Featured images: Jack Riddiford
Erin Bollmann had a triple-double as the Northside Wizards stayed unbeaten in the NBL1 North while Alex Mudronja hit the winner for Cairns Marlins and Shaun Bruce lifted Logan Thunder over the Gold Coast Rollers.
The women's results on Saturday night saw the Northside Wizards beat the Mackay Meteorettes 114-68, the Townsville Flames defeat the Cairns Dolphins 104-93, the Darwin Salties down the Ipswich Force 92-78, Logan Thunder win 88-64 over the Gold Coast Rollers, and the Southern Districts Spartans beat the South West Metro Pirates 92-86.
The men's matches then saw the Spartans beat the Pirates 90-79, the Thunder defeat the Rollers 93-79, the Salties down the Force 121-110, Cairns defeat Townsville 99-96 and Mackay down Northside 109-83.
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | ROUND 5 SUNDAY
WOMEN
Mackay Meteorettes (68) lost to Northside Wizards (114)
The defending champion Northside Wizards maintained their unbeaten season with a dominant 114-68 road victory against the Mackay Meteorettes.
The Wizards arrived at Mackay Basketball Stadium with a perfect 7-0 record to start their championship defence taking on a Meteorettes team having one win from their opening four matches of 2024.
It was a high-scoring and entertaining opening from both teams as they combined for 56 points with Northside only narrowly leading 29-27 by the end of one.
However, the Wizards maintained the offensive flow in the second quarter and the Meteorettes couldn’t go with them. Northside piled on another 33 points with Mackay only managing nine with the Wizards going into half-time leading 62-36.
It was another 34 points to 12 in the third quarter from the Wizards and the lead did blow out to as much as 50 points in the second half before they would eventually win by 46.
Northside are now 8-0 on the season with AJ Johnson delivering 27 points, eight rebounds and four steals on shooting 11/16 from the field.
Erin Bollmann added a triple-double consisting of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists with Nadeen Payne contributing 17 points, seven assists and five boards, Saskia Gunness 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists, and Alice O'Driscoll 10 points, three boards and two assists.
Mackay are now 1-4 following the loss with Taylor Mole the shining light with 25 points, three steals and two rebounds on 11/19 shooting from the floor.
The Wizards play again on Sunday away to the Rockhampton Cyclones while Mackay hits the road to play Gold Coast on Saturday.
MACKAY METEORETTES 68 (Mole 25, Van Wyk 9, Halby 8)
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 114 (Johnson 27, Bollmann 21, Payne 17)
Cairns Dolphins (93) lost to Townsville Flames (104)
The Cairns Dolphins called in some reinforcements and it helped but it wasn’t quite enough with the Townsville Flames winning an entertaining affair 104-93.
It's been tough for the Dolphins to be competitive just through player availability in recent weeks but they welcomed former Brisbane Capital Mia Loyd into the line-up on Saturday to host Townsville at Early Settler Stadium.
The Flames arrived having won four straight themselves and Townsville did get the better of the start with 23 points to 16 in the opening quarter.
Another 28 points to 27 in the second frame saw the Flames go into the half-time break leading 51-43.
It continued to be an entertaining second half with Townsville putting up another 53 points to 50 from a vastly more competitive Cairns outfit even with the Flames ending up winning by 11.
Townsville improved to a 6-1 record with the fifth consecutive victory on the back of another 25 points, six rebounds and two assists from young gun Saffron Shiels.
Alex Fowler produced another 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists with Ella Tofaeono contributing 22 points, nine boards and three assists, and Indiah Bowyer 12 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.
While the Dolphins are still winless at 0-7, the signs were encouraging with Mia Loyd delivering 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on 10/17 shooting.
Samantha Keltos added 23 points and eight rebounds, Leichan Williams 15 points and seven boards, and Amy Lewis 12 points and four assists.
Cairns remains home to host Logan Thunder next Saturday with Townsville at home to Logan on Friday.
CAIRNS DOLPHINS 93 (Loyd 27, Keltos 23, Williams 15)
TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 104 (Shiels 25, Fowler 24, Tofaeono 22)
Darwin Salties (92) defeated Ipswich Force (78)
The Darwin Salties returned home and got back to winning with Courtney Woods starring once more in the 92-78 win against the Ipswich Force.
The Salties suffered a first loss of the season two weeks ago in Townsville ahead a week off and then hosting the Force this Saturday night at Darwin Basketball Stadium.
