Featured images: Paul Shaw - P2DK Photography
Friday night in the NBL1 North included the Northside Wizards beating the Townsville Heat in double overtime, the Brisbane Capitals overcoming the Cairns Marlins in extra time and the Darwin Salties giving the Mackay Meteors a first defeat.
The four Friday night NBL1 North women's matches saw the Brisbane Capitals defeat the Cairns Dolphins 94-85 while Logan Thunder beat the Ipswich Force 80-70, the Northside Wizards downed the Townsville Flames 79-65, and the Mackay Meteorettes won 98-85 against the Darwin Salties.
Then in the men's matches, Brisbane beat Cairns 110-97, Logan defeated Ipswich 96-73, Northside downed Townsville 93-86 and Darwin handed Mackay a first loss 113-95.
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | ROUND 7 SATURDAY
WOMEN
Brisbane Capitals (94) defeated Cairns Dolphins (85)
The Brisbane Capitals built up a big lead and then held out the winless Cairns Dolphins late to score the 94-85 home victory on Friday night.
The Caps were back home at Auchenflower Stadium on a four-game winning streak hosting a Dolphins team having lost their first eight matches of the season with each of those by a double-digit margin.
Cairns did get its road double off to an encouraging start with an early lead, but Brisbane managed an 8-0 run late in the first quarter to be leading 25-18 by quarter-time.
The Capitals then blew the game further open in the second period with 31 points to 19 to be leading by as much as 21 on the way to the 56-37 half-time advantage.
To the credit of the Dolphins they did fight the game out and even got back within five points with a bucket to Mia Loyd early in the fourth quarter and even though Brisbane enough answers to win by nine, Cairns can take a lot of heart from the fighting performance.
Lil Dart had a big evening in the win for Brisbane finishing with 33 points, four assists and two rebounds on 12/23 shooting from the floor, 4/10 from downtown and 5/6 at the free-throw line.
Megan Mullings also had 22 points and eight rebounds, Georgia Dale 17 points, four boards, three assists and two steals, and Hannah Hank nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
Mia Loyd did all she could to try and lift Cairns to the first win of the season with 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots on 12/25 shooting from the field and 10/14 at the foul line.
Leichan Williams also produced 14 points and eight rebounds, Teyahna Bond 13 points and three boards, Samantha Keltos 11 points and six rebounds, and Amy Lewis seven points and seven assists.
Cairns backs up to play on the road to the Southern Districts Spartans on Saturday night while Brisbane hosts the Spartans as well next Saturday.
BRISBANE CAPITALS 94 (Dart 33, Mullings 22, Dale 17)
CAIRNS DOLPHINS 85 (Loyd 34, Williams 14, Teyahna Bond 13)
Logan Thunder (80) defeated Ipswich Force (70)
The Ipswich Force overhauled one double-figure deficit but couldn’t do it twice with the Logan Thunder ending up with the 80-70 home victory on Friday night.
Logan were back home at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre looking to back up last week's win against Cairns up against an Ipswich team fresh off a first win of the season over the South West Metro Pirates.
The Thunder were on top for a lot of the evening including holding a seven-point lead in the first quarter by the end of the opening term that was back to just a two-point advantage.
Logan again pushed out to a 13-point lead in the second frame but once again Ipswich were able to hit back to cut the Thunder lead to 43-38 at half-time.
Ipswich then kept that momentum going by completing a run of scoring 15 consecutive points to grab the lead during the third quarter.
It only lasted 20 seconds, though, with Logan answering to get back to a seven-point lead, and to remain on top the rest of the way and end up winning the game by 10.
The Thunder improve to 4-5 on the season with the victory with Prasayus Notoa outstanding with 22 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and two steals on 8/12 shooting from the floor, 3/5 from three-point range and 3/4 from the charity stripe.
Jade Kirisome also had 17 points and four rebounds, Chevannah Paalvast 13 points, eight boards and seven assists, and Sharni Reisinger 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Ipswich slips to 1-8 with the defeat with Kahlaijah Dean delivering another 25 points and four rebounds on 6/14 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Amanda Cahill also had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Claire Fraser 12 points, three boards, three steals and two assists, and Kate Head nine points, five rebounds and five assists.
