Feature images via: Paul Shaw - P2DK Photography / Amy Trinca
Miela Goodchild put up another 40 points as the North Gold Coast Seahawks kept winning in the NBL1 North while Alex Fowler led Townsville to handing the Darwin Salties a first defeat while Rockhampton's men opened its account against the Ipswich Force.
The Saturday night women's results saw the Northside Wizards beat the Logan Thunder 91-66, Townsville Flames defeat the Darwin Salties 94-58, the North Gold Coast Seahawks down the Brisbane Capitals, and the Rockhampton Cyclones defeat the Ipswich Force 95-76.
The corresponding men's fixtures saw Rockhampton defeat Ipswich 105-100 while the Seahawks beat the Capitals 86-83, the Salties downed the Townsville Heat 109-91, and Logan downed the Wizards 104-92.
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | ROUND 4 FRIDAY
WOMEN
Ipswich Force (76) lost to Rockhampton Cyclones (95)
Sam Bowman, Morgan Yaeger and Lara McSpadden combined for 69 points as the Rockhampton Cyclones started their road double beating the Ipswich Force 95-76.
The Cyclones have started the season on the back of losing in last year's Grand Final series with three straight wins ahead of this weekend's road double starting against Ipswich at JBS Stadium.
Ipswich were coming into the contest yet to win a game in 2024 and Rockhampton raced out to an early double-figure lead on the back of an 11-0 run in the opening period.
Ipswich had done well to cut the deficit to five by quarter-time and then the home team even grabbed the lead in the second frame, and by half-time scores were all tied at 38-38.
The Cyclones took over the contest in the second half, though, and it was another 11-0 scoring run in the third term that saw the visitors go out to a 19-point advantage.
That lead grew to 27 in the fourth period and they would end up winning by 19 to start their road double and improve to 4-0 on the season.
The big guns all delivered for Rockhampton with Sam Bowman finishing with 23 points, 15 rebounds and four assists on 10/15 shooting with Morgan Yaeger adding 23 points, five assists, four steals and two rebounds.
Lara McSpadden also had 22 points and 14 rebounds with Lauren Heard adding 15 points, seven assists, three boards and three steals, and Elizajane Loader seven points, five assists and two steals.
Claire Fraser put up 21 points and four rebounds for the still winless Ipswich with Kahlaijah Dean adding 20 points, five boards, four assists and two steals, and Kate Head nine points and seven assists.
Rockhampton backs up on Sunday against the South West Metro Pirates while Ipswich next plays the North Gold Coast Seahawks next Saturday.
IPSWICH FORCE 76 (Fraser 21, Dean 20, Head 9)
ROCKHAMPTON CYCLONES 95 (Bowman 23, Yaeger 23, McSpadden 22)
North Gold Coast Seahawks (74) defeated Brisbane Capitals (56)
Miela Goodchild continued her hot form with a 40-point outburst to lead the North Gold Coast Seahawks to the 74-56 victory at home to the Brisbane Capitals.
The Seahawks were back home at Runaway Bay Stadium looking for a third straight win up against a Capitals team fresh off opening its account for 2024 with a win against Ipswich.
That set up the Saturday evening match up nicely and the Caps did start well before the Seahawks got rolling with 13 consecutive points to open up a six-point lead in the first term.
North Gold Coast kept that momentum going to open up an 11-point edge in the second term and then to go into the half-time break leading 40-31.
The Seahawks continued to extend that advantage throughout the second half to lead by as much as 15 points in the third frame, and 22 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 18-point victory.
The win improves North Gold Coast to the 4-1 record with three straight wins and it was Miela Goodchild who continues to star on the back of her WNBL season at the Perth Lynx.
Goodchild delivered 40 points, eight rebounds and five assists on the back of shooting 13/22 from the floor, 6/9 from three-point territory and 8/8 at the foul line.
Mikaela Ruef is also settling in nicely at the Seahawks and produced 16 points, 25 rebounds and six assists with Grace Champion contributing 10 points, four steals and three assists.
Brisbane is now 1-4 with the defeat with Megan Mullings putting up 19 points and eight rebounds with Georgia Dale contributing 11 points, five steals, three rebounds and three assists, and Hannah Young 10 points, four boards and two steals.
The Capitals back up on Sunday to face the Southern Districts Spartans on the road with the Seahawks next in action on Friday at home to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.
NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 74 (Goodchild 40, Ruef 16, Champion 10)
BRISBANE CAPITALS 56 (Mullings 19, Dale 11, Young 10)
Townsville Flames (94) defeated Darwin Salties (58)
Alex Fowler dominated and the Townsville Flames handed the Darwin Salties their first loss of the season with the 94-58 victory at home on Saturday night.
