East Spotlight | Bruins end season of Mustangs

Featured image: Eyal Shorer, @eshots__

The Maitland Mustangs couldn’t quite complete the deal on a Sunday win to reach the NBL1 East playoffs with the Bankstown Bruins proving too strong even minus Shyla Heal with the 74-65 victory.

The equation was simple for Maitland on their home floor at Mojo Homes Centre on Sunday and after their win over the Newcastle Falcons in a thriller the previous day, they just had to win and they would finish in the top eight.

Bankstown might not have had a whole lot to play for unable to move out of third position and they didn’t have Heal for the second game this weekend, but they were still fresh off beating the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders the previous night.

That result actually kept the Mustangs season alive but then Maitland had to beat Bankstown on Sunday if they wanted to break into the top eight and it was a low scoring grind through most of the afternoon.

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The two teams only combined for 26 points in the first quarter with scores level at 13-13 by the end of it with a combined 10/40 shooting from the field and 2/19 from the outside.

It was then only 20 points between them in the second frame with Bankstown scoring 12 of them with 5/24 shooting and missing all eight three-point attempts.

Maitland had just the eight points with 2/13 shooting and also missing all seven attempts from the outside and as a result it was the Bruins narrowly leading 25-21 by half-time.

Then in the third quarter the scoring rate did pick up and Bankstown opened up a nine-point lead with 19 points to 17 and they were on top 44-38 by three quarter-time despite Kasey Neubert already up to a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Mustangs.

Both teams put on some entertaining basketball in the fourth quarter with Maitland scoring 27 points on 9/15 shooting and 5/10 from downtown while the Bruins put up 30 with 11/18 shooting and 4/6 from beyond the arc to secure the nine-point win.

The result sees Bankstown end the season with a 16-4 record and in third position having won both games this weekend without Shyla Heal while the Mustangs remain ninth at 10-10 and thinking what might have been after losing five of the first seven matches.

Ultimately Bankstown got the win on the back of taking 14 extra shots than Maitland on the back of 18 offensive rebounds and forcing the Mustangs into 15 turnovers.

Margot De Freitas delivered 19 points, five rebounds and two assists in the win for the Bruins with 9/15 shooting from the floor.

Tahlia Tupaea added 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists with 8/8 free-throw shooting while Lily Austin ended up with 11 points and three boards, Kiahna Davis-White nine points and 12 rebounds, Davida Dale nine points, seven boards, four assists and two steals, and Shalome Dunlop nine points, three rebounds and two assists.

It was a tough way for the season to end for the Mustangs with Kasey Neubert finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds and three assists on 7/11 field goal shooting.

Sara Matthews added 15 points and 11 rebounds, Shakera Reilly 15 points, four boards and three assists, and Jess Finney eight points, six rebounds and three assists.

NBL1 EAST 2026 SEASON | ROUND 15

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 65 (Neubert 18, Matthews 15, Reilly 15)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 74 (De Freitas 19, Tupaea 13, Austin 11)