Ipswich backs up to face the Gold Coast Rollers on the road on Saturday with Logan to next take on the Gold Coast Rollers next Friday night on the road.
LOGAN THUNDER 80 (Notoa 22, Kirisome 17, Paalvast 13)
IPSWICH FORCE 70 (Dean 25, Fraser 12, Cahill 12)
Northside Wizards (79) defeated Townsville Flames (65)
The unbeaten defending champion Northside Wizards kept their winning run going with the 79-65 home victory against the visiting Townsville Flames.
The Wizards were back home at Northside Indoor Sports Centre putting their perfect record on the line on the back of last year's championship as they hosted a Flames team also arriving on a six-game winning run.
With both teams having won the last two NBL1 North championships and right in the discussion again in 2024, it was always going to be a fascinating match up and it was a tight affair at least through three quarters.
It was the Wizards clinging to a 23-21 lead by quarter-time before stretching that advantage out to 40-36 by the half-time interval.
Townsville did briefly grab the lead during the third quarter but Northside responded to still be up 59-55 by three quarter-time, but the Flames were still well within striking distance.
However, Northside pulled away in the final period with 20 points to 10 to secure the eventual 14-point victory to improve to a perfect 11-0 in their championship defence.
Nadeen Payne finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and two assists for the Wizards on 7/12 shooting from the floor and 10/10 at the foul line.
AJ Johnson added 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Erin Bollmann 18 points, 11 boards, five steals and four assists, and Jess McDowell-White seven points and five assists.
The loss ends the six-game winning run of the Flames who are now 7-2 on the season with Ella Tofaeono ending up with 20 points and 15 rebounds on 8/11 shooting.
Alex Fowler also contributed 16 points and nine rebounds, Indiah Bowyer 10 points and two assists, and Saffron Shiels nine points, six rebounds and six assists.
The double on the road this weekend for Townsville wraps up against the Sunshine Coast Phoenix on Saturday with the Wizards to host the Darwin Salties next Saturday night.
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 79 (Payne 26, Johnson 20, Bollmann 18)
TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 65 (Tofaeono 20, Fowler 16, Bowyer 10)
Mackay Meteorettes (98) defeated Darwin Salties (85)
The Mackay Meteorettes made it consecutive wins this NBL1 North season by handing the Darwin Salties a second loss of 2024 with the 98-85 victory.
The Salties arrived at Mackay Basketball Stadium to begin their double on the road this weekend with six wins from seven games this season with the Meteorettes fresh off beating the Gold Coast Rollers.
Darwin were able to push out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter but by quarter-time Mackay were able to go into the break leading 25-24.
The Salties again opened up a handy lead this time by as much as 10 points in the second quarter and the Meteorettes had to respond, and they did exactly that by going on a 15-0 scoring run to be on top 56-51 by half-time.
For most of the second half Mackay were on top as well and they would end up scoring the 13-point victory to make it back-to-back wins and to improve to 3-5 on the season.
Samantha Haiby came up huge for the Meteorettes with 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists with Nikita Van Wyk contributing 20 points, five boards and three steals.
Cheyenne Bobongie also had 15 points and three rebounds, Taylor Mole 12 points, 12 boards, five assists and three blocked shots, and Chelsea Brook 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Darwin begins its double weekend on the road by slipping to a 6-2 record with Abigail Curtin finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds with Courtney Woods adding 20 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Ruby Porter also had 13 points, six rebounds, five steals, four blocks and three assists, and Cat MacGregor 11 points, five boards, three blocked shots and two assists.
The road double for the Salties continues on Saturday against the Rockhampton Cyclones with Mackay away to the Ipswich Force next Friday.
MACKAY METEORETTES 98 (Haiby 28, Van Wyk 20, Bobongie 15)
DARWIN SALTIES 85 (Curtin 20, Woods 20, Porter 13)
MEN
Brisbane Capitals (110) defeated Cairns Marlins (97)
The Cairns Marlins pulled off a miraculous late fight back just to get the game to overtime in the first place but the Brisbane Capitals then took control for the eventual 110-97 home victory.