Darwin opened its season with three wins at home before then beating Cairns in its first road game on Friday night ahead of arriving at StarFM Stadium to take on the Flames on Saturday who were on their own three-game winning streak.
That set the stage for the match up with Courtney Woods also part of the Salties team back in the home of her WNBL team along with coming up against the NBL1 North team she won a championship with in 2022.
Townsville took charge in the first quarter scoring 10 consecutive points on the way to a 14-point lead and to be up 32-18 by the end of one.
The Flames went on with the job from there with that advantage growing to 23 points in the second frame, 28 in the third and 41 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 36-point victory.
The win is a fourth in-a-row for Townsville who improve to a 4-1 record with Alex Fowler a dominant force with 35 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists on shooting 13/19 from the field and 8/10 at the free-throw line.
Saffron Shiels added 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as well for the Flames with Ella Tofaeono contributing 20 points and nine boards on 8/11 shooting, and Indiah Bowyer 10 points and two assists.
It's a first loss of the season for the now 4-1 Salties with Courtney Woods top-scoring with 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
Abigail Curtin added 13 points and four rebounds, and Ruby Porter eight points and two assists.
Townsville is next in action next Saturday at home to Mackay while Darwin is back home to host the Ipswich Force on Saturday May 11 after having next week off.
TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 94 (Fowler 35, Shiels 21, Tofaeono 20)
DARWIN SALTIES 58 (Woods 18, Curtin 13, Porter 8)
Logan Thunder (66) lost to Northside Wizards (91)
It was a battle of the teams who finished top at the end of the last two NBL1 North regular seasons but it was the Northside Wizards who stamped their authority again with the 91-66 road victory.
The Thunder were back home at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre on Saturday night still hunting a first win of 2024 up against the undefeated defending champion Wizards.
It didn’t take long for the Wizards to assert their control over the contest with a 13-0 scoring streak in the first quarter on the way to leading 32-13 by quarter-time.
Even after Logan responded with nine straight points of their own, the Wizards continued to pull away to lead by as much as 23 points in the second quarter and then 25 in the fourth which would end up the final margin.
The Wizards couldn’t have been more impressive to start their championship defence now sitting at 5-0 with Erin Bollmann finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Nadeen Payne continued her standout form even after retiring from the WNBL with 24 points, nine rebounds and three assists with AJ Johnson contributing 19 points, 16 boards and four assists, and Jess McDowell-White 14 points and three assists.
Logan is now 0-4 on the season following the defeat with Jade Kirisome producing 22 points and five rebounds while Mikhaela Cann contributed 14 points, four boards and four assists, and Chevannah Paalvast 10 points and seven rebounds.
Prasayus Notua also worked valiantly for nine points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Logan will be away to the Southern Districts Spartans next Saturday with the Wizards at home to Cairns on Friday.
LOGAN THUNDER 66 (Kirisome 22, Cann 14, Paalvast 10)
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 91 (Bollmann 24, Payne 24, Johnson 19)
MEN
Ipswich Force (100) lost to Rockhampton Rockets (105)
The Rockhampton Rockets opened their account for 2024 in stunning fashion beating the defending champion Ipswich Force 105-100.
Ipswich was back at home at JBS Stadium looking to improve on its 2-2 start to the championship defence ahead of hosting a Rockhampton team yet to taste victory so far in 2024.
The Rockets were the last remaining winless team in the NBL1 North but they arrived to challenge the reigning champs on a mission and were leading 25-21 by quarter-time.
While the Rockhampton lead did extend to as much as 13 points during the second quarter, Ipswich hit back to cut the Rockets' lead to 49-46 by half-time.
Rockhampton were able to pull away again, though, and opened up a game-high 15-point advantage with six minutes to play following a Nathan Sobey turnover, and Ben Tweedy jumper just seconds after a Sean Biernacki three-pointer.
Ipswich threw everything into a miracle fightback, though, and did get back to within three with 30 seconds to play when DJ Mitchell hit a three-pointer, but Rockhampton were able to ice the win with clutch free-throws from Biernacki and Matur Maker.
It's the first win of the season for Rockhampton on the back of 25 points and seven assists from Ben Tweedy on 11/18 shooting from the floor.
Xavier Ford added 23 points, eight rebounds and two steals with Matur Maker adding 23 points and 18 boards, Sean Biernacki 11 points, three assists and three steals, and Nighael Ceaser 10 points and six rebounds.
DJ Mitchell did all he could to give Ipswich a chance with 29 points, eight rebounds and three assists with Jason Ralph contributing 24 points and six rebounds, Nathan Sobey 21 points, three boards, three assists and two steals, and Henry Pwono 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Rockhampton backs up on Sunday against the South West Metro Pirates while Ipswich next plays the North Gold Coast Seahawks next Saturday.
