Recap NBL1 East | Round 6 Sunday

Feature images via: Dan Bennett

Sunday's NBL1 East action saw Lauren Jackson and Davo Hickey again star for Albury-Wodonga Bandits while the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles handed the Newcastle Falcons women a first loss, and Janeen Camp had a huge 20-20 game for Sydney Comets.

Sunday's women's NBL1 East results saw the Albury-Wodonga Bandits beat the Penrith Panthers 117-59 while the Sydney Comets defeated the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 84-65, Norths Bears downed the Illawarra Hawks 67-58, the Centre of Excellence won 83-46 against the Inner West Bulls, and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles beat the Newcastle Falcons 78-73.

Then in the men's match ups, the Falcons beat the Sea Eagles 68-66, the Bandits defeated the Panthers 109-94, the Comets won 75-71 against the Spiders, the Bears downed the Hawks 87-71, and the Centre of Excellence beat the Bulls 88-78.

RECAP NBL1 EAST | ROUND 6 SATURDAY

WOMEN

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (65) lost to Sydney Comets (84)

A monster 20-point, 23-rebound game from Janeen Camp has led the Sydney Comets to the 84-65 road victory against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

The Spiders were back home at The Brickpit looking for a second win of the season still and to rebound from a loss the previous night to the Illawarra Hawks by 25 points.

Coming up against them was a Comets team looking to hit back from losing the night before to the Sutherland Sharks as well by 14 points and hunting a third win of 2024.

Hornsby made an impressive start on their home floor too opening up an early nine-point advantage but Sydney responded to that with a 10-0 scoring run and that saw the Comets leading 27-25 by quarter-time.

The Comets were still clinging to the 46-40 lead at half-time with the game still up for grabs, but Sydney then put their foot down throughout the second half.

The Comets outscored the Spiders 24 points to 15 in the third frame, and then 14 to 10 in the fourth to end up leading by as much as 21 points before they went on to score the 19-point victory.

The win improves Sydney to a 3-6 record on the season with Janeen Camp a dominant force finishing the afternoon with 20 points, 23 rebounds and shooting 9/20 from the field.

Piper Anderson added 14 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists with Dylan-Jada Alexander contributing 12 points and two boards, Davida Dale 11 points, nine steals, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Alex Kayrouz 10 points, five boards, four assists and two steals.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai is now 1-9 on the season with six straight defeats with Dalla Walker finishing with 15 points, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals while Ay'Anna Bey had 14 points and nine boards, and Jessie May Hall 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.

The Spiders are on the road now on Saturday against the Norths Bears while the Comets play host to the Bankstown Bruins.

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 65 (Walker 15, Bey 14, Hall 12)

SYDNEY COMETS 84 (Camp 20, Anderson 14, Alexander 12)

Illawarra Hawks (58) lost to Norths Bears (67)

The defending NBL1 East champion Norths Bears kept their winning run going on Sunday beating the Illawarra Hawks 67-58 on the road.

The Bears arrived at The Snakepit having made a strong start to their championship defence on a five-game winning streak with the Hawks looking to make a statement too and improve on a 4-4 start.

Norths started well and were already leading by six at quarter-time and remained in front the rest of the afternoon, but to the Hawks' credit, they never stopped attempting to mount a fightback and kept the Bears honest.

The lead for Norths got out to nine points in the second quarter and 23 in the third, and they were still up by 21 in the fourth, but the Hawks did keep on fighting and scoring 14 straight points sent a shiver into the reigning champs.

However, the Bears held firm to end up winning by nine to improve to 8-1 on the season with Maddie O'Hehir leading the charge once again with 18 points and three rebounds on 5/7 shooting from the floor, 2/2 from three-point range and 6/8 at the foul line.

Carla Pitman added 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals with Emily Simons contributing 17 points, five steals and three boards, and Caitlyn Martin seven points.

The Hawks slip to 4-5 with the defeat despite getting 15 points, two rebounds and two blocks from Emilia Garcia Leon.

Asha Phillips also had 10 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists while Ella Dent contributed nine points and three boards, and Georgia Ohrdorf eight points, 12 rebounds and three steals.

The Hawks are back on the road to take on the Inner West Bulls on Saturday with the Bears to play host to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 58 (Garcia Leon 15, Phillips 10, Dent 9)

NORTHS BEARS 67 (O'Hehir 18, Simons 17, Pitman 12)

Inner West Bulls (46) lost to Centre of Excellence (83)

With Jade Crook and Monique Bobongie outstanding, the Centre of Excellence proved too strong for the Inner West Bulls with the 83-46 victory.