The Capitals were back on their home floor at Auchenflower Stadium on a four-game winning streak with Cairns arriving looking to bounce back from a home loss to Logan and improve on their .500 record.
Brisbane made a strong start to be leading by 11 points at quarter-time with that lead growing to 14 points in the second period with the home team still on top 52-41 at intermission.
The Caps were still leading by 13 points in the third quarter and again by 14 in the fourth term with eight minutes to play.
Even with just under four minutes to play and the Capitals were still leading by eight points but Cairns weren’t going away and four quick points came from Kody and Ky Stattmann.
Alex Mudronja dropped a three-pointer shortly after to make it a three-point ball game but still Brisbane steadied thanks to a breakaway dunk on the steal from Sam McDaniel to keep the Capitals up five with just over a minute to go.
The Marlins responded with a three-point play from Kody Stattmann and ultimately Mudronja grabbed the rebound on a missed three from Gabe Hadley, went up to score for Cairns to tie scores up and force the extra period.
Cairns had used up so much energy just to force the extra period, though, and with Kody Stattmann, Mudronja and Josh Kunen all fouling out, the Capitals took control in overtime with 17 points to four to secure the 13-point victory.
Brisbane improves to 6-4 with the win Sam McDaniel starring once more with 34 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals on 13/21 shooting from the field and 8/9 at the foul line.
Gabe Hadley also produced 27 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds, Geordan Papacostas 18 points and eight boards, Matthew Johns 13 points and 11 rebounds, Isaih Tueta 10 points and two assists, and Cameron Thew eight points and 12 boards.
The Marlins are now 4-5 following the overtime loss with Kody Stattmann finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals on 4/7 three-point shooting, and Kian Dennis 22 points, nine boards and three assists.
Ky Stattmann also produced 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, Alex Mudronja 17 points, three boards and three assists, and Josh Kunen 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Cairns backs up to play on the road to the Southern Districts Spartans on Saturday night while Brisbane hosts the Spartans as well next Saturday.
BRISBANE CAPITALS 110 (McDaniel 34, Hadley 27, Papacostas 18)
CAIRNS MARLINS 97 (Kody Stattmann 23, Dennis 22, Ky Stattmann 22)
Logan Thunder (96) defeated Ipswich Force (73)
Logan Thunder continued their hot form with a dominant 96-73 home victory against the defending champion Ipswich Force on Friday night.
Logan was home at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre on a three-game winning run hosting the reigning champion Ipswich who had lost their past two matches.
It didn’t take long for the Thunder to open up a double-digit advantage and to be leading 27-17 by the end of the first quarter.
The lead for Logan would continue to grow the rest of the evening getting out to as much as 19 points in the second period, 22 in the third and 30 in the fourth.
The Thunder would end up scoring the 23-point victory to make it four straight wins on the season and to improve to a 7-2 record.
Zac Triplett continued his standout form this season for Logan with another 18 points, nine rebounds and two assists with 4/7 shooting from three-point territory.
Chris Cedar also knocked down 5/9 from behind the arc for 17 points with Callum Dalton contributing 16 points and nine rebounds, Shaun Bruce 13 points and 17 assists, Jean-Luc Morel 10 points, five boards and two blocks, and Tom Howard nine points and nine rebounds.
Ipswich has now lost three straight to slip to a 3-6 record on the season as defending champions with Henry Pwono top-scoring with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Nathan Sobey also had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, Jason Ralph nine points, three boards and three assists, and DJ Mitchell eight points and three rebounds.
Ipswich backs up to face the Gold Coast Rollers on the road on Saturday with Logan to next take on the Gold Coast Rollers next Friday night on the road.
LOGAN THUNDER 96 (Triplett 18, Cedar 17, Dalton 16)
IPSWICH FORCE 73 (Pwono 13, Sobey 10, Ralph 9)
Northside Wizards (93) defeated Townsville Heat (86)
It took until a second overtime period but eventually the Northside Wizards were able to pull away from the visiting Townsville Heat to snap an eight-game losing run with the 93-86 victory.
With Australian basketball legend Darryl McDonald taking over as coach in 2024, the Wizards won their first two games of the season but had lost eight in-a-row heading into Friday night's match up against the travelling Heat at Northside Indoor Sports Centre.
