Cairns had an afternoon to remember at Rockhampton's Bravus Arena with a pair of three-point wins with the Dolphins beating the Cyclones thanks to a triple from Teyahna Bond and new arrival Lachlan Anderson starred as the Marlins defeated the Rockets.
The lone Sunday match ups in Round 9 of the NBL1 North saw the Cairns Dolphins defeat the Rockhampton Cyclones 83-80 before the Cairns Marlins also beat the Rockhampton Rockets 82-79.
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Dolphins snatch road win from Cyclones with Bond three
The Cairns Dolphins gave themselves the perfect weekend away from home storming back to snatch one from the Rockhampton Cyclones on Sunday with a huge triple from Teyahna Bond helping to secure the 83-80 victory.
Rockhampton was playing its only game of the weekend at home at Bravus Arena to a Cairns team fresh off beating the Mackay Meteorettes the previous night on the road as well with the addition of new import Jennifer Coleman.
TEYAHNA BOND IS CLUTCH ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 28, 2023
Her clutch 3?? gives Cairns the 83-80 win over Rockhampton!
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The Cyclones started strongly on their home floor with 26 points to 14 in the opening quarter and with an 11-0 scoring run, that lead blew out to as much as 21 in the second term before they went into the half-time break leading 45-28.
Rockhampton's lead got back out to 20 again during the third quarter but Cairns was working back into the contest and it all pointed towards a thrilling finish.
Every time in the fourth quarter that Cairns were able to make it a one possession game the Cyclones had all the answers including Lara McSpadden grabbing the offensive rebound on a broken play with 45 seconds to go to keep the home team two points in front.
However, coming out of a timeout and new Cairns import Jennifer Coleman found Teyahna Bond out on the wing, and she drained the three-pointer to give the Dolphins their first lead of the entire game.
McSpadden would miss a deep two up the other end and ultimately Taylor Mole sealed the win at the foul line for the Dolphins as they improve to 6-5 on the season as a result. Rockhampton is now 6-3 with their two-game winning run broken.
On top of hitting those clinching free throws, Mole came up huge for Cairns finishing with 36 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots including knocking down 8/12 from three-point territory.
Jennifer Coleman added 16 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals, Myra Donkin 13 points, eight assists and seven boards, Teyahna Bond eight points, two rebounds and two assists, and Leichan Williams seven points, eight boards and two assists.
Fresh off being part of the Townsville Fire's WNBL championship, Lara McSpadden put in a big performance again for Rockhampton made up of 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Sam Bowman also came up huge for the Cyclones with 31 points, 14 boards, seven assists and three steals with 13/22 shooting from the field, 2/3 from long-range and 3/4 at the foul line.
A huge performance from Taylor Mole today ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 28, 2023
? 36 PTS
? 8 3PM
? 3 BLKS
? 83-80 W
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MEN
New arrival Anderson stars in win for Marlins
New Cairns Marlins import Lachlan Anderson wasted no time making his presence felt delivering a match winning performance in Sunday's 82-79 road victory against the Rockhampton Rockets.
Cairns arrived at Bravus Arena fresh off a 31-point defeat at the hands of the Mackay Meteors while Rockhampton was playing its only game of the weekend looking to make it consecutive wins after breaking through for the first victory of 2023 last Saturday against the Darwin Salties.
Chier Maker got ? for this slam!
— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 28, 2023
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It was a tight contest the entire afternoon with no more than eight points ever separating the two teams and it was Cairns who held that eight-point advantage following a flush from Lachlan Anderson with just over seven minutes to play.
From there, Rockhampton was able to work back into the contest and by the time Malcolm Bernard knocked down a three-pointer, the home team had drawn scores back level with 1:30 on the clock.
In the end, Cairns would secure the victory on the back of a strong finish from Aron Farmer and free-throws from both Tad Dufelmeier and Curt Ah Wang to claim the three-point win.
The win improves the Marlins to a 5-6 record on the season having split their road double weekend while the Rockets were unable to make it consecutive wins to now be 1-8.
In his second game for Cairns having spent last season playing at the Bankstown Bruins in the NBL1 East, Lachlan Anderson played match-winner for the Marlins with 33 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The Eastern Kentucky alum shot 11/21 from the floor, 8/13 from beyond the three-point arc and 3/3 at the foul line.
Ky Stattmann added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Marlins, and Tad Dufelmeier 12 points, 11 boards, six assists and two steals.
Chier Maker produced 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals for Rockhampton with Malcolm Bernard contributing 16 points, six boards, four assists and two steals, Jarvis Summers 15 points and eight assists, and Angus McWilliam 15 points and 14 rebounds.
What a dime by Tad Dufelmeier ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 28, 2023
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