Featured images: Judd Green / Taylor Earnshaw Photography
Abby Cubillo made a winning NBL1 North return for the Southern Districts Spartans while the Cairns Dolphins opened their 2024 account and Zac Triplett shone in a stunning comeback Logan Thunder victory.
Saturday night women's results in the NBL1 North saw the Northside Wizards beat the North Gold Coast Seahawks 89-74, the South West Metro Pirates defeat the Logan Thunder 75-66, the Southern Districts Spartans down the Darwin Salties 97-75, and the Cairns Dolphins win 96-79 over the Gold Coast Rollers.
The Mackay Meteorettes also beat the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 88-70.
The men's results then saw the Wizards down the Seahawks 75-73, the Thunder defeat the Pirates 95-91, the Salties beat the Spartans 106-92, the Rollers down the Marlins 92-90 and the Meteors win 117-77 over the Phoenix.
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | ROUND 10 FRIDAY
WOMEN
Northside Wizards (89) defeated North Gold Coast Seahawks (74)
The undefeated defending champion Northside Wizards continued their hot form seeing off the challenge of the North Gold Coast Seahawks for the 89-74 victory at home.
The Wizards put that undefeated record on the line at Northside Indoor Sports Centre with the Seahawks arriving attempting to bounce back from a loss on Friday night at home to the Southern Districts Spartans.
With a big three of Mikaela Ruef, Miela Goodchild and Grace Champion, the Seahawks had the weapons to be a real threat to the Wizards, but the reigning champions worked on top by five already by quarter-time.
North Gold Coast were staying in touch, though, and it was only a 42-36 lead for Northside by the half-time break.
It was in the third period when the Wizards put their foot down and with 32 points to 22, the reigning champs opened up a commanding 19-point lead.
That turned into a 24-point advantage throughout the final stanza and the Wizards would go on to score the 15-point win to improve to a 13-0 on the season in their championship defence.
Erin Bollmann continued her standout form for Northside with another 24 points, five assists, four rebounds and three blocked shots on 9/17 shooting from the field, 2/4 from deep and 4/5 at the foul line.
AJ Johnson added 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, Nadeen Payne 17 points, two boards and two assists, and Jess McDowell-White 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.
It's back-to-back losses now for a North Gold Coast team who came into the weekend in second position with Miela Goodchild finishing with another 20 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Mikaela Ruef had another strong double-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists with Grace Champion contributing 14 points, three boards and two assists, and Chailee Ward 11 points and four assists on 3/5 three-point shooting.
The Wizards are on the road again next Friday against the Ipswich Force while the Seahawks are also away to the Darwin Salties on Saturday.
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 89 (Bollmann 24, Johnson 20, Payne 17)
NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 74 (Goodchild 20, Champion 14, Ruef 13)
South West Metro Pirates (75) defeated Logan Thunder (66)
The South West Metro Pirates made it three wins in-a-row with Leah Scott finishing with 23 points and 17 rebounds in the 75-66 home win against Logan Thunder.
The Pirates were back on their home floor at Hibiscus Sports Stadium having won their past two games ahead of hosting a Logan team also coming off a win against the Mackay Meteorettes.
It was Logan who had the better of the start away from home with 23 points to 17 in the first quarter but South West Metro worked back into it in the second period with 16 points to 12.
That cut the Logan lead at half-time back to 35-33 but the Pirates worked on top throughout the second half with the home team working on top by seven points in the third period.
It was another 23 points to 18 in the final term for South West Metro to end up securing the nine-point victory to improve to 6-5 on the season with three straight wins.
Leah Scott was the star of the night for the Pirates with 23 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots while Charlotte Whittaker contributed 16 points, 16 boards and two steals.
Taya Hanson also had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals on 3/6 three-point shooting with Bronte Corke also scoring nine points and Alana Fraser having seven points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Logan is now 5-7 on the season with the defeat with Mikhaela Cann putting up 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds with 4/8 three-point shooting.
Chevannah Paalvast added 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals with Jade Kirisome also having 11 points, four boards and four assists, and Cate Reese eight points and nine rebounds.
