NBL1 North Recap | Round 12 Sunday

The Cairns Dolphins dug deep to end their NBL1 North triple-header on a high before Ky Stattmann was remarkable with 52 points in a win for the Marlins against Nathan Sobey's Ipswich Force while it was a pair of wins for the Southern Districts Spartans.

There were two games on Sunday in the NBL1 North to close Round 12 and the women's results saw the Cairns Dolphins beat the Ipswich Force 98-97 while the Southern Districts Spartans defeated the Rockhampton Cyclones 79-69.

Then in the men's matches, the Cairns Marlins beat Ipswich 111-98 with Southern Districts defeating Rockhampton 92-84.

NBL1 NORTH RECAP | SATURDAY ROUND 12

NBL1 NORTH RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 12

WOMEN

Cairns dig deep to end road trip on a high

The Cairns Dolphins defied the reality that they should have been exhausted to close their triple-header road trip by producing a huge finish to snatch the 98-97 victory against the Ipswich Force.

Cairns was playing its third game on the road of the weekend having beaten the Red City Roar on Friday and then suffering a loss on Saturday to the Logan Thunder.

They came up against an Ipswich team playing their only game of the weekend as well but it was a tight contest throughout the first half.

Don't get in Jennifer Coleman's way! ?

Watch #NBL1North via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ?

Donate to Lifeline for the NBL1 Mental Health Round via the link here ? https://t.co/jo7jyclDMl pic.twitter.com/z8f7in3SKS

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 18, 2023

The Dolphins managed to lead by two points at quarter-time and then by five at half-time as they looked to return home with the two wins from the weekend.

Cairns then pulled away further opening up a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, but with the fresh legs, Ipswich worked on top in the fourth stanza.

With just under four minutes to play, Georgia Ralph tied scores up with two free-throws for Ipswich before Maria Blazejewski put them in front.

Blazejewski and Grace George extended the lead at the foul line and suddenly the Force had all the momentum with a five-point lead and what should have been more energy left in the tank.

That's not how it panned out over the final two minutes with Taylor Mole and Teyahna Bond knocking down massive three-point daggers before Shaneice Swain coolly iced the win at the charity stripe after signing at the Sydney Flames for the WNBL season during the week.

The victory means Cairns won two of the three on the road this weekend to improve to 9-6 on the season with the loss meaning Ipswich is 4-10.

Teyahna Bond produced a huge performance for the Dolphins with 30 points and two steals while shooting 11/14 from the floor and 3/4 from beyond the arc.

Shaneice Swain added 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals while Penina Davidson contributed 15 points, 11 boards, three blocks and two assists, Jennifer Coleman 15 points, 13 boards, nine assists and five steals.

Taylor Mole also had 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Maria Blazejewski continued her standout form for Ipswich with another 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists on 10/15 shooting from the floor and 8/9 at the foul line.

Alison Gorrell added 19 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals, Jasmin Howe 13 points, four boards and three assists, Meg Essex 13 points and six assists, Grace George 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Georgia Ralph 12 points, four boards and four assists.

The Swain Train is running express to the basket ?

Smooth moves from @TheSydneyFlames recruit!

Watch #NBL1North via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ?

Donate to Lifeline for the NBL1 Mental Health Round via the link here ? https://t.co/jo7jyclDMl pic.twitter.com/kGaWUuU4CQ

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 18, 2023

Spartans hand Cyclones first loss of triple-header

The Southern Districts Spartans were able to take full advantage of a tired Rockhampton Cyclones team to score the 79-69 victory at home on Sunday.

The Spartans were playing their only game of the weekend when they hosted a Rockhampton team at Rowland Cowan Stadium playing a third road game of Round 12 in the NBL1 North.

Rockhampton opened the road triple-header in the most stunning fashion handing the Northside Wizards a first loss of the season on Friday before they backed it up with a win against the Brisbane Capitals on Sunday.

It was always going to be a significant test to make it three in-a-row against a fresh opponent and that's exactly how the Sunday match up panned out.

The Cyclones did start well to lead by seven points at quarter-time before the fatigue began to kick in. The Spartans were able to take full advantage of that with 31 points to 18 in the second term to go into half-time leading 46-40.

From there, Southern Districts was able to lead by as much as 14 points in the third period, then 16 in the fourth and the Spartans ended up winning by 10.

The victory improves Southern Districts to a 10-5 record on the season having now won three straight while the Cyclones return home with two wins from three games this weekend with a 9-5 record.

