Featured image: Alan Minifie @fotolamalan
A big night in the NBL1 North included Lamar Patterson's halfcourt game winner waved off after Shaun Bruce's clutch bucket for Logan Thunder over South West Metro Pirates while Ben Tweedy starred with a triple-double for Rockhampton.
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | FIRST NATIONS ROUND FRIDAY
WOMEN
North Gold Coast Seahawks (86) defeated Ipswich Force (73)
The North Gold Coast Seahawks consolidated their top six spot even without Miela Goodchild with Mikaela Ruef coming up big again in the 86-73 home win over the Ipswich Force.
The Seahawks were back at Runaway Bay Stadium for their last home game of the season needing to bounce back from a loss to the Rockhampton Cyclones ahead of hosting an Ipswich team out of the playoff hunt but having won two straight.
North Gold Coast were without Miela Goodchild for the contest and it was Ipswich who started well with 25 points to 17 on the hunt for a third consecutive victory.
That lead got out to 12 points in the second term as well for the Force but North Gold Coast steadied and had cut the Ipswich lead to seven by the half-time break.
It was then all the Seahawks in the second half with the home team putting up 19 points to eight in the third term, and 27 to 18 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 13-point victory.
The win improves the Seahawks to an 11-5 record to be solid inside the top six with Mikaela Ruef again a powerful force delivering 26 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
Grace Champion also had 22 points on 4/8 three-point shooting with Chailee Ward contributing 14 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, and Majella Carey 10 points and seven assists.
Ipswich is now 3-12 on the season still with two games remaining in their season with Amanda Cahill providing 18 points, 11 rebounds and two steals with Claire Fraser contributing 14 points and two boards.
Kahlaijah Dean also had 13 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and three steals, Kate Head 11 points and two assists, and Charlotte Hegvold seven points and four assists.
The Seahawks now finish their season next Saturday away to the Gold Coast Rollers while Ipswich has a double header on the road next week to Cairns and Townsville.
NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 86 (Ruef 26, Champion 22, Ward 14)
IPSWICH FORCE 73 (Cahill 18, Fraser 14, Dean 13)
Brisbane Capitals (90) defeated Gold Coast Rollers (74)
The Brisbane Capitals started and finished in impressive fashion on the way to the 90-74 home win against the Gold Coast Rollers to snap their losing run.
Both teams arrived at Auchenflower Stadium on losing runs to be outside of the playoff spots with Brisbane having lost their past three and Gold Coast the previous six, so somebody was going to get back on the winner's list on Saturday night.
It was the Capitals who made the flying start with 29 points to 14 in the first quarter and that lead blew all the way out to 23 points in the second term, but Gold Coast did hit back and outscored Brisbane 28 points to 17 in the third quarter to keep things interesting.
However, the home team responded once more with another 24 points to 16 in the fourth frame and that saw the Capitals score the eventual 16-point victory to improve to 8-8 on the season with one game to play.
Lil Dart had another strong showing in the win for Brisbane with 27 points and three assists on shooting 6/11 from three-point land with Megan Mullings adding 23 points and eight boards on 9/12 shooting from the field.
Hannah Hank also had 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, and Georgia Dale 17 points and four assists.
Gold Coast has now lost their past seven matches to sit at 3-13 with Kate Deeble putting up 25 points and five assists on 4/11 shooting from three-point range.
Myah Selland added 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Lisa Koop 12 points and eight boards, and Layla-J Cameron seven points and three assists.
The Capitals have just the one game to go at home to the Northside Wizards on Friday night with the Rollers hosting the North Gold Coast Seahawks next Saturday.
BRISBANE CAPITALS 90 (Dart 27, Mullings 23, Hank 20)
GOLD COAST ROLLERS 74 (Deeble 25, Selland 13, Koop 12)
Rockhampton Cyclones (74) defeated Cairns Dolphins (59)
Sam Bowman delivered another standout performance and the Rockhampton Cyclones kept themselves in the top two hunt over the next seven days with the 74-59 home win against the Cairns Dolphins.
Cairns did arrive at Bravus Arena having won the night before against the Mackay Meteorettes for a second win of the season, but taking on a genuine contender in Rockhampton on their home floor was another matter.