The Pirates head north next weekend starting on Friday against Cairns while Logan will be away to the Brisbane Capitals on Saturday.
SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 75 (Scott 23, Whittaker 16, Hanson 15)
LOGAN THUNDER 66 (Cann 27, Paalvast 14, Kirisome 11)
Southern Districts Spartans (97) defeated Darwin Salties (75)
Abby Cubillo made a heartwarming successful return after 12 months sidelined and the Southern Districts Spartans made it a perfect weekend with the 97-75 win over the Darwin Salties.
The Spartans were back home at Rowland Cowan Stadium looking to back up their win the previous night against the North Gold Coast Seahawks up against a Salties team arriving looking for a bounce back win to try and break back into the top four.
On the back of the win the previous night, the Spartans kept the momentum going to lead by as much as six points in the first quarter and to still be up 25-23 by quarter-time.
The lead got out to eight points for Southern Districts in the second term and the home team would be on top 46-39 by the half-time break.
Darwin stayed in touch through the third quarter, but it was in the final period where Southern Districts took charge with 33 points to 12 to end up scoring the emphatic 22-point victory.
The Spartans welcomed back Abby Cubillo who had been out the last year with a knee injury. She was tremendous in 19 minutes with 18 points and three rebounds on shooting 5/7 from the floor, 2/3 from three-point territory and 6/8 at the free-throw line.
Ariana Moorer added 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals on 11/17 foul shooting with Steph Bairstow contributing 17 points, five boards and three assists, Maddy Allen 14 points, eight assists and four steals, and Kalani Purcell 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Darwin slips to 7-5 with consecutive losses now despite Courtney Woods putting up 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists on 6/11 shooting from the field, 2/2 from downtown and 11/12 at the free-throw line.
Cat MacGregor also had 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Salties, Ashley Harris 11 points and 11 boards, and Ruby Porter nine points, six rebounds and two steals.
Darwin backs up on Sunday afternoon taking on the fresh Brisbane Capitals while the Spartans will be away to the Gold Coast Rollers next Saturday.
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 97 (Moorer 19, Cubillo 18, Bairstow 17)
DARWIN SALTIES 75 (Woods 25, MacGregor 19, Harris 11)
Cairns Dolphins (96) defeated Gold Coast Rollers (79)
Starring performances from Mia Loyd, Teyahna Bond and Leichan Williams has led the Cairns Dolphins to a drought breaking win after defeating the Gold Coast Rollers 96-79 at home on Saturday night.
Cairns was at home at Trinity Ford Stadium still looking for a first win of the NBL1 North season after 11 straight losses while Gold Coast arrived on the back of losing in Townsville the previous night by 17 points.
It was a close contest in the first quarter but it was in the second term when Cairns started to take charge and ended up leading by as much as 14 points before leading 53-45 by half-time.
The Dolphins then remained in control throughout the second half to end up leading by 17 points and that was the margin by the final buzzer.
The win is a first of the season for Cairns following 11 straight losses with Mia Loyd delivering 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals on shooting 9/13 from the floor, 2/2 from three-point land and 6/6 at the free-throw line.
Teyahna Bond added 24 points, eight rebounds and two assists with Leichan Williams contributing 17 points and four boards on 7/9 shooting, and Amy Lewis nine points, seven assists and four rebounds.
Gold Coast has now lost three straight matches with a 3-9 record with Kate Deeble finishing with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals with 5/12 shooting from beyond the arc.
Taylor Lee also had 14 points and five assists, Myah Selland 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Jayla Cassidy eight points on 3/3 shooting.
Cairns is next in action at home on Friday night against the South West Metro Pirates while Gold Coast will be at home to the Southern Districts Spartans on Saturday.
CAIRNS DOLPHINS 96 (Loyd 26, Teyahna Bond 24, Williams 17)
GOLD COAST ROLLERS 79 (Deeble 25, Lee 14, Selland 10)
Mackay Meteorettes (88) defeated Sunshine Coast Phoenix (70)
Chelsea Brook had 24 points, 14 rebounds and hit all four of her three-point attempts to help the Mackay Meteorettes to the 88-70 home win over the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.
