East Wrap | Women's Round 15

Featured image: @floyd.mallon

The Hills Hornets and Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders locked in their NBL1 East finals places while the Albury Wodonga Bandits made it seven straight, Bankstown Bruins four in-a-row and the Norths Bears completed their perfect 20-0 regular season.

>> EAST SPOTLIGHT | BRUINS END SEASON OF MUSTANGS

>> EAST SPOTLIGHT | BRUINS STILL CONTROL SPIDERS' FATE

>> EAST SPOTLIGHT | NICHOLSON AND SHARKS JUST STAY ALIVE

>> EAST WRAP | WOMEN'S ROUND 14

FRIDAY

Sutherland Sharks (74) defeated Penrith Panthers (60)

The Sutherland Sharks shook off scoring just seven points in the third quarter to beat the Penrith Panthers 74-60 with Lauren Nicholson's 24 points to remain some sort of outside shot of reaching the finals should they hand the Norths Bears a first defeat.

The Sharks came into the last round needing to win both their games and then requiring a whole lot else to fall their way to be any chance of breaking into the top eight, but they started strongly to be 25 points up at half-time over the Panthers at Sutherland Basketball Stadium.

Then despite a seven-point third quarter, Sutherland still secured the 14-point victory to improve to a 9-10 record with the three straight wins.

That means the Sharks now need to beat the undefeated Norths Bears on Saturday and hope that the teams above them lose if they are to replace one of them inside the top eight and take part in finals after missing also in 2025.

Lauren Nicholson had 18 points to half-time for the Sharks and finished with 24 to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Maddy Norris also had 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists with Courtney West contributing 10 points, five boards and three steals, and Ella Dent 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

The Panthers now have one last chance to avoid ending the season on a six-game losing run with Sofia Hunt finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Chloe Williams also had 14 points, eight boards and two assists with 4/9 shooting from the outside with Tatiana Beaumont adding 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and Chanel Bastin six points, four boards and three assists.

SATURDAY

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (76) lost to Bankstown Bruins (79)

The Bankstown Bruins stayed third and put a significant dent in the playoff hopes of the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders but can now do them an almighty favour on Sunday by beating the Maitland Mustangs.

Both teams come into the last round of the season with plenty to play for Bankstown needing to win both to stay in third position with the Spiders also needing a win to hold their place in the top eight.

That set up a tremendous contest at The Brickpit and with the Bruins without Shyla Heal, things got all the more intriguing.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai did open up a seven-point lead in the first quarter but Bankstown had got on top 22-20 by quarter-time before the Spiders had another 25 points to 19 in the second term to go into half-time leading 45-41.

The Bruins dominated the third period with 20 points to 10 with shooting 8/16 from the field to the 4/16 from the Spiders.

Bankstown went on with it from there to secure the three-point victory with Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai coming flying home with a 12-0 run knowing their season was potentially on the line.

The win improves the Bruins to a 15-4 record to stay in third position but they need to beat the Maitland Mustangs to stay there and that's a big game as well for the Spiders.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai are now 10-10 with their regular season done while the Mustangs improved to 10-9 by beating the Newcastle Falcons by two points also on Saturday with that game on Sunday to end up determining the last playoff position.

The Bruins still need the one more win to secure third spot but they can't finish worse than fourth with Margot De Freitas delivering 25 points, five assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Lily Austin added 17 points with 5/7 shooting from the outside with Kiahna Davis-White contributing 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals, Shalome Dunlop eight points and five boards, and Jane Dunlop eight points.

Kristina Moore finished with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Spiders with Ay'Anna Bey adding 14 points, six boards and two steals, Lucy Mead 12 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals, and Laya Hartman 11 points, eight boards and two steals.

Illawarra Hawks (68) lost to Hills Hornets (92)

The Hills Hornets confirmed their place in the finals for 2026 with the 92-68 road victory against the Illawarra Hawks with 20 points each from Sherrie Calleia and Jade Kirisome.

The Hawks were already out of finals contention but had a double weekend at home in Wollongong to finish the season while the Hornets needed to win to lock away a playoff berth.

Illawarra had the best of the start with an 11-0 run in the first quarter to be leading still 24-16 by quarter-time before Hills turned things around with 14 points in-a-row themselves for 36 to 14 in the second frame to go into half-time leading 52-38.

It was then another 26 points to 17 in the third term and the Hornets built a 27-point advantage on the way to the 24-point victory to guarantee a top eight finish with an 11-9 record.