The Bulls were back home at Auburn Basketball Centre to take on the Centre of Excellence and looking for a second win of the season while the Basketball Australia young guns were looking to snap a three-game losing slide.

That meant both teams needed a win coming into the contest and already during the first quarter the CoE took control to lead by 14 points and they never looked back from there.

The Centre of Excellence would open up a 30-point lead during the second period which grew to 32 points in the third and 39 in the fourth before they secured the 37-point victory.

The CoE ended up shooting 49 per cent from the field for the game opposed to the 29 per cent for Inner West while also pulling down 53 rebounds to 34 including 14 to 10 at the offensive end.

The win improves the Centre of Excellence to a 4-4 record on the season with Jade Crook top-scoring with 25 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals on shooting 12/19 from the field.

Monique Bobongie continued her strong form as well with 21 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four blocks with Zara Russell contributing 14 points, four boards and three assists, and Sarah Portlock nine points and six rebounds.

Inner West remains in bottom place at 1-9 with a sixth consecutive defeat with Piath Gabriel top-scoring with 14 points and seven rebounds while Bridie White added 12 points and two boards.

The Bulls play host to the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday with the Centre of Excellence playing on the road to the Sutherland Sharks.

INNER WEST BULLS 46 (Gabriel 14, White 12, Kemp 5, Yamazaki 5)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 83 (Crook 25, Bobongie 21, Russell 14)

Newcastle Falcons (73) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (78)

It always promised to be a terrific match up in the battle of undefeated teams and it certainly delivered and was decided at the death where the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles prevailed 78-73 against the Newcastle Falcons.

When both teams arrived at Newcastle Basketball Stadium, they had a combined 14-0 record so far this season with Newcastle looking to put themselves in the title race in 2024 and the Sea Eagles fired up to make up for last year's Grand Final defeat.

On their home floor, Newcastle opened up a five-point lead in the opening quarter and then that got out to nine in the second, and the Falcons went into half-time on top 43-37.

The lead for Newcastle got out to as much as 13 points in the third quarter as well and the Falcons were still up 12 in the fourth frame with nine minutes to play after reigning MVP Nicole Munger dropped a three ball.

The Sea Eagles had only 48 points on the board and were trailing by 12 with nine minutes to play, but they took charge of the rest of the contest and put in a remarkable finish highlighting their firepower.

Manly Warringah outscored Newcastle 30 points to 13 over those final minutes to turn the game on its head and to secure the five-point victory and to stay undefeated in 2024 as a result with a 7-0 record.

Josie Bulman delivered 19 points, four rebounds and four steals for Manly Warringah with Zoey Miller contributing 16 points and seven boards, Alex Delaney 15 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, and Antonia Henderson 11 points and three boards.

Newcastle suffered its first loss of 2024 to now be 8-1 by the end of Round 6 with Nicole Munger producing another 32 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Isla Juffermans also had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Hannah Chicken 11 points, two assists and two steals, and Aarion Nichols four points, 10 rebounds, six steals and two assists.

The Falcons remain at home to the Central Coast Crusaders on Saturday evening with the Sea Eagles hosting the Hills Hornets.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 73 (Munger 32, Juffermans 17, Chicken 11)

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 78 (Bulman 19, Miller 16, A Delaney 15)

Penrith Panthers (59) lost to Albury-Wodonga Bandits (117)

Yet another unstoppable display from Lauren Jackson has kept the Albury-Wodonga Bandits undefeated this season with the 117-59 road victory over the Penrith Panthers.

The Bandits arrived at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre on Sunday in what was a homecoming for Jackson as she attempted to keep her remarkable form rolling, and to maintain Albury-Wodonga's undefeated start to the season.

Penrith came into the match up with two wins from eight games so far in 2024 including a loss to the defending champion North Bears on Saturday, and they had their work cut out against the Bandits.

Albury-Wodonga wasted no time taking control of the contest with 32 points to eight in the first quarter on the back of an 18-0 scoring run.

The Bandits continued to build on that lead as well with it getting out to as much as 29 points in the second quarter, 44 in the third and 58 in the fourth with them going on to score the win by that 58-point margin to improve to a perfect 9-0 on the season.

Lauren Jackson was remarkable once again and proved unstoppable for Albury-Wodonga finishing with 37 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots on 13/21 shooting from the floor, 3/7 from downtown and 8/8 at the foul line.

Ash Hannan also found some form and added 21 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in the win for the Bandits while Mikayla Pivec produced 20 points, 11 assists and eight boards, Claudia Hocking 14 points and three assists, and Awatea Leach 12 points, three assists and two rebounds.