The Meteorettes were back home at Mackay Basketball Stadium looking to snap a two-game losing slide up against a Phoenix team having also lost the past four with just the one win for the season.
Mackay made a hot start to the contest with 27 points to 19 in the first quarter before the Meteorettes pushed that lead out to as much as 15 points in the second term.
They were still leading 50-37 by half-time and then continued to extend the lead in the second half and the final 18-point margin was the biggest of the game.
The win improves Mackay to a 5-7 record on the season to remain in touch of a top six spot with Chelsea Brook outstanding with 24 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and two assists on shooting 9/10 from the floor and 4/4 from three-point range.
Samantha Haiby added 22 points, six assists, six steals and five rebounds with Taylor Mole delivering 18 points, four boards and two steals, and Nikita Van Wyk 10 points on 4/5 shooting.
The Phoenix have now lost five in-a-row to slip to a 1-10 record on the season despite Haylee Andrews putting up 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 7/12 shooting from the field and 9/15 at the foul line.
Carlie Smith also put up 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, and Madeleine White nine points, 10 boards and four assists.
The Sunshine Coast Phoenix back up on the road on Sunday against Rockhampton while Mackay is on the road on Saturday to Rockhampton.
MACKAY METEORETTES 88 (Brook 24, Haiby 22, Mole 18)
SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 70 (Andrews 24, Smith 19, Handreck 9, White 9)
MEN
Northside Wizards (75) defeated North Gold Coast Seahawks (73)
The North Gold Coast Seahawks almost pulled off a stunning comeback but the Northside Wizards ending up holding on for 75-73 victory at home.
The Wizards came into the match up at Northside Indoor Sports Centre looking for a fourth win of the season up against a Seahawks team trying to stay in the playoff hunt following Friday night's loss at home to the Southern Districts Spartans.
North Gold Coast opened up an eight-point lead in the first quarter and were still on top 21-17 by quarter-time before Northside managed to turn the tide with 24 points to 10 in the second period.
That saw the Wizards leading 41-31 at the half-time break with the home team extending that advantage to as much as 14 points in the fourth quarter.
However, the Seahawks weren’t done with yet and managed to go on an 11-0 scoring run but they couldn’t quite get in front with the Wizards holding out for the eventual two-point victory.
Northside improves to a 4-9 record on the season with the win with Jackson Makoi outstanding with 18 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
Nikau McCullough added nine points, two rebounds and two assists, Lual Diing nine points, 11 boards and three steals, Mitch Poulain nine points and six rebounds, Jed Richardson nine points and five boards, and Jamie Ahale eight points and three rebounds.
The Seahawks are now 5-8 after the back-to-back losses this weekend with Cameron Healy leading the charge with 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists on 11/22 shooting from the field.
Matt Kenyon also put up 20 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and two steals with Kane Bishop contributing 11 points and seven boards, and Nathaniel Salmon seven points and three rebounds.
The Wizards are on the road again next Friday against the Ipswich Force while the Seahawks are also away to the Darwin Salties on Saturday.
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 75 (Makoi 18, Diing 9, Richardson 9, McCullough 9, Poulain 9)
NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 73 (Healy 28, Kenyon 20, Bishop 11)
South West Metro Pirates (91) lost to Logan Thunder (95)
Logan Thunder stormed home to come back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the South West Metro Pirates 95-91 with Zac Triplett continuing to shine with 30 points.
The Pirates are still missing Lamar Patterson and came into the game needing a win to stay in touch of the top six as they hosted a Thunder team looking to bounce back from a loss to Mackay and to stay in touch for a top two spot.
The Pirates were leading 23-20 by the end of the first quarter before pushing out to a nine-point lead in the second term, and being up still 51-47 by half-time.
South West Metro opened up an 11-point lead during the fourth frame after a bucket to Brendan Teys with just under five minutes to play.