Ipswich arrived so far winless this season but they were able to stick with the Salties through the first half with Darwin leading by just the two points at both quarter and half-time.
The Salties took charge in the third quarter with 31 points to 16 to open up a 17-point advantage and to go on to score the 14-point victory to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Courtney Woods was again a standout in the win for Darwin with 28 points, 11 assists, four rebounds and three steals on shooting 11/17 from the field.
Ashley Harris contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, Abigail Curtin 17 points and nine boards, and Ruby Porter 12 points and three assists.
Ipswich is now 0-7 following the defeat despite 28 points, four assists and three rebounds from Kate Head.
Amanda Cahill also put up 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Kahlaijah Dean 11 points, nine boards and four assists.
Darwin will remain home to host the Rockhampton Cyclones next Saturday with Ipswich also at home to the South West Metro Pirates.
DARWIN SALTIES 92 (Woods 28, Harris 20, Curtin 17)
IPSWICH FORCE 78 (Head 28, Cahill 15, Dean 11)
Logan Thunder (88) defeated Gold Coast Rollers (64)
Logan Thunder made it consecutive wins as they work their way into the NBL1 North season nicely with the 88-64 home victory against the Gold Coast Rollers.
With key players coming into the squad, Logan is beginning to make up for a slow start to 2024 and came into the match up at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre on the back of beating the Southern Districts Spartans last Saturday.
Gold Coast arrived on a three-game losing run and Logan made an impressive start with 22 points to 11 in the opening quarter.
The Thunder lead would get out to 16 points in the second quarter and then as much as 25 in the fourth period before the home team secured the 24-point victory.
The win improves Logan to a 2-4 record on the season with Chevannah Paalvast delivering 23 points, five rebounds and two assists on 9/13 shooting from the field and 4/5 from three-point territory.
Jade Kirisome added 20 points, three assists and three steals for the Thunder on knocking down 4/9 from three-point range with Cate Reese contributing 16 points and nine rebounds, Prasayus Notoa 16 points and eight boards, and Mikhaela Cann six points, 10 assists and four rebounds.
Gold Coast is now 1-5 on the season with Kate Deeble ending up with 20 points, five assists and four rebounds, Myah Selland 20 points and 15 boards, and Lisa Koop 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Logan will be away to the Townsville Flames next Saturday with Gold Coast to host the Mackay Meteorettes.
LOGAN THUNDER 88 (Paalvast 23, Kirisome 20, Reese 16, Notoa 16)
GOLD COAST ROLLERS 64 (Deeble 20, Selland 20, Koop 10)
South West Metro Pirates (86) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (92)
The Southern Districts Spartans withstood 36 points from Taya Hanson and a fast finishing South West Metro Pirates to score the 92-86 road victory.
The Spartans were back home at Hibiscus Sports Stadium looking to rebound from two straight losses while the Spartans also arrived on a two-game losing slide.
It was a hot opening from both teams as they combined for 57 points in the first quarter with Southern Districts leading 31-26 by the end of one.
The Spartans then pulled away further with 21 points to 10 in the second period to go into the half-time break leading 52-36.
The lead for Southern Districts did get out to 19 in the second half and was still 15 in the final period, but South West Metro kept on mounting a fightback.
However, the Spartans held them out for the six-point win to improve to 4-3 on the season with five players scoring in double-figures led by 18 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and four steals from Kalani Purcell.
Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard also had 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks with Ariana Moorer contributing 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Steph Bairstow 16 points and eight boards, and Emily Preston 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
South West Metro slips to 3-3 with the defeat despite the 36 points, five rebounds and three assists from Taya Hanson on hitting 7/10 from three-point territory.
Leah Scott put up another 25 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and four steals with Bronte Corke adding 10 points and five assists.
The Pirates are back in action on Sunday away to the North Gold Coast Seahawks while the Spartans are next on the road to the Northside Wizards next Sunday.
SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 86 (Hanson 36, Scott 25, Corke 10)
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 92 (Purcell 18, Clinch Hoycard 17, Bairstow 16, Moorer 16)
MEN
Mackay Meteors (109) defeated Northside Wizards (93)
It was top against bottom in the NBL1 North and the Mackay Meteors continued their hot start to the season with the 109-93 home win against the Northside Wizards.
The Meteors were back home at Mackay Basketball Stadium looking to stay undefeated this season up against the bottom placed Wizards attempting to snap a five-game losing streak.
