Sam Bowman, Lara McSpadden, Ben Tweedy, Xavier Ford and Nighael Ceaser all fired in big Friday night NBL1 North wins for Rockhampton while Erin Bollmann dominated once more as the Northside Wizards kept on winning.
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | FIRST NATIONS ROUND SATURDAY
WOMEN
Brisbane Capitals (75) lost to Northside Wizards (97)
Erin Bollmann dominated with a near triple-double including 27 points and 16 assists as the Northside Wizards emphatically completed their regular season with the 97-75 road win over the Brisbane Capitals.
Both teams arrived at Auchenflower Stadium playing their last games of the regular season with the Wizards having already sewn up the regular season championship while the Capitals were out of the playoff race.
The Wizards made a hot start opening up a 12-point lead in the first quarter thanks to a 9-0 run and then continued to build on that lead the rest of the way.
Northside would lead by as much as 23 points in the second period and 31 in the third on the way to the eventual 22-point with the Capitals at least firing back in their last game of the season.
The Wizards will now finish the regular season on a 16-1 record on the back of last year's championship with Erin Bollmann producing a phenomenal performance made up of 27 points, 16 assists, eight rebounds and five steals.
Nadeen Payne added 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists while Alice O'Driscoll put up 15 points, four boards and two assists, Hayley McDowell-White 10 points and two assists, Courtney Middap nine points and four rebounds, and Jess McDowell-White eight points, six boards, six assists and two steals.
The Capitals end their season with an 8-9 record with Megan Mullings finishing with 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Lil Dart also had 19 points to close her strong season with Georgia Dale contributing 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Hannah Hank seven points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
BRISBANE CAPITALS 75 (Mullings 22, Dart 19, Dale 11)
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 97 (Bollmann 27, Payne 23, O'Driscoll 15)
Cairns Dolphins (93) lost to Ipswich Force (98)
The Ipswich Force built up a 24-point lead and then held out the fast finishing Cairns Dolphins for the 98-93 road victory in an entertaining affair between two out of contention teams.
The Dolphins were playing their last game of the season and were playing host to the Force at Trinity Ford Stadium and looking to finish the campaign on a high note that has been more positive towards the back end.
Scores were all level at 25-25 by the end of the first quarter but it was in the second term where Ipswich caught fire to pile on 36 points to end up leading by 24 and being up 61-39 by half-time.
The Dolphins weren’t giving up on that home win to close the season, though, and went on a 14-0 scoring run as part of a 31-point third quarter to make things interesting.
However, Ipswich was just able to hold them out in the finish for the eventual five-point victory to improve to a 4-12 record with Kahlaijah Dean starring once more with 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists including hitting 7/10 from three-point land.
Amanda Cahill added 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, Claire Fraser 17 points and 10 boards, Kate Head 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Iris Cubit 10 points and two blocked shots.
Cairns now finishes the season at 2-15 but can take plenty of heart from the back end of the season with Mia Loyd putting up 30 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists on 12/23 shooting.
Teyahna Bond added 16 points and two assists, Leichan Williams 15 points, three rebounds and two steals, and Myra Donkin 15 points, five assists and three boards.
The season is over now for Cairns but Ipswich will back up on Saturday against the Townsville Flames.
CAIRNS DOLPHINS 93 (Loyd 30, Teyahna Bond 16, William 15)
IPSWICH FORCE 98 (Dean 32, Cahill 17, Fraser 17)
Rockhampton Cyclones (84) defeated Southern Districts Spartans (75)
Sam Bowman and Lara McSpadden combined for 45 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists to keep the Rockhampton Cyclones in the top two hunt with the 84-75 home win over the Southern Districts Spartans.
The Cyclones were playing their last game of the season on Friday night at Bravus Arena up against the Spartans with the Grand Finalists from last year needing to win and hope Townsville loses on Saturday to grab second spot.
Rockhampton was up against a Southern Districts team also locked into a playoff spot and even an outside chance of moving up from fourth with two wins in the last round.
That set the stage for the Friday night match up and it was the Cyclones opening up a double-figure lead in the first quarter but it was back to just a four-point advantage by the end of one.
Rockhampton again pushed out to a 14-point lead in the second frame but once more Southern Districts was able to hit back to be trailing by just five points at the half-time interval.
The Spartans then even managed to work their way in front during the third quarter thanks to 21 points to 18, but then Rockhampton were able to do enough in the fourth period to secure the nine-point win.
The victory improves the Cyclones to a 14-3 record having now won eight in-a-row to close the regular season with Sam Bowman delivering another 24 points, 14 rebounds and four assists on 12/21 shooting.
Lara McSpadden also provided 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals while Morgan Yaeger had 13 points, six boards and five assists, and Lauren Heard 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Spartans saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end to now sit at 11-5 with Abby Cubillo putting up another 16 points and five assists with Ariana Moorer adding 16 points and five boards.
Maddy Allen also had 16 points, four steals and three assists, Kalani Purcell 11 points and seven rebounds, and Odette Isaac nine points, four boards and two steals.
Rockhampton's regular season is now over while the Spartans back up on Saturday away to the Mackay Meteorettes.
ROCKHAMPTON CYCLONES 84 (Bowman 24, McSpadden 21, Yaeger 13)
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 75 (Cubillo 16, Moorer 16, Allen 16)
MEN
Brisbane Capitals (92) defeated Northside Wizards (71)
The Brisbane Capitals geared up for their NBL1 North playoffs push with the 92-71 win at home against the Northside Wizards.
