the road to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles next Saturday with the Mustangs away to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 70 (Heath 30, Wardlow 8, Nai 7, Trustum 7)

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 96 (Little 19, Hunter 17, Parsons 13)

Albury-Wodonga Bandits (113) defeated Illawarra Hawks (91)

The Illawarra Hawks were able to put in a more competitive showing but with Davo Hickey delivering a triple-double against his old side, the Albury-Wodonga Bandits prevailed 113-91.

The Hawks arrived at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre having lost all five of their matches this season including the last two against the Inner West Bulls and Sutherland Sharks by a combined 107 points.

That included the 38-point loss at home on Friday night before making the trip to face Albury-Wodonga who came into the contest on their home floor on a four-game winning streak.

Even though the Bandits opened up a 10-point lead in the first quarter and were still leading 32-26 at quarter-time, the Hawks were focused on putting in a stronger performance and even grabbed the lead briefly in the second term.

However, Albury-Wodonga responded to go into the half-time break leading 58-44.

The lead then continued to grow in the second half for the Bandits getting out to as much as 19 points in the third term, and 34 in the fourth on the back of scoring 20 straight points.

Albury-Wodonga went on to win by 22 and improve to a 5-1 record on the season with five straight wins while the Hawks slip to 0-6.

Davo Hickey was playing against his former NBL1 team and put up a triple-double for the Bandits consisting of 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists on 8/15 shooting from the floor.

Kevin Blaylock added 24 points and 12 rebounds on 9/11 shooting with Shawn Montague contributing 25 points, four boards and three steals, Mitchell Dance 14 points and four rebounds, and Lochlan Cummings 12 points, four assists and three boards.

There were encouraging signs from the Hawks with Brad Ballinger delivering 18 points and eight rebounds with Riley Abercrombie adding 18 points, seven boards and three steals, Philip Dopud 13 points and nine rebounds, and Ethan-James Laudato 14 points, eight boards and five assists.

The Bandits remain at home next Saturday to the Maitland Mustangs with the Hawks away to the Hills Hornets.

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 113 (Montague 25, Blaylock 24, Hickey 21)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 91 (Abercrombie 18, Ballinger 18, Laudato 14)

Penrith Panthers (65) lost to Newcastle Falcons (80)

The Penrith Panthers might have started strongly but the Newcastle Falcons soon overpowered them on the way to the 80-65 road victory.

Both teams came into the contest on Saturday at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre with identical 1-4 records and needing a morale boosting victory.

It was the Panthers who made the first break leading by 10 points in the first term but once Newcastle worked back into the contest the rest of the first half was a tight affair with Penrith up two at quarter-time, and one at half-time.

Newcastle then took charge in the second half going on a 9-0 scoring run in the third frame to open up an 11-point lead, which grew to 21 points in the final term before the Falcons scored the 15-point road victory.

Ryan Beisty finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals in the win for Newcastle on the back of shooting 7/9 from the field.

Francis Wineera-Mulvihill added 14 points, three rebounds and two assists, Myles Cherry 13 points, 11 boards and four steals, Jaidyn Goodwin nine points, five rebounds and five assists, and Jai Smith nine points and five boards.

Brodie Schwarzer top-scored for Penrith with 18 points with 6/11 three-point shooting while Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe contributed 12 points and six rebounds, and Ben Kearins 11 points, four assists, three boards and two steals.

The Panthers remain home next Saturday to Canberra with Newcastle hosting the Bankstown Bruins.

PENRITH PANTHERS 65 (Schwarzer 18, Fetui-Fa'amoe 12, Kearins 11)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 80 (Beisty 18, Wineera-Mulvihill 14, Cherry 13)