Townsville were also on a four-game losing run with just the two wins as well for the season but what the two teams delivered was a remarkable contest that would end up lasting 50 minutes.
The Heat did arrive without Kyrin Galloway and Harry Morris available and the Wizards did get out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter even though Townsville had it back to five at quarter-time.
That trend continued with Northside going up 12 again in the second term but by half-time the Heat stayed in touch to cut the lead of the home team to 49-40.
It was Townsville's turn to grab the advantage in the third quarter with 23 points to 13 and that saw them end up leading by as much as six points early in the fourth stanza.
In the end, the last score of regulation was a bucket to Jackson Makoi for the Wizards after Lual Diing forced the turnover from Kyle Leslie with 1:45 on the clock.
What followed was a shot clock turnover for Townsville, turnovers from both teams, missed three-point attempts and even an offensive foul, but neither team could score and it was 75-75 as time expired.
Then in the first overtime, Michael Cedar opened up with a three ball for Townsville and Ethan Betts put the visitors up five, and shortly after Richard Peachey hit a triple to push that advantage out to six.
Diing cut that deficit in half with a three ball for the Wizards and then it was a stunning triple on the buzzer from Jamie Ahale that levelled scores up once more as time expired to force the second overtime.
And it was then where Northside were able to take charge outscoring Townsville 10 points to three on the way to the 93-86 win to improve to 3-9 on the season.
Lual Diing top-scored for the Wizards with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals with Jamie Ahale contributing 21 points, five boards and four steals on 5/10 three-point shooting.
Jackson Makoi also had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Nikau McCullough 13 points and three assists, and Mitchell Poulain eight points and nine rebounds.
The Heat are 2-7 following the double overtime defeat with Ethan Betts ending the night with 24 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals on 12/26 shooting from the field.
Kyle Leslie also had 19 points and six rebounds, Matthew Rees 15 points, 10 boards and three assists, and Richard Peachey 13 points, 11 boards, two assists and two steals.
The double on the road this weekend for Townsville wraps up against the Sunshine Coast Phoenix on Saturday with the Wizards to host the Darwin Salties next Saturday night.
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 93 (Diing 22, Ahale 21, Makoi 15)
TOWNSVILLE HEAT 86 (Betts 24, Leslie 19, Rees 15)
Mackay Meteors (95) lost to Darwin Salties (113)
The undefeated run this season of the Mackay Meteors is over with the Darwin Salties starting their road trip in style with the 113-95 victory on Friday night.
The Meteors put their undefeated start to the season on the line at Mackay Basketball Stadium up against a Darwin team hitting the road and attempting to bounce back from a loss to the Rockhampton Rockets.
Mackay did start strongly opening up an early eight-point advantage, but Darwin soon took charge and by the end of the first quarter were leading 30-23.
The Salties then blew the game wide open in the second period as the lead grew to 22 points and the visitors would go into the half-time break with the 60-45 advantage.
Darwin continued to blow the game further apart in the second half with the lead getting out to 29 points before they won by 18 points in the finish to hand Mackay a first defeat of 2024.
The Salties improve to a 6-2 record with the victory with Chier Maker producing 26 points, 13 rebounds and three assists, and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 23 points on shooting 7/8 from the floor, 4/5 from behind the three-point arc and 5/5 at the foul line.
Sean Macdonald also had 16 points, five assists and three rebounds, Kouat Noi 15 points, four boards, three steals and two assists, Makuach Maluach 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists, and Verle Williams 11 points and three boards.
It's a first loss of the season for Meteors despite Jerron Jamerson delivering 29 points, five rebounds and two steals on 8/13 shooting from the field and 13/14 at the foul line in just under 20 minutes of court time.
Isaac White added 25 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, Aiden Krause 13 points and three steals, and Todd Blanchfield 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
The road double for the Salties continues on Saturday against the Rockhampton Rockets with Mackay away to the Ipswich Force next Friday.
MACKAY METEORS 95 (Jamerson 29, White 25, Blanchfield 13, Krause 13)
DARWIN SALTIES 113 (Maker 26, Swaka Lo Buluk 23, Macdonald 16)