Mackay got off to a flying start scoring 10 straight points in the opening period to end up leading by as much a 14, and being up still 31-24 by the end of one.
Northside were able to stay in the contest thanks to 10 straight points either side of quarter-time, and the Meteors lead was just 51-45 by the half-time break.
However, Mackay pulled away further in the second half with the lead getting out to 17 points in the third quarter and 26 in the fourth before they scored the 16-point victory.
The win improves the Meteors to a 5-0 record on the season with 402-game NBL veteran Todd Blanchfield delivering 25 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists on shooting 6/11 from downtown.
Isaac White added 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists with Luca Yates contributing 14 points and five rebounds, Christian Maran 10 points and three boards, Jerron Jamerson 10 points and four rebounds, and Aiden Krause nine points, seven boards and three assists.
The Wizards are now 2-6 on the season with Jamie Ahale putting up 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals on shooting 5/13 from behind the three-point line.
Mitchell Stanton also had 14 points and three assists, Mitchell Poulain 13 points and seven rebounds, Lual Diing 11 points and nine boards, and Deshawn Ross-Paiwan 10 points and two assists.
The Wizards play again on Sunday away to the Rockhampton Rockets while Mackay hits the road to play Gold Coast on Saturday.
MACKAY METEORS 109 (Blanchfield 25, White 20, Yates 14)
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 93 (Ahale 25, Stanton 14, Poulain 13)
Cairns Marlins (99) defeated Townsville Heat (96)
Alex Mudronja played the role of hero with the winning three-pointer in the dying seconds for the Cairns Marlins to score the 99-96 home win over the Townsville Heat.
The Marlins were back home at Early Settler Stadium looking to hit back from a loss to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix ahead of hosting a Heat team trying to respond to a two-game losing run themselves.
Townsville did open up an eight-point lead in the first quarter but by quarter-time Cairns had cut that deficit back to just two points.
The Marlins had pushed ahead by half-time to be leading 44-42 with the home team then building that advantage out to 11 points in the third period and 12 in the fourth, but Townsville weren’t going anywhere.
When Kyle Leslie knocked down a three-pointer with five minutes to play, Townsville had regained the lead before it became big shot after big shot over the rest of the contest.
Cairns were back in front when Curt Ah Wang hit a triple and then Alex Mudronja hit another to push the Marlins lead to five points once more, and the home team was soon out to an eight-point edge.
However, Townsville kept on coming and eventually three-point bombs from Harry Morris and Leslie tied scores up forcing Cairns into a timeout ahead of one final possession.
The ball was in the hands of Mudronja to make the play and he knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer for Cairns to go up by three.
It wasn’t quite a walk off winner with the Heat having a chance in the last second out of a timeout, but Matthew Rees couldn’t hit and Cairns went on to score the memorable three-point victory.
Mudronja ended the night with 29 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Marlins on shooting 11/16 from the field and 3/7 from beyond the arc.
Ky Stattmann added 26 points, three assists and three rebounds with Curt Ah Wang contributing 21 points on 7/12 three-point shooting.
Townsville got 19 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds from Ethan Betts with Harry Morris contributing 19 points on 3/4 three-point shooting with Matthew Rees adding 18 points, six boards and three assists, and Kyle Leslie 18 points on 5/10 shooting from downtown.
Cairns remains home to host Logan Thunder next Saturday with Townsville at home to Logan on Friday.
CAIRNS MARLINS 99 (Mudronja 29, Stattmann 26, Ah Wang 21)
TOWNSVILLE HEAT 96 (Betts 19, Morris 19, Rees 18, Leslie 18)
Darwin Salties (121) defeated Ipswich Force (110)
Darwin and Ipswich put on quite the spectacle combining for 231 points in 40 minutes of basketball with the Salties prevailing 121-110 against the reigning champions.
It was quite the show put on at Darwin Basketball Stadium not only combining for the 231 points but also hitting 24 three-pointers between them with Makuach Maluach, Kouat Noi and Chier Maker combining for 71 of the Salties' points, and DJ Mitchell, Henry Pwono and Nathan Sobey for 82 for Ipswich.
The two teams combined for 61 points in the first quarter to set the tone for the evening with Ipswich leading 31-30 at quarter-time.
They then scored 34 points apiece in the second term with the Force going into half-time leading 65-64.
Darwin took over the contest, though, in the third quarter going on a 13-0 scoring run to open up a 17-point lead thanks to scoring 35 points to just 17 from the Force.