The Cyclones came into the match having won their past six games to stay in touch of Townsville in second spot but they did need to keep winning and they started well with 26 points to 17 in the opening term.
It was another 17 points to 10 in the second period with Rockhampton leading 43-27 before that lead for the Cyclones got out to as much as 18 points in the second half.
Cairns weren’t going away, though, and they even went on a 13-0 scoring run and even briefly hit the front, but Rockhampton did manage to take back over to win by 15 points and improve to a 13-3 record.
Sam Bowman produced another strong performance for Rockhampton delivering 27 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals while Lauren Heard put up another 23 points, five steals, three boards and three assists.
Morgan Yaeger added 10 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals while Lara McSpadden contributed six points and 13 boards.
Cairns still put up a good fight but now is on a 2-14 record with just one game to go with Mia Loyd finishing with another 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Teyahna Bond also put up 14 points and four assists, Samantha Keltos 10 points and eight rebounds, and Taryn Bond seven points and four boards.
Rockhampton finishes the season next Friday at home to the Southern Districts Spartans with Cairns at home to the Ipswich Force.
ROCKHAMPTON CYCLONES 74 (Bowman 27, Heard 23, Yaeger 10)
CAIRNS DOLPHINS 59 (Loyd 17, Teyahna Bond 14, Keltos 10)
Sunshine Coast Phoenix (46) lost to Northside Wizards (95)
The Northside Wizards bounced back emphatically from a first loss of their championship defence to defeat the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 95-46.
The Phoenix were playing their last home game of the season at Maroochydore Stadium but it was quite the challenge for the bottom placed team up against the league-leading defending champions.
Northside arrived coming off a shock loss to the South West Metro Pirates but still being clear in top spot while the Phoenix are still a chance to avoid the wooden spoon.
It was a tight contest throughout the first half with the Wizards only leading by five points at quarter-time and then by 12 at half-time.
Sunshine Coast had done well to hang in there, but Northside dominated the second half with that lead getting out to as much as 30 points in the third quarter and 49 in the fourth before they scored the eventual 49-point victory.
The win keeps the Wizards clear in top spot with a 15-1 record with Nadeen Payne producing 27 points, seven rebounds and two assists with Erin Bollmann contributing 19 points, 17 boards, nine assists, five steals and three blocked shots.
Jess McDowell-White added 19 points, four rebounds and two assists, Alice O'Driscoll 15 points, 11 boards and four assists, and Hayley McDowell-White eight points and four assists.
The Phoenix remain last at 2-14 with Amy Browne finishing with 13 points, four rebounds and two steals while Haylee Andrews added 11 points and five assists, and Nicola Handreck 10 points and four rebounds.
The Phoenix finish their season away to the Logan Thunder next Saturday before the Wizards are on the road to the Brisbane Capitals on Friday.
SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 46 (Browne 13, Andrews 11, Handreck 10)
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 95 (Payne 27, McDowell-White 19, Bollmann 19)
Logan Thunder (62) defeated South West Metro Pirates (57)
Logan Thunder shook off the frustration of losing the past two games to bounce back and score the 62-57 home win against the South West Metro Pirates.
The last two losses Logan had suffered did mean they had fallen out of playoff contention coming into the Saturday night match up with the Pirates at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre, but they could still put a big dent in the hopes of South West Metro of making it.
After a close first quarter, Logan put up 22 points to 16 in the second period to end up leading by as much as 10 points and to go into the half-time break leading 40-32.
Logan were able to maintain that deficit around that mark for the second half as well before securing the eventual five-point victory to improve to a 7-9 record as a result.
Mikhaela Cann delivered 19 points, five assists and four rebounds in the win for Logan with Jade Kirisome adding 14 points and three boards, Cate Reese 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Chevannah Paalvast 12 points, four boards and two assists.
South West Metro missed a chance to lock away a playoff spot with what would have been a third consecutive victory with them now remaining in sixth spot with a week to go at 9-7.
Alana Fraser top-scored for South West Metro with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists on 5/7 three-point shooting with Charlotte Whittaker contributing 12 points, 12 boards and five assists, and Leah Scott 10 points and nine rebounds.
Logan will finish the regular season next Saturday at home to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix with the Pirates on the road to the Darwin Salties.