It did feel as though the Pirates were in control, but nobody told the Thunder that and after a couple of strong drives and finishes from Shaun Bruce, Zac Triplett knocked down a three ball with two minutes to play, it was just a three-point ball game.
Triplett then scored again to make it a one-point deficit and then Triplett's massive finish continued as he drained another three ball to give Logan the lead.
It was a massive turnaround from an 11-point deficit to two-point lead in the space of four minutes and Logan would end up winning by four to improve to 9-3 on the season as a result.
Zac Triplett came up huge for the Thunder with 30 points, four rebounds and two assists on shooting 9/17 from the field, 3/9 from downtown and 9/10 at the foul line.
Shaun Bruce also delivered 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Callum Dalton 12 points and 10 boards, Tom Howard 11 points and seven rebounds, and Chris Cedar 11 points, six boards and three assists.
It was a devastating blow for South West Metro from a winning position with the Pirates now sitting at 4-7 as a result with Kai Woodfall finishing with 17 points, five assists and two steals.
Tobias Rotegaard top-scored with 18 points and five rebounds on 4/6 shooting with Brendan Teys contributing 12 points and two boards, Roman Siulepa nine points and nine rebounds, and Jeremy McLaughlin eight points, eight boards and five assists.
The Pirates head north next weekend starting on Friday against Cairns while Logan will be away to the Brisbane Capitals on Saturday.
SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 91 (Rotegaard 18, Woodfall 17, Volkman 16)
LOGAN THUNDER 95 (Triplett 30, Bruce 19, Dalton 12)
Southern Districts Spartans (92) lost to Darwin Salties (106)
A combined 84 points from Chier Marker, Kouat Noi and Makuach Maluach saw the Darwin Salties overcome the 59 points from Mitch Norton and Tyrell Harrison to beat the Southern Districts Spartans 106-92.
The Spartans opened their weekend with a statement win over the North Gold Coast Seahawks ahead of hosting the Salties at Rowland Cowan Stadium.
Both teams have shown enough to suggest they deserve to be in the championship discussion this season so it was a chance to enhance those prospects for one of the teams in the Saturday night match up.
On the back of the win the previous night, Southern Districts started well to be leading 28-22 by quarter-time before heading into the half-time break still on top 53-48.
The Salties turned things around in emphatic fashion in the third frame with 30 points to 10 to end up leading by as much as 15 points.
Darwin then kept the momentum going into the last quarter to win by as much as 24 points and then to end up winning by 14 to improve to 10-2 on the season with five consecutive victories.
Kouat Noi shot 9/16 from the floor, 3/5 from downtown and 7/8 at the foul line on the way to 28 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Salties.
Chier Maker also had 28 points, nine boards, three assists and three steals, Makuach Maluach 26 points and six rebounds, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 11 points and five boards, and Sean Macdonald eight points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals.
The Spartans split their double-header weekend to now sit on a 6-6 record with Brisbane Bullets pair Mitch Norton and Tyrell Harrison once again doing all they could to give Southern Districts a chance.
Norton delivered 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 6/8 three-point shooting while Harrison contributed 29 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots on 13/15 shooting from the field.
Corey Shervill also had nine points and three rebounds for Southern Districts and Jarred Bairstow eight points, seven boards and five assists.
Darwin backs up on Sunday afternoon taking on the fresh Brisbane Capitals while the Spartans will be away to the Gold Coast Rollers next Saturday.
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 92 (Norton 30, Harrison 29, Shervill 9)
DARWIN SALTIES 106 (Maker 28, Noi 28, Maluach 26)
Cairns Marlins (90) lost to Gold Coast Rollers (92)
The playoff aspirations of the Gold Coast Rollers were starting to slip away but they dug deep for the important 92-90 road victory over the Cairns Marlins.
On the back of reaching the past two Grand Finals in the NBL1 North, Gold Coast slipped to a 4-7 record this season with Friday night's loss in Townsville ahead of arriving at Trinity Ford Stadium to take on the Marlins on Saturday night.