The Panthers slip to 2-7 on the season with the loss with Mia Heide putting up 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Tahlia Tupaea had another 16 points, five assists and three rebounds with Chloe Williams contributing 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.

The Panthers are next in action on Saturday away to the Maitland Mustangs while the Bandits remain on the road to Canberra on Saturday evening.

PENRITH PANTHERS 59 (Heide 20, Tupaea 16, Williams 12)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 117 (Jackson 37, Hannan 21, Pivec 20)

MEN

Penrith Panthers (94) lost to Albury-Wodonga Bandits (109)

Davo Hickey delivered another standout performance with help from Mitch Dance to lead the Albury-Wodonga Bandits to the 109-94 road win over the Penrith Panthers.

The Panthers were back home at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre on Sunday looking to snap their four-game losing slide but it was never going to be easy up against a Bandits team fresh off a big win against the Bankstown Bruins the previous evening.

It turned out to be a terrific contest for three quarters as well and by quarter-time it was Albury-Wodonga clinging to the 26-22 advantage.

Penrith then delivered a strong second period with 32 points to 26 and that saw the home team go into the half-time break leading 54-51.

That set the stage for a big second half and things remained tight in the third period, and by three quarter-time scores were all locked up.

The game was up for grabs and it was the Bandits who stood up in the final period with 30 points to 15 which saw them secure the 15-point victory and improve to 7-2 on the season as a result.

Illawarra Hawks NBL guard Davo Hickey continued his scintillating form for Albury-Wodonga with another 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists on 9/13 shooting from the field and 11/14 from the foul line.

He got plenty of help too with Mitch Dance producing 28 points, five rebounds and five assists, Kevion Blaylock 20 points, five boards and three assists, and Jacob Cincurak 15 points and four rebounds.

Penrith did plenty right throughout the afternoon but are now 1-8 following the loss with Brodie Schwarzer top-scoring with 24 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds on 5/9 three-point shooting.

Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe added 20 points and six rebounds, Jaedyn Fetui-Fa'amoe 15 points, three boards and two assists, and Ryan Peterson 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.

The Panthers are next in action on Saturday away to the Maitland Mustangs while the Bandits remain on the road to Canberra on Saturday evening.

PENRITH PANTHERS 94 (Schwarzer 24, C Fetui-Fa'amoe 20, J Fetui-Fa'amoe 20 15)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 109 (Hickey 31, Dance 28, Blaylock 20)

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (71) lost to Sydney Comets (75)

The Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders went ever so close to a first win of the season but the Sydney Comets put up a big second half to escape with the 75-71 victory.

The Spiders were back home at The Brickpit still hunting a first win of the 2024 season including a loss on Saturday to the also winless Illawarra Hawks by 10 points on Saturday.

The Comets arrived having beaten the defending champion Sutherland Sharks the night before by 20 points so they had the momentum from that, but it was Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai who started the game the better.

The Spiders went on a 14-0 scoring run to turn a two-point deficit into a 12-point lead, and they were still on top 24-13 by quarter-time.

The home team would see their lead grow to 16 points as well in the second period before still being on top 41-28 at the half-time break.

The Comets needed to respond coming out of the half if they wanted to avoid going from beating the reigning champs to losing to the bottom team in the same weekend, and Sydney came out on fire in the third quarter.

The Comets would end up outscoring the Spiders 30 points to 11 in the third quarter including scoring 15 straight points, and from there they held out the home team in the finish for the narrow four-point victory.

The win improves Sydney to a 5-4 record on the season with Anthony Mundine backing up his huge game the previous night with another 16 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Matthew Wacher added 15 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals, Ben White 14 points and 10 boards, Ernest Docker 11 points, three steals, three rebounds and two assists, and Christian Aukuso 11 points, eight boards and two blocked shots.

Steven Hall top-scored for Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds with Isaiah Walter adding 11 points and four assists, and Aaron Redhead nine points, nine rebounds and three assists.

The Spiders are on the road now on Saturday against the Norths Bears while the Comets play host to the Bankstown Bruins.

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 71 (Hall 14, Walter 11, Redhead 9)

SYDNEY COMETS 75 (Mundine 16, Wacher 15, White 14)

Illawarra Hawks (71) lost to Norths Bears (87)

The Norths Bears denied the Illawarra Hawks the chance to make it back-to-back wins with the 87-71 win on the road on Sunday afternoon.

The Hawks had opened their account for the 2024 season by beating the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders the previous evening as they were back home at The Snakepit to take on the Bears on Sunday.

The Bears came into the contest after also beating the Penrith Panthers on Saturday and kept that momentum going on Sunday scoring 13 straight points in the first quarter to open up a 16-point lead against the Hawks.