LOGAN THUNDER 62 (Cann 19, Kirisome 14, Reese 12, Paalvast 12)
SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 57 (Fraser 19, Whittaker 12, Scott 10)
Darwin Salties (52) defeated Townsville Flames (68)
The Darwin Salties couldn’t quite take a chance to move back into the top six with the Townsville Flames going to the Top End and coming back with the 68-52 victory.
Coming into the match up at Darwin Basketball Stadium and there was a lot at stake for both teams with Townsville looking to remain in second spot and Darwin attempting to break back into the top six.
While the Salties were at home and had a playoff spot to fight for, Townsville opened up an 11-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
That lead for the Flames continued to grow throughout the evening and got out to as much as 12 points in the second period, 18 in the third and 25 in the fourth.
The Salties did finish off with a 9-0 run late in the game, but Townsville still went on to win by 16 points to improve to a 13-3 record and stay in second as a result.
Alex Fowler delivered 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Ella Tofaeono finished with 17 points, 11 boards, two assists and two steals.
Katherine Andersen also had 11 points, five steals, four assists and three rebounds with Saffron Shiels back from representing Australia so impressively and delivering six points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Darwin remains outside the top six with the loss with an 8-8 record with Courtney Woods putting up 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Ashley Harris added nine points, six boards, three assists and two steals with Sophie Johnston contributing eight points and Cat MacGregor seven points and four assists.
The Salties remain at home to host the South West Metro Pirates next Saturday with Townsville back home to the Ipswich Force as well.
DARWIN SALTIES 52 (Woods 18, Harris 9, Johnston 8)
TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 68 (Fowler 20, Tofaeono 17, Andersen 11)
MEN
North Gold Coast Seahawks (76) lost to Ipswich Force (80)
Finals might be still just out of reach for the defending champion Ipswich Force but Deng Deng lifted them to a massive last quarter to overrun the North Gold Coast Seahawks for the 80-76 victory.
Both teams came into the match up at Runaway Bay Stadium with five wins on the season coming into the last two weeks and it was a last home game of 2024 for North Gold Coast.
On the back of that, the Seahawks started on fire with 30 points to 14 in the first quarter to throw down the gauntlet to the Force who were without NBL superstar and Grand Final MVP Nathan Sobey once again.
Late in the first half and Ipswich worked back into the game with a 7-0 scoring run and they would end up outscoring the Seahawks 27 points to 15 in the period, but still by half-time the Seahawks were clinging to the 45-41 lead.
North Gold Coast did push that lead back out to nine points in the second quarter and the home team were leading still 64-58 by three quarter-time.
The game was anything but done and Ipswich did produce a huge fourth quarter led by Deng Deng and DJ Mitchell to put up 22 points to 12 to overrun the Seahawks and to end up winning by four points.
The victory improves Ipswich to a 6-9 record on the season with consecutive wins with Deng Deng putting up 32 points, 15 rebounds, five steals and three assists on 13/24 shooting from the field and 4/9 from three-point range.
DJ Mitchell also provided 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists with Michael Fleming adding eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Seahawks are now 5-11 with five losses in-a-row despite Cameron Healy putting up another 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists on 10/17 shooting from the floor.
Will Mahoney also had 21 points while Matt Kenyon contributed 12 points and 14 rebounds, Kane Bishop eight points, 10 boards, five assists and two blocked shots, and Nathaniel Salmon seven points and three rebounds.
The Seahawks now finish their season next Saturday away to the Gold Coast Rollers while Ipswich has a double header on the road next week to Cairns and Townsville.
NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 76 (Healy 25, Mahoney 21, Kenyon 12)
IPSWICH FORCE 80 (Deng 32, Mitchell 26, Fleming 8)
Brisbane Capitals (105) defeated Gold Coast Rollers (98)
The Brisbane Capitals hit back from a Friday night loss to produce a big second half to beat the Gold Coast Rollers 105-98 at home on Saturday.
The Caps lost a tight one away to the Southern Districts Spartans on Friday night to see them lose touch with the top three teams with two games in their season remaining ahead of hosting a Rollers team trying to break into the top six.
That set the stage for a fascinating match up with stars galore on either side and it was Brisbane who got the better of the start with the 29-23 lead by quarter-time.
While the Capitals had led by as much as 15 points in that first quarter, Gold Coast picked up the momentum in the second term and went on to put up 33 points to 20.
