Featured image: B.Rad Sports Photography | @b.rad_sports
Mikaela Ruef and Miela Goodchild starred as the North Gold Coast Seahawks advanced in the NBL1 North playoffs while Brisbane Bullets NBL teammates Tyrell Harrison and Gabe Hadley were brilliant respectively for the Southern Districts Spartans and Brisbane Capitals.
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | QUARTER FINALS FRIDAY
WOMEN
Southern Districts Spartans (83) lost to North Gold Coast Seahawks (91)
The one-two punch of Mikaela Ruef and Miela Goodchild combined for 56 points, 29 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the North Gold Coast Seahawks into the semi finals with the 91-83 win over the Southern Districts Spartans.
Precious little separated the two teams at the end of the regular season with both ending up on 12-5 records with the Spartans only finishing fourth ahead of the Seahawks thanks to winning their lone encounter in 2024.
That earned them home court advantage at Rowland Cowan Stadium but the Seahawks had the duo of Mikaela Ruef and Miela Goodchild who were named to the All-First Team back on Monday night.
North Gold Coast were leading by four points at quarter-time before then completing a 10-0 run to end up opening a 12-point lead, and going into the half-time break leading 43-31.
That lead for the Seahawks got out to as much as 19 points in the second half too, but on their home floor and with their season on the line, the Spartans weren’t going down without swinging.
Nine straight points early in the fourth quarter saw Southern Districts back within seven points which soon became five after free throws to Steph Bairstow and Ariana Moorer.
That would be as close as they would get, though, with the Seahawks having enough of the answers to end up winning by eight points and set up a semi-final battle with the defending champion Northside Wizards.
The big guns delivered for North Gold Coast with Mikaela Ruef finishing with 26 points, 27 rebounds and eight assists on 3/5 three-point shooting with 7/10 from the foul line.
Fellow First Team member Miela Goodchild also had 30 points with 13/14 shooting at the charity stripe with Grace Champion contributing 11 points and three rebounds, Chailee Ward nine points and three assists, and Majella Carey eight points, five rebounds and two assists.
The season is now over for the Spartans in what is just their sixth defeat of 2024 with Ariana Moorer finishing with 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Maddy Allen also had 13 points, four boards, three assists and two steals with Steph Bairstow contributing 20 points, four boards and two assists on 4/7 three-point shooting.
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 83 (Moorer 25, Bairstow 20, Allen 13)
NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 91 (Goodchild 30, Ruef 26, Champion 11)
MEN
Brisbane Capitals (98) defeated Rockhampton Rockets (81)
One of the teams was always going to be mighty disappointed to have their season over by the end of Saturday night but Gabe Hadley proved the difference as he put up 38 points in the 98-81 win for the Brisbane Capitals over the Rockhampton Rockets.
The Capitals finished the regular season at 11-6 in fourth position to be just ahead of the fifth placed Rockets at 9-8 and with both teams having won their last two matches coming into the finals.
That set the stage for a mouth watering match up at Auchenflower Stadium with Brisbane managing to open up a 27-21 advantage by the end of the first quarter.
The Capitals then blew the game open further with 27 points to 19 in the second quarter to be leading 54-40 at half-time.
The Caps completed the job in the second half to be leading by as much as 21 points in the third frame and 26 in the fourth on the way to the 17-point victory.
The Capitals will now take on the Darwin Salties in the Top End next Saturday with a Grand Final spot on the line and Gabe Hadley made a statement that he can make the leap to being a legit NBL player should the chance present.
He was the difference between the two teams with 38 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals while knocking down 8/13 from three-point range.
MVP Sam McDaniel also had 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists with Isaih Tueta adding 14 points, seven assists, three steals and three rebounds, and Geordan Papacostas 11 points and three boards.
The season is over for the Rockets and it will be frustrating for everyone involved given the squad they had and what they were capable of under coach Neal Tweedy.
Xavier Ford finished the season off with 25 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots with Nighael Ceaser having 21 points, four rebounds and two assists on 8/12 shooting from the floor.
Matur Maker added 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and Ben Tweedy 10 points, 12 assists and four boards.
BRISBANE CAPITALS 98 (Hadley 38, McDaniel 19, Tueta 14)
ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS 81 (Ford 25, Ceaser 21, Maker 17)
Logan Thunder (69) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (93)
Quite simply Logan Thunder had no answers for the dominance of Tyrell Harrison who put the Southern Districts Spartans on his back to lead them to the 93-69 road quarter-final victory.
Coming off the best NBL season of his career at the Brisbane Bullets and a standout regular season campaign with the Spartans that saw him named to the All First Team even while being out with the Tall Blacks Olympic qualification campaign, Harrison was the difference in Saturday's quarter-final.
Logan finished third at the end of the regular season to earn home court advantage at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre up against the sixth ranked Spartans, but it was no ordinary sixth placed team with not only Harrison, but also Mitch Norton, Jarred Bairstow and Corey Shervill.
With the significant presence of Harrison down low, it didn’t take long for Southern Districts to take control and they would score 10 straight points in the first quarter to open up a 16-point advantage.
The lead for the Spartans got out to as much as 17 points in the second quarter and then while Logan were able to stay in touch in the third term, Southern Districts took control for good in the fourth.
The Spartans scored another 10 straight points to open up a 24-point lead by the final buzzer to advance to a semi-final match up with the Mackay Meteors next Saturday.
It was a dominant performance from Tyrell Harrison with 22 points, 24 rebounds and four assists who shot 8/11 from the floor and 6/10 at the foul line.
His partnership with Bullets teammate Mitch Norton was on point too who delivered 16 points, eight assists and four rebounds with Corey Shervill providing 13 points, seven boards and three steals.
Max Kerle made 3/6 from downtown with 15 points while Mason Honeyman added 13 points on 3/4 three-point shooting, and Jarred Bairstow eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.
It was a frustrating way for Logan's season to end when there were times in 2024 they appeared capable of being genuine championship contenders, but that's the cut-throat nature of the NBL1 North finals series.
Zac Triplett completed his breakout season with another 25 points, four rebounds and three assists on 5/11 three-point shooting with 317-game NBL veteran Shaun Bruce delivering 12 points, seven boards, six assists and two steals.
Callum Dalton provided 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks with Chris Cedar adding eight points, four boards and three assists.
LOGAN THUNDER 69 (Triplett 25, Dalton 12, Bruce 12)
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 93 (Harrison 22, Norton 16, Kerle 15)
