NBL1 North Recap | Saturday Pink Round

Majok Deng had a monster performance for Logan Thunder in Saturday night's NBL1 North while Jason Cadee led the Gold Coast Rollers to a thrilling win over Lamar Patterson's South West Metro Pirates and Courtney Woods starred for the undefeated Northside Wizards.

The Saturday Round 7 NBL1 North women's results saw the Ipswich Force beat USC Rip City 86-82 while the South West Metro Pirates defeated the Gold Coast Rollers 92-84, the Southern Districts Spartans downed the Red City Roar 88-50, and the Northside Wizards beat the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 96-88.

The North Gold Coast Seahawks also beat the Logan Thunder 88-82 and the Darwin Salties prevailed 82-56 against the Mackay Meteorettes.

In the men's match ups, Ipswich defeated Rip City 111-102 while Gold Coast beat South West Metro 102-99, Southern Districts downed Red City 88-83, Sunshine Coast defeated Northside 91-68, Logan prevailed 100-74 against North Gold Coast, and Darwin beat Mackay 102-88.

WOMEN

Ipswich hold out Rip City for narrow win

The Ipswich Force were able to snap their losing slide by holding out the USC Rip City in a tight finish to win 86-82 at home on Saturday night.

Ipswich had lost its past two matches to the Seahawks and Pirates coming into the match up at JBS Stadium against a Rip City team on their own three-game losing slide.

Rip City was leading by a point at quarter-time but then in the second term it was Ipswich who began to pull away with 25 points to 19 to lead 44-39 at the main break.

The Force did open up a 10-point advantage in the third quarter, but the Rip City were able to fire back and grabbed the lead briefly heading towards three quarter-time.

However, Ipswich went on a 7-0 run to regain the advantage and then held out Rip City down the stretch to score the four-point win to improve to 3-5 on the season with the visitors now 2-5.

Maria Blazejewski has made the move to the NBL1 North this season after playing with the East Perth Eagles in 2022, and she was instrumental in Ipswich's win with 21 points, five rebounds and two assists on 7/11 shooting.

Jasmin Howe added 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, Georgia Ralph 19 points and three assists with 4/9 three-point shooting, and Alison Gorrell 16 points and five assists.

Carlie Smith produced a terrific performance despite the loss for Rip City ending up with 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals with Megan Mullings adding 22 points and five boards, Steph Bairstow 16 points and nine rebounds, and Liisa Ups 13 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals.

Jasmin Howe with the clutch corner 3?? ?

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Scott, Rocci lead Pirates past Rollers

Leah Scott helped lead the South West Metro to a win that sees them stay in touch at the top of the NBL1 North standings by overcoming a big performance from Catherine Reese to beat the Gold Coast Rollers 92-84.

Gold Coast was back home to host South West Metro on Saturday evening and it was in the second quarter when the Pirates made their move with 29 points to 19 to open up a 50-39 advantage.

South West Metro went on with the job from there to score the eight-point victory to improve to a 7-2 record to maintain with unbeaten teams on top of the table. The Rollers slip to 4-5 with consecutive losses and four of their last five.

The dynamic duo of Leah Scott and Maddy Rocci were outstanding in the win for the Pirates. Scott finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds and four assists with Rocci contributing 26 points, nine boards, four assists and two steals.

Lulu Twidale also had another 18 points for South West Metro with Hannah Young contributing nine points, four rebounds and two steals.

Catherine Reese did all she could to try and will Gold Coast to the win with 32 points and 13 rebounds on 14/22 shooting from the floor.

Ariana Moorer narrowly missed a triple-double with 20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals with Riley Evans adding 16 points and two assists.

Former WNBL point guard BJ Moyes made her return with four points, four rebounds and two assists after being out west since 2017 where she played with the Cockburn Cougars and East Perth Eagles, and had a crack at playing football.

Ariana Moorer has ? in the back of her head ?

