The Grand Final teams in the NBL1 North for next weekend are locked in and it's a women's rematch between the Northside Wizards and Rockhampton Cyclones while it's the Mackay Meteors hosting the Brisbane Capitals in the men.
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | QUARTER FINALS SATURDAY
RECAP NBL1 NORTH | QUARTER FINALS FRIDAY
WOMEN
Northside Wizards (86) defeated North Gold Coast Seahawks (65)
The defending champion Northside Wizards dominated the second half and put the clamps on the stars of the North Gold Coast Seahawks to advance to the Grand Final with the 86-65 victory.
The two teams arrived at Northside Indoor Sports Centre with star-studded line-ups as they battled over a Grand Final spot with them making up four of the five spots in the All First Team with AJ Johnson the MVP from the Wizards and Erin Bollmann Best Defensive Player.
Miela Goodchild and Mikaela Ruef were there from the Seahawks and they led them to the first up finals win last week against the Southern Districts Spartans to set them up for the match up with the Wizards.
It was a tight opening to the contest as well and the Seahawks opened up a lead by as much as eight points before still narrowly leading 17-16 by the end of one.
North Gold Coast then remained on top narrowly 40-37 heading into the half-time break and the stage was set for a big finish with a Grand Final berth up for grabs for the winner.
The Wizards turned up their defensive pressure especially on Ruef and Goodchild in the second, and then were able to outscore the Seahawks 23 points to 14 in the third period to grab the lead.
Northside then dominated the final quarter with 26 points to 11 to end up winning by 21 to advance to another Grand Final with the chance to claim back-to-back championships with home court advantage next weekend.
MVP AJ Johnson ended up delivering 23 points and 14 rebounds in the win for the Wizards with Jess McDowell-White adding 22 points, five boards and five assists, and Erin Bollmann 20 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Nadeen Payne also had 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
A memorable season for the Seahawks comes to an end with Mikaela Ruef finishing with another 18 points, 25 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, and Miela Goodchild 16 points, seven boards and four assists.
However, the Wizards made their life difficult and limited them to shooting a combined 10/37 from the field and 1/14 from three-point range.
Grace Champion also had 10 points and two rebounds, and Chailee Ward eight points, six boards, two assists and two steals.
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 86 (Johnson 23, McDowell-White 22, Bollmann 20)
NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 65 (Ruef 18, Goodchild 16, Champion 10)
Rockhampton Cyclones (67) defeated Townsville Flames (55)
The Rockhampton Cyclones locked in a Grand Final rematch with the Northside Wizards with the 67-55 victory at home to the Townsville Flames.
Ever since last year's heartbreaking Grand Final defeat, Rockhampton has been on a mission of revenge in 2024 and now have earned that chance in next week's decider after prevailing against the 2022 champions Townsville at Bravus Arena.
The Cyclones finished the regular season in second spot at 14-3 to have earned the week off to start the finals while the Flames were at home to the South West Metro Pirates and scored the 24-point victory.
That set up the clash between the teams who finished second and third with identical 14-3 records and who played one another twice during the season with one win apiece.
Rockhampton had finished the regular season with eight straight wins since that defeat to Townsville but it was the visiting Flames with the better of the start to lead 13-7 by quarter-time.
The Cyclones were able to turn the tide in the second period with 22 points to 11 to go into the half-time break with a handy 29-24 lead in a low-scoring affair.
After finishing the first half with the last five points, Rockhampton then started the second half scoring the first five too and they would end up opening up a 13-point advantage throughout the third period.
The Cyclones were able to maintain their lead the rest of the way to end up winning by 12 points to now be heading into the Grand Final rematch with the Wizards on a nine-game winning streak.
Morgan Yaeger put in a strong showing in the win for Rockhampton with 19 points, three rebounds and two assists while Lara McSpadden had 18 points, 14 boards, two steals and two blocked shots.
Sam Bowman made the All Second Team and put up 14 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists while Lauren Heard still had 13 points, seven steals, six rebounds and six assists despite a rough shooting night going 4/19 from the field.
It was a strong season from Townsville but ultimately they were just short of the top two teams.
Alex Fowler was the only player not from the Wizards or Seahawks to make the All First Team this season and she finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks for Townsville.
Kate Gaze added nine points, five assists and four rebounds, Indiah Bowyer eight points, five assists and three boards, and Ella Tofaeono seven points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.