IPSWICH FORCE 100 (Mitchell 29, Ralph 24, Sobey 21)
ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS 105 (Tweedy 25, Ford 23, Maker 23)
North Gold Coast Seahawks (86) defeated Brisbane Capitals (83)
The North Gold Coast Seahawks just managed to hold out the fast finishing Brisbane Capitals for the 86-83 home win on Saturday night.
The Seahawks were back home at Runaway Bay Stadium looking for a second win of the season while hosting a Capitals team also arriving on an identical 1-3 record.
It was North Gold Coast who started the better with a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter and the Seahawks would be able to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the rest of the evening.
The Seahawks would be up by as much as 15 points in the third quarter and still by 13 in the fourth with 5:30 to go when Jaze Morris knocked down a three-pointer.
Brisbane weren’t lying down, though, and scored the next seven points to make things interesting before the Seahawks responded with a triple from Matt Kenyon, and from there would go on to secure the three-point victory despite late Capitals threes from Gabe Hadley, Sam McDaniel and Matthew Johns.
North Gold Coast improves to 2-3 with the victory with Cameron Healy finishing with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Jaze Morris added 18 points and three assists, Matt Kenyon 13 points, 19 rebounds, six assists and two steals, and Kane Bishop 12 points, 10 boards and four assists.
Gabe Hadley put up 28 points, six rebounds and two assists for the now 1-4 Brisbane with Sam McDaniel contributing 19 points, seven boards, six assists and three steals, Matthew Johns 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Anthony Kopcikas 11 points, four boards and two steals.
The Capitals back up on Sunday to face the Southern Districts Spartans on the road with the Seahawks next in action on Friday at home to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.
NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 86 (Healy 23, Morris 18, Kenyon 13)
BRISBANE CAPITALS 83 (Hadley 28, McDaniel 19, Johns 13)
Townsville Heat (91) lost to Darwin Salties (109)
Sean Macdonald, Makuach Maluach and Kouat Noi all ensured the Darwin Salties made it a perfect road trip this weekend with the 109-91 victory over the Townsville Heat.
Darwin played its first road game of the season on Friday and beat the Cairns Marlins before arriving at StarFM Stadium to take on a Townsville team having won two of four matches so far in 2024.
It was a high scoring close contest throughout the first half with Darwin leading 29-26 by the end of the opening term, and then with another 31 points to 27 in the second frame, the Salties were leading 60-53 by half-time.
Darwin continued to pull away further in the second half to lead by as much as 14 points in the third quarter, and 27 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 18-point victory.
The win improves the Salties to a 4-1 record on the season with Tasmania JackJumpers championship winner Sean Macdonald producing 32 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists on 12/16 shooting from the field and 6/9 from three-point range.
Makuach Maluach added 27 points, four rebounds and three steals on 4/8 three-point shooting with Kouat Noi adding 22 points and six rebounds, and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Townsville now sits at 2-3 following the defeat with Harry Morris top-scoring with 23 points and four rebounds on 10/13 shooting from the floor.
Kyrin Galloway added 17 points and four rebounds, Richard Peachey 12 points and three boards, and Ethan Betts 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Townsville is next in action next Saturday at home to Mackay while Darwin is back home to host the Ipswich Force on Saturday May 11 after having next week off.
TOWNSVILLE HEAT 91 (Morris 23, Galloway 17, Peachey 12)
DARWIN SALTIES 109 (Macdonald 32, Maluach 27, Noi 22)
Logan Thunder (104) defeated Northside Wizards (92)
Logan Thunder started on fire and went on to score the 104-92 win at home to the Northside Wizards on Saturday night.
Logan was back home at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre looking for a third win in four games to start the 2024 season up against a Northside team looking to snap a two-game losing skid.
It was a stunning start from the Thunder on their home floor as they scored 14 points in-a-row to open up a 29-10 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Logan remained in control of the contest the rest of the evening to end up leading again by 19 points in the third quarter and then by as much as 25 before winning by 12 following a fourth quarter with the two teams combining to score 67 points with the Wizards scoring 36 and the Thunder 31.
Logan improves to a 3-1 record on the season with the win with Callum Dalton continuing his tremendous form with another 21 points and seven rebounds on 9/12 shooting from the field.
Zac Triplett added 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Thunder with Chris Cedar adding 16 points on 4/7 three-point shooting, Shaun Bruce 14 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Elijah Puna 10 points and three boards.
Northside are now 2-3 on the season following the loss with Lual Diing putting up 26 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals with 10/13 free-throw shooting.
Jackson Makoi added 24 points and three assists, and Nikau McCullough 12 points and two rebounds.
Logan will be away to the Southern Districts Spartans next Saturday with the Wizards at home to Cairns on Friday.
LOGAN THUNDER 104 (Dalton 21, Triplett 19, Cedar 16)
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 92 (Diing 26, Makoi 24, McCullough 12)