That saw the Rollers lead by as much as nine points themselves and to end up on top 56-49 at the half-time break.
Brisbane needed to respond or to find themselves just fighting for their playoff lives and the Caps did put up 25 points to 19 in the third quarter, and then took further control in the fourth.
The Capitals scored 10 points in-a-row to end up building a 14-point lead which would prove a match winning advantage on the way to the eventual seven-point victory.
The win improves Brisbane to a 10-6 record with Brisbane Bullets NBL star Sam McDaniel delivering 27 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Isaih Tueta added 18 points, four assists and three rebounds with Gabe Hadley contributing 16 points, four boards and three assists, Matthew Johns 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Geordan Papacostas 10 points, three boards and three assists.
The Rollers remain outside a playoff position with the loss at 7-9 despite reigning MVP Jason Cadee producing another 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 4/5 shooting from three-point land and 10/11 at the free-throw line.
Preston Le Gassick also had 24 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals while Boston Mazlin finished with 17 points, Nevarda Higgins 12 points and five rebounds, and Daniel Titus 11 points, seven boards and three assists.
The Capitals have just the one game to go at home to the Northside Wizards on Friday night with the Rollers hosting the North Gold Coast Seahawks next Saturday.
BRISBANE CAPITALS 105 (McDaniel 27, Tueta 18, Hadley 16)
GOLD COAST ROLLERS 98 (Cadee 28, Le Gassick 24, Higgins 12)
Rockhampton Rockets (94) defeated Cairns Marlins (91)
Ben Tweedy put together a standout triple-double while also icing the game at the foul line late as the Rockhampton Rockets beat the Cairns Marlins 94-91.
Rockhampton was back home at Bravus Arena on the back of last weekend's triple-header on the road where they returned with one win to remain clinging to sixth position.
The Rockets were hosting a Marlins team on the same 7-8 record as them too so the stakes were significant for both teams on Saturday night.
It was an exciting and high scoring opening quarter as well with the two teams combining for 61 points with Cairns leading 31-30 by quarter-time.
It remained a terrific contest with the Marlins just leading 52-49 at half-time as well before the Rockets got on top in the third period with a 12-0 scoring run to open up a five-point advantage.
It still remained a tight affair but once some late free throws from Ben Tweedy pushed Rockhampton out to the six-point lead inside the last 30 seconds, it would prove enough for the eventual three-point win despite a triple for Cairns from Kian Dennis.
The victory keeps Rockhampton inside a playoff position with an 8-8 record with Ben Tweedy outstanding with a triple-double made up of 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Xavier Ford added 30 points and seven rebounds as well for Rockhampton with Matur Maker finishing with 16 points, 15 rebounds and three steals, and Jared Blanchard 18 points and six boards.
Cairns is now going to find it tough to reach the playoffs with a 7-9 record with Kody Stattmann delivering 27 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Kian Dennis also provided 17 points, 10 boards, three assists and two blocks with Ky Stattmann contributing 12 points and four rebounds, and Josh Kunen nine points, eight boards and two assists.
Rockhampton finishes the season next Friday at home to the Southern Districts Spartans with Cairns at home to the Ipswich Force.
ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS 94 (Ford 30, Tweedy 25, Blanchard 18)
CAIRNS MARLINS 91 (Kody Stattmann 27, Dennis 17, Ky Stattmann 12)
Sunshine Coast Phoenix (94) defeated Northside Wizards (86)
The Sunshine Coast Phoenix put together a massive last quarter to come from behind to defeat the Northside Wizards 94-86 at home on Saturday night.
The Phoenix were playing their last home game of the season at Maroochydore Stadium hosting the Wizards with the home team needing a lot to go right to stay in the playoff race while the Wizards were out of the race but arrived fresh off beating the South West Metro Pirates.
It would prove to be a game featuring some wild swings with Sunshine Coast completing an 18-0 scoring run in the second quarter to build a 13-point lead, and still being on top 55-44 at half-time.
Northside were able to take back control in the third quarter by outscoring the Phoenix 24 points to eight thanks to going on their own 16-0 scoring streak.
That saw the Wizards open up their own nine-point advantage, but then the Phoenix responded one more time and produced a dominant final quarter.