Alice Dart finished up top-scoring for the Spartans with 20 points and two assists while connecting on 3/4 of her three-point attempts.

Jess McDowell-White added 17 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, Elin Gustavsson 11 points and nine boards, and Natalie Taylor 10 points, two rebounds and two steals.

Lauren Heart put up another 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Rockhampton with Sam Bowman contributing 18 points, 15 boards, three assists and two steals, Lara McSpadden 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Elizajane Loader 10 points and five boards.

MEN

Ky Stattmann hits 52 as Marlins blow away Force

A simply phenomenal career-best performance from 20-year-old Ky Stattmann with 52 points has inspired the Cairns Marlins to a remarkable end to their road trip beating the Ipswich Force 111-98 on Sunday.

The Marlins were playing their third game of the weekend away from home having already beaten the Red City Roar on Friday night before losing to the Logan Thunder on Saturday by 40 points.

That left them with a big task to dig deep on Sunday at JBS Stadium against an Ipswich team playing their only game of the weekend and on a three-game winning streak themselves.

However, it was a Cairns team that was on a mission from the outset with Stattmann proving unstoppable as the afternoon unfolded.

The younger brother of Brisbane Bullets' Kody, Stattmann showed what an enormous future he has whatever path he chooses to next take with his performance coming against a team featuring Nathan Sobey, Deng Deng, Kyrin Galloway and Jaylin Galloway to make it all the more impressive.

The Marlins shot out of the blocks with 41 points to 21 in the opening quarter and went on with the job from there against an Ipswich team who needed a win to stay in touch of the top two.

It wasn’t to be with Cairns leading by as much as 24 points in the second quarter, 26 in the third and then ending up winning by 13 after Ipswich did deliver a 15-0 scoring run late in the piece.

Ky Stattmann's performance was remarkable for Marlins as he finished with 52 points, nine rebounds and four assists while shooting 21/33 from the floor, 7/16 from downtown and 3/3 at the foul line.

Tad Dufelmeier also added 21 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists and two steals for Cairns while Lachlan Anderson contributed 19 points, six boards and four assists, and Jonah Antonio 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Nathan Sobey ended the afternoon with 31 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals for Ipswich while Deng Deng put up 25 points, 14 boards and four assists, and Jaylin Galloway 11 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Ky Stattmann posted... *checks notes*

5??2?? points for Cairns?!?

A ???????? day out ?

Watch #NBL1North via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ?

Donate to Lifeline for the NBL1 Mental Health Round via the link here ? https://t.co/jo7jyclDMl pic.twitter.com/3umXWKkQ3b

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 18, 2023

Sapwell shines again as Spartans overcome Rockets

The Southern Districts became the latest team to deny the Rockhampton Rockets a second win this season with the 92-84 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Rockhampton delivered two strong showings to open their triple-header weekend in the road losing to the Northside Wizards by six points on Friday night and by the same margin to the Brisbane Capitals on Saturday.

They were performances that defy that the Rockets sit bottom in the NBL1 North and they again threw everything at the Spartans on Sunday in an attempt to get that elusive second win of the season.

While it was Rockhampton's third appearance of the round, it was Southern Districts' first but it was the Rockets who managed to lead by three points at quarter-time.

Rockhampton led by as much as eight points in the second quarter but the Spartans stayed in touch and cut that margin to a point by half-time.

The Spartans then took charge in the third period with another 25 points to 18 to lead by as much as eight points. That advantage got out to nine in the fourth term and Southern Districts would go on to win by eight.

The victory sees the Spartans stay in the playoff hunt at 7-8 with consecutive wins while Rockhampton returns home winless this weekend despite three strong showings to be 1-13.

Koen Sapwell produced another standout performance for Southern Districts as he knocks down the door for an NBL opportunity. He finished with another 30 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Akoldah Gak added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans, Malakye Cunningham 12 points and three assists, and Fabijan Krslovic eight points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Despite the loss, Malcolm Bernard delivered 30 points and 12 rebounds for Rockhampton with Jarvis Summers contributing 20 points, eight boards and four assists, Hayden Richardson 11 points, two assists and two steals, and Angus McWilliam seven points and 10 rebounds.

Koen Sapwell ??????? that dime through ?

Watch #NBL1North via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ?

Donate to Lifeline for the NBL1 Mental Health Round via the link here ? https://t.co/jo7jyclDMl pic.twitter.com/d3229yXqYh

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 18, 2023