Both teams arrived at Auchenflower Stadium to play their last game of the regular season with the Capitals already locked into a playoff spot while the Wizards were out of contention.
It would prove to be a tight contest throughout the first half with Brisbane leading by just three points at quarter-time before having to wrestle back the lead in the second period to go into the half-time break on top 49-41.
The Caps were able to take total control in the third quarter, though, with a 10-0 scoring streak helping the home side out to a 25-point lead.
That grew to 28 points in the final term before eventually the Capitals would score the 19-point victory to now head into the playoffs with an 11-6 record and having won its past two matches.
No Brisbane player spent 30 minutes out on the court ahead of the finals beginning with Gabe Hadley top-scoring with 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Cameron Thew added 15 points and eight rebounds, Sam McDaniel 15 points, eight boards, four assists and four steals, Matthew Johns 14 points and eight rebounds, and Isaih Tueta 13 points and eight assists.
The season finishes for the Wizards with a 5-12 record and losing their past two matches with Jamie Ahale providing 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists on shooting 4/9 from behind the three-point arc.
Jaisson Angalo added 14 points and three steals with Deshawn Ross-Paiwan contributing 11 points and five rebounds, and Lual Diing eight points, four boards, four assists and two steals.
BRISBANE CAPITALS 91 (Hadley 16, McDaniel 15, Thew 15)
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 72 (Ahale 20, Angalo 14, Ross-Paiwan 11)
Cairns Marlins (95) defeated Ipswich Force (87)
Fresh off signing on at the Taipans as a development player for NBL25, Kody Stattmann put up 27 points to lead the Cairns Marlins to the 95-87 home win against the Ipswich Force.
It was the last game of the regular season for the Marlins and they were at home at Trinity Ford Stadium attempting to avoid finishing with a losing streak up against a defending champion Ipswich team looking for a third straight win even still without Nathan Sobey.
Cairns had built up a nine-point lead by the end of the first quarter before stretching that out as much as 29 points during the second frame.
The Marlins went into the half-time break leading 64-36 and then went on with the job from there to build up a lead as big as 32 points in the third quarter.
Ipswich did throw everything at a miraculous fightback and did pile on 37 points in the last quarter, but it was just a mountain too high to climb with Cairns holding out for the eight-point win.
The Marlins finish the season with an 8-9 record with Kody Stattmann producing 27 points, five rebounds and two assists on 10/19 shooting from the floor and 5/6 at the free-throw line.
Alex Mudronja also had 22 points, four rebounds and three assists, Curt Ah Wang 12 points on 4/7 three-point shooting, Travis Drinnan 11 points and three rebounds, and Aron Farmer pulled down 12 rebounds to go with five assists, three blocks and two steals.
The Force still have a game to go now sitting at 6-10 with Henry Pwono delivering 27 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.
Deng Deng added 19 points and 10 rebounds, DJ Mitchell 14 points, four boards, three assists and three steals, and Michael Fleming 10 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
The season is over now for Cairns but Ipswich will back up on Saturday against the Townsville Heat.
CAIRNS MARLINS 95 (Kody Stattmann 27, Mudronja 22, Ah Wang 12)
IPSWICH FORCE 87 (Pwono 27, Deng 19, Mitchell 14)
Rockhampton Rockets (105) defeated Southern Districts Spartans (97)
The Rockhampton Rockets locked away their playoff berth with the 105-97 win over the Southern Districts Spartans with Nighael Ceaser, Xavier Ford and Ben Tweedy combining for 88 points.
Both teams occupied the bottom two places in the top six entering the final round of the regular season so it was all set up for a tantalising match up as they geared up for the playoffs where they could very well end up playing one another.
Led by their trio of Brisbane Bullets NBL players, Mitch Norton, Tyrell Harrison and Jarred Bairstow, the Spartans managed to open up a double-figure lead in the first quarter.
That lead for Southern Districts got out to 12 points early in the second term but then Rockhampton hit back going on a 10-0 run to close the gap and to be down by just three at half-time.
It was the Spartans still clinging to a two-point lead at three quarter-time, but then it was all the Rockets in the final term with 32 points to 22 on the way to the eventual eight-point home victory at Bravus Arena.
Rockhampton now finishes its regular season with a 9-8 record having won its last two games and they got some massive performances.
Nighael Ceaser delivered 31 points, five rebounds and four assists on 14/20 from the field for the Rockets with Xavier Ford adding 20 points, six boards and four steals, and Ben Tweedy 28 points and eight assists with 5/8 three-point shooting.
Matur Maker also added 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists on 5/8 shooting from the field.
Southern Districts still has a game to go but is 9-7 and locked into the playoffs with Mitch Norton delivering 28 points, five rebounds and three assists.
His Brisbane Bullets NBL teammate Tyrell Harrison was also back with 17 points and 11 rebounds while the newly signed Jarred Bairstow contributed 12 points and 11 boards.
Andre Ugrinic also had 10 points and five rebounds, Mason Honeyman 10 points and seven assists, Corey Shervill 10 points and nine rebounds, and Max Kerle 10 points, two boards, two assists and two steals.
Rockhampton's regular season is now over while the Spartans back up on Saturday away to the Mackay Meteors.
ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS 105 (Ceaser 31, Ford 29, Tweedy 28)
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 97 (Norton 28, Harrison 17, Bairstow 12)