ROCKHAMPTON CYCLONES 67 (Yaeger 19, McSpadden 18, Bowman 14)
TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 55 (Fowler 23, Gaze 9, Bowyer 8)
MEN
Mackay Meteors (100) defeated Southern Districts Spartans (90)
The Mackay Meteors have been the standout NBL1 North men's team all season and Todd Blanchfield and Isaac White combined for 60 points to ensure a Grand Final berth with the 100-90 win over the Southern Districts Spartans.
Blanchfield has returned to Mackay this season on the back of being part of the Grand Final team for Gold Coast last year to join up with White as a standout one-two act at the Meteors.
They will now have the chance at teaming to win a championship and send off outgoing coach Joel Khalu in fairytale fashion as he moves full-time to Wollongong to continue his role at the Illawarra Hawks that started in the back end of the last NBL season.
Mackay won 15 of 17 games during the season to finish two games clear in top spot to earn the week off to start the finals before Southern Districts booked a place at Mackay Basketball Stadium up against them with a Grand Final spot on the line.
The Spartans did start well to open up an early nine-point lead but by quarter-time the Meteors had got scores back level at 23-23.
It was Mackay's turn to open up a nine-point lead during the second term and they were still on top 52-47 by the half-time interval.
The Meteors ended up completing a 15-0 run into the third term to blow the game open with the lead getting out to 16 points, and they continued to have all the answers on the way to the 10-point victory.
The Meteors now not only have qualified for next weekend's Grand Final but have earned hosting rights against the Brisbane Capitals.
Isaac White is now settled in Queensland at the Brisbane Bullets and the NBL guard will enter the Grand Final series next weekend in hot form after 32 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Todd Blanchfield showed he has plenty in the tank even 402 games into his NBL career with 28 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks while Luca Yates added 18 points, eight boards, five assists and two blocks.
Aiden Krause also contributed nine points, six rebounds and four steals with Mackay outscoring Southern Districts by 19 points with him on the court.
Southern Districts looked capable at times during the season of being a real contender with a team featuring Brisbane Bullets trio Tyrell Harrison, Mitch Norton and Jarred Bairstow along with former Perth Wildcats guard Corey Shervill.
Ultimately winning in Mackay proved just a bridge too far with Harrison finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds and five blocks on the back of being named to the All First Team.
Max Kerle knocked down 5/6 from three-point territory for 17 points with Bairstow contributing 16 points, four rebounds and four assists, Mason Honeyman 13 points and four assists, Norton 11 points and seven assists.
MACKAY METEORS 100 (White 32, Blanchfield 28, Yates 18)
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 90 (Harrison 20, Kerle 17, Bairstow 16)
Darwin Salties (76) lost to Brisbane Capitals (103)
The Brisbane Capitals have stormed into the NBL1 North Grand Final by dominating the Darwin Salties in the Top End with the 103-76 victory.
The Salties had earned the right to host the match up at Darwin Basketball Stadium on the back of finishing the regular season in second spot at 13-4 and they welcomed back Kouat Noi for Saturday night after he just missed final selection in the last 12 for South Sudan at Paris 2024.
Brisbane ended the regular season in fourth spot at 11-6 before beating the Rockhampton Rockets last week to earn the chance to play off with Darwin for a spot in next week's Grand Final series.
Both teams possess star-studded line-ups but it was the Capitals on top from the outset including opening up a seven-point lead during the first quarter.
That advantage for the Caps kept on growing throughout the evening despite being away from home with that lead out to 13 points in the second term, 17 in the third and as much as 29 in the fourth.
Brisbane ended up securing the 27-point victory to book in a meeting in the Grand Final series against the Mackay Meteors which will include Brisbane Bullets teammates Sam McDaniel, Gabe Hadley and Isaac White all locking horns.
MVP and Best Defensive Player McDaniel produced another standout all-round game for the Capitals with 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists with Cameron Thew adding 20 points and nine boards on 8/9 shooting.
Isaiah Tueta added 17 points, 10 assists and three rebounds, Matthew Johns 15 points, seven assists and five boards, and Gabe Hadley 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
It's a disappointing way for a season that promised so much for Darwin to end given the team put together including Makuach Maluach, Chier Maker, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, Sean Macdonald, Kouat Noi, Deba George, Verle Williams and Nate Jawai.
Maluach ended up top-scoring with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists with Noi adding 16 points and five boards, and Maker 15 points and six rebounds but they went 5/33 from three-point range as a team on the night.
DARWIN SALTIES 76 (Maluach 18, Noi 16, Maker 15)
BRISBANE CAPITALS 103 (Thew 20, McDaniel 18, Tueta 17)