Sunshine Coast turned a nine-point deficit early in the last quarter into an eventual eight-point victory which sees them improve to a 7-9 record.
Nelson Kahler delivered 21 points, nine rebounds and two assists in the win for the Phoenix on the back of shooting 9/13 from the floor and despite going 3/8 from the foul line.
Kobe McDowell-White also put up 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, Jeryn Lucas 17 points, six assists and five steals, and Liam Switzer 11 points and three rebounds.
The Wizards are now 5-11 following the defeat with Deshawn Ross-Paiwan ending up with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists with 4/6 shooting from three-point territory.
Lual Diing also had 24 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals, Jamie Ahale 15 points and two boards, and Ben Adamson 11 points and three rebounds.
The Phoenix finish their season away to the Logan Thunder next Saturday before the Wizards are on the road to the Brisbane Capitals on Friday.
SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 94 (Kahler 21, McDowell-White 18, Lucas 17)
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 86 (Ross-Paiwan 25, Diing 24, Ahale 15)
Logan Thunder (95) defeated South West Metro Pirates (93)
Lamar Patterson threw up the halfcourt one handed prayer as time expired with his South West Metro Pirates down two to the Logan Thunder and it went down for the most miraculous of finishes.
The only problem was, five minutes later after the video review, it was decided that after the ball was inbounded with 0.9 seconds on the clock, time had expired before it left Patterson's hands and it was Logan winning 95-93 in dramatic fashion at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre.
In the end, what won the game was a crafty floater from Shaun Bruce for Logan which broke the deadlock leaving that 0.9 seconds on the clock but it proved the game winner once the dust was settled.
Logan came into the match up still a chance to break into the top two depending on how Darwin finishes the season and the win only helps that cause with the Thunder now sitting on a 12-4 record with one game to go.
Along with Shaun Bruce hitting the game winner, he finished with 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds while Zac Triplett put up 28 points, six boards, three assists and two steals.
Callum Dalton added 17 points and six rebounds, Tom Howard 11 points, three boards and three assists, and Elijah Puna 10 points, two rebounds and two steals.
South West Metro went ever so close to making it a double win weekend on the back of beating the Sunshine Coast Phoenix on Friday to now sit at 5-11.
Lamar Patterson had 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals but it was a split second away from being 24 points.
Brendan Teys also had 22 points, Kai Woodfall 20 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Roman Siulepa 17 points and seven boards.
Logan will finish the regular season next Saturday at home to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix with the Pirates on the road to the Darwin Salties.
LOGAN THUNDER 95 (Triplett 28, Bruce 21, Dalton 17)
SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 93 (Teys 22, Patterson 21, Woodfall 20)
Darwin Salties (100) defeated Townsville Heat (84)
Even without Kouat Noi, the Darwin Salties kept on winning to keep themselves in second position with the 100-84 victory against the Townsville Heat.
The Salties were back home at Darwin Basketball Stadium coming off a loss against the Mackay Meteors that meant the highest Darwin can now finish is second.
But the Salties did need to win at home to the bottom placed Heat to stay second with Logan breathing down their necks and they did start well at home with the 25-18 lead by quarter-time.
The Heat were keeping in touch with the Salties still only leading 48-41 at half-time but the Salties then put the result to bed in the third quarter with a 12-0 scoring run on the way to putting up 32 points to 15.
The lead for Darwin ended up getting out to 30 points early in the fourth term too before Townsville did finish well to cut the final margin back to 16 points.
The Salties stay second with a 12-4 record with Makuach Maluach leading the charge with 24 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots on 5/7 three-point shooting.
Sean Macdonald also delivered 19 points, seven assists, five rebounds and steals while Chier Maker added 19 points, six boards, three steals and two assists, and Deba George 15 points, five assists and three rebounds.
Townsville remains last at 4-12 with Harrison Pennisi top-scoring once more with 22 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots on shooting 8/14 from the floor and 6/8 at the free-throw line.
Michael Cedar also had 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Ethan Betts 14 points and three assists.
The Salties remain at home to host the South West Metro Pirates next Saturday with Townsville back home to the Ipswich Force as well.
DARWIN SALTIES 100 (Maluach 24, Maker 19, Macdonald 19)
TOWNSVILLE HEAT 84 (Pennisi 22, Cedar 15, Betts 14)