Sherrie Calleia produced 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with 4/5 three-point shooting with Jade Kirisome adding 20 points, six boards and six assists.

Ella Gale also had 17 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists, Piper Anderson 13 points, four boards, four assists and three steals, and Kennedy Johnson 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

The Hawks are now 6-13 with one game to go on Sunday with Darcy Rees top scoring with 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists on 11/13 field goal shooting.

Asha Phillips added 13 points, eight rebounds and two steals, Una Jovanovich 13 points, five assists and three boards, Audra Pasakarnis 12 points, three steals and two rebounds, Ruby MacDonald 10 boards.

Maitland Mustangs (86) defeated Newcastle Falcons (84)

The Maitland Mustangs kept their season alive with the thrilling 86-84 home win against the Newcastle Falcons with Sara Matthews putting up 30 points and overcoming the 33 from three-time MVP Nicole Munger.

The Mustangs came into the final round needing to win their last two games so the first task was up against the Falcons at Mojo Homes Centre.

Newcastle were locked into either fifth or sixth position already having won their past four matches so were looking to continue that momentum into the finals as well.

The Mustangs made a good start with 26 points to 20 in the first quarter but Newcastle responded with 21 to 17 in the second with Maitland clinging to the 43-41 advantage at half-time.

The Mustangs pulled away once more with a 10-0 run in the third quarter to end up leading by as much as 13 points and then holding out the Falcons late who did manage a 9-0 for the two-point victory.

The win keeps Maitland's season alive at 10-9 should they beat the Bankstown Bruins on Sunday with Sara Matthews producing 30 points, eight rebounds and three assists with 4/8 shooting from the outside.

Shakera Reilly also had 18 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists, Kasey Neubert 14 points and 14 boards, Jess Finney 11 points and seven rebounds, and Rachel Williams 10 points and two assists.

Newcastle close their season with a 13-7 record with Nicole Munger producing 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals with 6/13 shooting from the outside.

Meg Jefferson added 15 points, six rebounds and six steals, Sophie Brennan 14 points, three steals, two assists and two boards, and Kate Kingham 11 points and six assists.

Sutherland Sharks (62) lost to Norths Bears (85)

The Sutherland Sharks could have still been somewhat of a chance to sneak into the top eight and ended the undefeated season of the Norths Bears at home but it wasn’t to be the visitors winning 85-62 to finish at 20-0.

The Sharks were back home at Sutherland Basketball Stadium having beaten the Penrith Panthers on Friday night as they hosted a Bears team having so far won all 19 matches of the 2026 season.

Norths did start strongly to open up an 11-point lead in the first quarter but that was back to just four at quarter-time and then three at half-time.

The Bears then took further control through the second half going up by 12 in the third quarter and 26 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 23-point victory to make it 20-0 for the perfect regular season.

MVP favourite Jaz Shelley delivered another 16 points, seven assists, six steals and four rebounds with Caitlyn Martin adding 13 points, six assists, five boards and two steals, and Issy Morgan 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Talya Brugler added 12 points, seven rebounds, six steals and two assists, Peggy Schell 12 points and 11 boards, and Emma Donnelly 11 points and two rebounds.

The season is now over for Sutherland at 9-11 in 11th position with Lauren Nicholson the star once more with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists with 2/3 three-point shooting.

Maddy Norris added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Ella Dent seven points, four boards, four steals and two assists.

Inner West Bulls (50) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (112)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are gearing up for their championship defence now and will head into the finals on the back of the 112-50 hammering of the winless Inner West Bulls.

The Sea Eagles had already confirmed second position as defending champions coming into the last game of the regular season against the bottom placed Bulls at Sydney Uni Sports and Aquatics Centre.

Manly Warringah didn’t take long to assert their control with 36 points to eight in the first quarter after going on a 17-0 scoring run.

It was another 29 points to 16 in the second frame that saw the Sea Eagles leading 65-24 by half-time and then with 31 to six in the last period they secured the massive 62-point victory.

The result sees Manly Warringah finish in that second position at 18-2 with Kim Dickinson putting up 24 points, 12 rebounds and two assists with 11/16 field goal shooting.

Bree Delaney added 18 points, five rebounds and three assists, Alex Delaney 16 points and five boards, Sari Mowbray 15 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Jayda Jansen 11 points, eight boards and four assists, and Lily Fandre 10 points, eight rebound and three assists.

Inner West go through the entire season winless to end up at 0-20 with Llianna Jacob finishing with 16 points and six rebounds on 4/9 shooting from the outside.