The lead continued to grow through the second period too for the Bears and it got to as much as 22 points with Norths still leading 43-31 at the half-time interval.

The Bears pushed their lead back out beyond 20 in the second half and just as it threatened to get ugly, the Hawks did manage to score 11 straight points to keep things interesting.

But Norths remained in control and went on to score the 16-point victory to improve to a 5-4 record on the season with Nathaniel Musters putting up 17 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Robert Moore added 13 points and two rebounds, Mandrell Worthy 13 points, four boards and three assists, Pietro Badalassi 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, Lewis Holey 10 points and 16 boards, and Michael Yoong eight points, 13 assists and five rebounds.

The Hawks slip to 1-8 on the season with the defeat with Matthew Frierson impressing with 28 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals on 8/16 three-point shooting.

Riley Abercrombie also had 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and Brad Ballinger 10 points and six boards.

The Hawks are back on the road to take on the Inner West Bulls on Saturday with the Bears to play host to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 71 (Frierson 28, Abercrombie 23, Ballinger 10)

NORTHS BEARS 87 (Musters 17, Moore 13, Worthy 13)

Inner West Bulls (78) lost to Centre of Excellence (88)

The Centre of Excellence proved too strong on the road for the Inner West Bulls to prevail 88-78 and make it four wins in-a-row.

The Bulls were back home at Auburn Basketball Centre arriving attempting to hit back from their second loss of the season the night before from the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

The Centre of Excellence also arrived on a three-game winning run including the night before against the Newcastle Falcons to set the stage for the Sunday match up.

It was a tight contest right throughout the first half with no more than six points separating the two teams and that was the Bulls opening up that gap in the first quarter.

But by quarter-time it was the CoE leading 18-17 and then Inner West was narrowly leading 41-38 by half-time.

Coming out of the break and it was all the Basketball Australia young guns as they blew the Bulls away with 26 points to 10 in the third quarter.

That saw the CoE open up a lead as big as 21 points in the final frame on the way to the eventual 10-point victory to improve to a 5-3 record on a four-game winning streak.

There was a lot to like from the CoE once again in their all-round team performance with Julius Halaifonua top-scoring with 17 points and five rebounds on perfect 7/7 shooting.

Kye Savage added 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals with James O'Donnell contributing 12 points and 11 boards, Jacob Furphy 10 points and four assists, and Emmett Adair 10 points and three rebounds.

The Bulls are now 7-3 with the double loss weekend having entered Round 6 on a six-game winning streak.

Alex Higgins-Titsha put up another 23 points, six rebounds and three assists for Inner West with Jacob Ohmer adding 17 points and six boards, Zach Hudson 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks, and Nicko Timonera 14 points and seven boards.

The Bulls play host to the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday with the Centre of Excellence playing on the road to the Sutherland Sharks.

INNER WEST BULLS 78 (Higgins-Titsha 23, Ohmer 17, Hudson 15)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 88 (Halaifonua 17, Savage 13, O'Donnell 12)

Newcastle Falcons (68) defeated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (66)

The Newcastle Falcons held out the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles late for the 68-66 home victory on Sunday afternoon.

The Falcons were back home at Newcastle Basketball Stadium on Sunday looking to snap a two-game losing slide as they hosted a Sea Eagles team who arrived in hot form with four successive victories.

The job was ahead of Newcastle to return to the winner's list but they started strongly with a 21-14 opening quarter.

The lead for the Falcons got out to nine points in the second quarter as well but then the home team managed just six points the entire third period.

Manly Warringah were able to take advantage of that with 17 points of their own to grab their lead, and then to have all the momentum with a seven-point lead early in the final period.

It was up to Newcastle to respond once more and that's exactly what the Falcons did and 21 points to 14 in the fourth quarter saw them build up a six-point lead once more, and then hold on to win by two.

The victory improves Newcastle to a 3-6 record on the season with Ryan Beisty producing 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on 7/11 shooting from the floor.

Kobe Shannon contributed 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, Alex Clinton 13 points, Jai Smith 10 points and three rebounds, and Myles Cherry nine points, 15 boards and two assists.

The Sea Eagles suffered just their second loss of 2024 with Jonas Harper top-scoring with 15 points, four steals and two assists.

Stefan Valkovic also had 12 points and three rebounds, Matthew Eldridge 11 points, 11 boards and three steals, and Mason Bragg nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

The Falcons remain at home to the Central Coast Crusaders on Saturday evening with the Sea Eagles hosting the Hills Hornets.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 68 (Beisty 16, Clinton 13, Shannon 12)

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 66 (Harper 15, Valkovic 12, Eldridge 11)