It was the Rollers who made the hot start by scoring 10 straight points in the first to open up a lead as big as 15 points, but the Marlins were able to work back into the contest.
Gold Coast's lead was back to just 47-41 by half-time and then Cairns took charge in the third frame with 25 points to 16 to open up their own 66-63 lead by three quarter-time.
The Marlins then looked on target for a win that could have returned them to a top six position when opening up a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Cairns were leading by that margin early in the last term but the Rollers fired back with Reed Nottage making his impact including a three ball to cut the deficit to five.
It was then Preston Le Gassick's turn to step up and when he hit back-to-back three-pointers Gold Coast was back within two points, and he hit another shortly after to keep the Rollers within striking distance.
In the end, Jason Cadee scored going to the basket with 3:30 remaining to tie scores up and two free throws from Le Gassick gave the Rollers the lead just five minutes after being down by 10.
The drama wasn’t done there with Josh Kunen knocking down a three to restore Cairns to the lead and the Marlins were still up two with a minute to play after a score from Ky Stattmann.
Nottage scored again on the next possession for Gold Coast to level scores and then after the Rollers forced a turnover, Cadee hit a massive three.
That would be the shot that determined the result with Gold Coast winning by two points in the end to keep its season alive with a 5-7 record.
Reigning MVP Jason Cadee delivered 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists with 4/7 three-point shooting for the Rollers with Reed Nottage adding 21 points, 16 rebounds and two assists on shooting 8/14 from the field and 3/4 from three-point territory.
Preston Le Gassick hit 4/11 from downtown for 20 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists too with Daniel Titus adding 10 points and two assists, and Boston Mazlin nine points, four assists and two rebounds.
Cairns is now 5-7 as well following the defeat at home with Alex Mudronja top scoring with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Kian Dennis added 19 points and seven rebounds, Kody Stattmann 18 points and five boards, and Ky Stattmann 17 points and two rebounds.
Cairns is next in action at home on Friday night against the South West Metro Pirates while Gold Coast will be at home to the Southern Districts Spartans on Saturday.
CAIRNS MARLINS 90 (Mudronja 21, Dennis 19, Kody Stattmann 18)
GOLD COAST ROLLERS 92 (Cadee 26, Nottage 21, Le Gassick 20)
Mackay Meteors (117) defeated Sunshine Coast Phoenix (77)
Todd Blanchfield and Isaac White combined for 57 points and 11 three-pointers as the league-leading Mackay Meteors fired to the 117-77 win at home to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.
Mackay was playing host to Sunshine Coast at Mackay Basketball Stadium looking to consolidate top spot up against a Phoenix team attempting to maintain touch with the teams in the top six.
Sunshine Coast did manage to stick with Mackay for a lot of the first half but the Meteors began to pull away throughout the second quarter with an 11-0 run and that helped them go into the half-time break leading 48-38.
It was in the third quarter where Mackay blew the game wide open with 42 points to 24 and then with another 27 in the 15 fourth period the lead for the Meteors got out to as much as 42 points.
Mackay would end up scoring the 40-point victory to improve to 11-1 on the season to retain top position.
Todd Blanchfield starred in the win for the Meteors with the 402-game NBL veteran hitting 7/11 from three-point territory on his way to 33 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Isaac White added 24 points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds on shooting 4/5 from three-point range as well.
Christian Maran also contributed 12 points on 5/6 shooting with Amarco Doyle adding 10 points and two rebounds, Jerron Jamerson 10 points, three boards and three assists, and Aiden Krause eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
The Phoenix have now lost back-to-back games to be 5-6 on the season with Kobe McDowell-White ending up with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Nelson Kahler added 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks on 8/10 shooting from the floor while Jamaal Robateau contributed 10 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.
The Sunshine Coast Phoenix back up on the road on Sunday against Rockhampton while Mackay is on the road on Saturday to Rockhampton.
MACKAY METEORS 117 (Blanchfield 33, White 24, Maran 12)
SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 77 (McDowell-White 19, Kahler 18, J Robateau 10)