Seehia Ridard added 13 points and two assists, Mizuki Wakamatsu eight points and four rebounds, and Jennier Mailei seven points and four boards.

Albury Wodonga Bandits (78) defeated Central Coast Crusaders (40)

The Albury Wodonga Bandits held the Central Coast Crusaders to just 12 second half points on the way to 78-40 victory as they get ready for their assault on the finals.

The Bandits were already guaranteed of either a fifth or sixth placed finish ahead of hosting the Crusaders at Lauren Jackson Sports with them coming into the finals having won five straight.

Central Coast had lost their past seven as well and Albury Wodonga went on a 13-0 run in the first quarter and went into quarter-time leading 25-13.

It was another 24 points to 15 in the second term for the Bandits to be leading 49-28 by half-time before then dominating further with 14 points to five in the third period, and 15 to seven in the fourth.

That saw Albury Wodonga win by 38 points to finish in fifth position with a 13-7 record and seven straight with Emily Lytle finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Unique Thompson also had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, Caitlin Quintal 12 points, two boards, two assists and two steals, Kijana McCowan nine points and three steals, and Timeeka Coleman eight points and four rebounds.

Central Coast end another tough season at 2-18 and losing the last eight with Leila Hefferman finishing with 11 points and five rebounds with Jess Stone adding eight points, nine boards and two steals, and Nikki Worner six points, eight rebounds and two steals.

Canberra Nationals (81) defeated Sydney Comets (60)

The Canberra Nationals will be frustrated to have fallen short of finals but finished the season beating the Sydney Comets 81-60 with two Western Australians who grow up together shining for their respective teams.

Despite going on a run of winning six of eight games coinciding with the arrival of Caitie Jones, the Nationals gave themselves a shot of sneaking into the finals before running afoul of the Norths Bears and Albury Wodonga Bandits the last two weeks.

So that saw them out of the running ahead of hosting the Comets at Southern Cross Stadium in Tuggeranong with the Comets also out of the running but having found some strong form of late with Chantel Horvat up and running.

Canberra got the better of the start on their home floor with 24 points to 14 in the first quarter before another 23 to 19 in the second to go into half-time leading 47-33.

The Nationals then blew that lead out to 17 points in the third frame and 23 in the fourth before settling with the 21-point victory to finish their season at 9-11 in 10th position.

Caitie Jones and Eryn Fisher grew up together, both started their careers at the Warwick Senators and had played most of their careers in the NBL1 West until recent years with Jones in her second season in the East now having starred with the Albury Wodonga Bandits last year.

Fisher is in her first season with the Comets too and both finished their 2026 campaigns impressively.

Jones produced 23 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals on 4/16 three-point shooting for Canberra with Fisher delivering 18 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks for Sydney.

Allison Day also had 17 points, four rebounds and two assists in the win for the Nationals, Callie Bourne 12 points, 18 boards, nine assists and three steals, and Jasmyn Boutzos 11 points and two rebounds.

Chantel Horvat had another 17 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Comets, and Alexandra Kayrouz 12 points, four boards, two assists and two steals.

SUNDAY

Maitland Mustangs (65) lost to Bankstown Bruins (74)

The Maitland Mustangs couldn’t quite complete the deal on a Sunday win to reach the 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.

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.

Both teams put on some entertaining basketball in the fourth quarter with Maitland scoring 27 points while the Bruins put up 30 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.

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.

Illawarra Hawks (95) defeated Penrith Panthers (65)

The Illawarra Hawks finished their season on a positive note with the 95-65 home victory against the Penrith Panthers.

The Hawks remained home in Wollongong for the second time this weekend after losing the previous night to the Hills Hornets for what was an eighth straight defeat while Penrith arrived having lost their previous five.

Illawarra started on fire with 31 points to 16 in the first quarter and then 19 to six in the second to go into half-time leading 50-22.

That lead for the Hawks blew out to as much as 40 points in the second half before they secured the 30-point win to close their season at 6-14.

Darcy Rees finished with 22 points, 18 rebounds and six assists for Illawarra with Asha Phillips adding 17 points, 12 boards and two assists.

Ruby MacDonald also had 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, Una Jovanovich 14 points, six boards and three assists, and Audra Pasakarnis 11 points and four assists.

Penrith end up at 2-18 having lost their last six matches with Chanel Bastin putting up 27 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks with 5/8 shooting from the outside.

Sofia Hunt added 15 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals, and Tatiana Beaumont 10 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocks.