Feature image via: Judd Green
After a defensive masterclass against the North Gold Coast Seahawks in the NBL1 North Semi Finals, the Northside Wizards are off to their second-straight Grand Final Series.
After playing for the Southern Districts Spartans last season, 23-year-old guard Jess McDowell-White has been a revelation for the team – averaging 11.5 points, five assists and 4.6 rebounds per game this season.
Speaking with Jon Guarna post-game, she explained how exciting it is to make the Grand Final Series.
“It feels great, it was a little bit of a rough first half, but we came together in the end,” she said.
“We defended a lot better in the second half and the way we put points on the board, we are pretty excited. It’s where we want to be so we are looking forward to next week.”
Holding Miela Goodchild and Mikaela Ruef to a combined 10/37 (27 percent) from the field, Northside’s defence will be their calling card against the Rockhampton Cyclones.
McDowell-White highlighted the team’s overall defence, but in particular, teammate AJ Johnson’s two-way impact.
“AJ’s just incredible, (they’re) a great teammate, great person and played phenomenal on both ends tonight,” McDowell-White said.
Scoring 23 points with 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals – the reigning North MVP will be critical in restricting Rockhampton’s Sam Bowman and Lara McSpadden from Friday night.
The NBL1 North Grand Final Series starts on Friday night from 6:30pm AEST, streaming live and free via Kayo Freebies.
The best-of-three-game series continues on Saturday, tipping off at 6:00pm AEST. And if required, game three will be on Sunday from 2:00pm AEST.