From there, the Salties would end up winning by 11 points to improve to 5-1 on the season with a five-match winning streak.
Makuach Maluach top-scored in the win for Darwin with 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals on 10/16 shooting from the floor and 4/8 from three-point range.
Kouat Noi joined him with 26 points to go with five rebounds and four assists while Chier Maker added 19 points and seven boards, and Verle Williams 15 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Sean Macdonald also had 13 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals, and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Ipswich is now 3-4 following the defeat with DJ Mitchell producing 29 points and eight rebounds on 5/10 three-point shooting.
Henry Pwono also had 28 points and three assists, Nathan Sobey 25 points and six assists, and Henry Makeny 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Darwin will remain home to host the Rockhampton Rockets next Saturday with Ipswich also at home to the South West Metro Pirates.
DARWIN SALTIES 121 (Maluach 26, Noi 26, Maker 19)
IPSWICH FORCE 110 (Mitchell 29, Pwono 28, Sobey 25)
Logan Thunder (93) defeated Gold Coast Rollers (79)
Shaun Bruce delivered a strong double-double and Logan Thunder scored the impressive 93-79 home victory against the Gold Coast Rollers.
Logan weren’t short on motivation either back home at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre attempting to bounce back from last week's 42-point defeat at the hands of the Southern Districts Spartans.
They were playing host to a Gold Coast team looking to start building some momentum this season, and the Rollers were able to open up a five-point lead in the first quarter before still being up 24-23 at quarter-time.
Logan began to work on top in the second term, though, to go into half-time leading 48-44 and then that lead would continue to grow throughout the second half.
The Thunder's lead would get out to as much as 14 points in the final stanza before they went on to score the win by that margin to improve to a 4-2 record and rebound strongly from that loss to the Spartans.
Shaun Bruce led the charge and finished with 22 points, 10 assists and three rebounds in a fascinating match up with Jason Cadee for a lot of the evening.
Callum Dalton also had 19 points and nine rebounds for Logan while Tom Howard contributed 13 points and 11 boards, Elijah Puna 10 points, Tom Howard 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Zac Triplett nine points, seven boards and five assists.
Gold Coast is now 3-3 on the season following the defeat with Preston Le Gassick putting up 25 points while Elijah Kamu adding 17 points and 11 rebounds, Will Magnay 10 points, seven boards and three blocks, and Jason Cadee eight points and 10 assists on just shooting 3/15 from the floor.
Logan will be away to the Townsville Heat next Saturday with Gold Coast to host the Mackay Meteors.
LOGAN THUNDER 93 (Bruce 22, Dalton 19, Howard 13)
GOLD COAST ROLLERS 79 (Le Gassick 25, Kamu 17, Magnay 10)
South West Metro Pirates (79) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (90)
Corey Shervill, Tyrell Harrison and Mitch Norton combined to help the Southern Districts Spartans to consecutive wins with the 90-79 road win over the South West Metro Pirates.
South West Metro were back home at Hibiscus Sports Stadium and still missing Lamar Patterson and Lachlan Anderson up against a Southern Districts trying to build momentum from the win over Logan by 42 points.
By the end of the opening quarter it was South West Metro holding the narrow 26-25 lead before they completed a 13-0 scoring run to open up an 11-point lead, and to have all the momentum.
The Pirates were still leading 44-40 by half-time but the Spartans fired up in the second half to outscore the home team 26 to 16 in the third quarter, and 24 to 18 in the fourth.
On the back of that, Southern Districts scored the 11-point victory to improve to 3-4 on the season with former Perth Wildcats NBL guard Corey Shervill producing 26 points and 13 rebounds.
Brisbane Bullets centre Tyrell Harrison delivered 21 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, three steals and two assists with his NBL teammate Mitch Norton finishing with 14 points, 11 assists and five boards.
Max Kerle also had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Tasmania JackJumpers championship winning forward Jarred Bairstow six points, six boards and five assists.
South West Metro are now 2-4 following the defeat with Brendan Teys top-scoring with 29 points to go with four assists and four steals.
Roman Siulepa added 20 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots with Kai Woodfall contributing 13 points, seven boards and six assists, and Ben Volkman eight points, five assists and three rebounds.
The Pirates are back in action on Sunday away to the North Gold Coast Seahawks while the Spartans are next on the road to the Northside Wizards next Sunday.
SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 79 (Teys 29, Siulepa 20, Woodfall 13)
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 90 (Shervill 26, Harrison 21, Norton 14)