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Allen steers Spartans to commanding win over Roar

The Southern Districts Spartans made it consecutive victories this season and kept the Red City Roar winless with Saturday night's 88-50 home win.

The Spartans were looking to back up last week's win against the Cairns Dolphins and started on fire against the winless Roar with 29 points to nine in the first quarter at Rowland Cowan Stadium.

Southern Districts continued on with the charge in the second period with another 30 points to 16 to lead 59-25 at half-time before the lead grew to as much as 41 points in the second half before the Spartans won by 38.

The victory improves Southern Districts to a 5-4 record with the Roar now 0-8 as the only team yet to win a game in the women's NBL1 North.

Maddy Allen continued her terrific recent form for the Spartans with another 25 points, six rebounds and four assists while knocking down 5/11 of her three-point attempts.

Alice Dart added 14 points and three rebounds, Elin Gustavsson 13 points and seven boards, and Erin Harvey 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Lilly Rotunno top-scored for Red City with 16 points and five rebounds with Shorna Preston contributing 10 points, six boards and three steals.

Lilly Rotunno with the pretty scoop finish ??

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Woods stars as Wizards remain undefeated

The Northside Wizards maintained their perfect record so far this NBL1 North season beating the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 96-88.

The Wizards arrived at Maroochydore Stadium putting their unbeaten record on the line away to a Phoenix team attempting to snap their own three-game losing streak.

It was a see-saw affair in the first half and after leading by as much as seven points in the second quarter, Sunshine Coast went into half-time leading 49-47.

The Wizards, though, were able to work their way on top in the second half and open up a double-figure advantage before claiming the eight-point win to improve to 8-0 on the season. The Phoenix are now 1-6 having lost four in-a-row.

Courtney Woods starred in the victory for the Wizards with 30 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals while shooting 14/24 from the field in her 38 minutes of court time.

Nadeen Payne delivered another 22 points, eight rebounds and five steals, AJ Johnson 19 points and six boards, Lil Dart 14 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Kelsey McDermott nine points, two boards and two assists.

After spending last season in the NBL1 West at the Mandurah Magic, Alex Wittinger has joined Sunshine Coast in 2023 and she put up 22 points, 10 rebounds and two assists on 11/16 shooting.

Kathleen MacLeod added 18 points and nine assists, Nicola Handreck 16 points and four assists, Amy Browne 16 points and eight rebounds, and Caitlin Reed 14 points and two assists.

Seahawks knock off Logan despite Ruef's 20-20

The North Gold Coast Seahawks continue to build some momentum this NBL1 North season with the 88-82 road victory against the Logan Thuner on Saturday night.

After coughing up a one-point loss to Logan on their home floor two weeks ago, the Seahawks beat Ipswich last week ahead of the return clash with the Thunder at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre on Saturday night.

Logan had been building some form of its own with three consecutive wins including the return of Mikaela Ruef last week, and while she was there again and came up huge for the Thunder, it wasn’t enough.

The Seahawks started strongly to lead 27-15 by quarter-time and then another 32 points to 18 in the second period saw them in charge leading 59-33 at intermission.

Logan threw everything at the comeback in the second half after falling down by as much as 27 points. They did outscore North Gold Coast 49 points to 29 in the second half, but the Seahawks held on to win by six.

The victory improves the Seahawks to a 3-4 record on the season with the Thunder now 4-4.

Erin Riley delivered 25 points, five rebounds and two steals for North Gold Coast while knocking down 3/5 from three-point range.

Alexa Held also had 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Bride Kennedy-Hopoate 17 points, six boards and three assists, Emma Gandini 11 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Carly Remmos 10 points and four boards.

Mikaela Ruef did what she could to lift Logan to the win by playing all 40 minutes for 20 points, 22 rebounds and three assists. 

Mikhaela Cann added 21 points and seven assists, Ula Motuga 13 points and 11 rebounds, Odette Isaac 13 points and two steals, and Chevannah Paalvast 10 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Bollmann shines as Salties remain undefeated

The Darwin Salties maintained their undefeated start to the NBL1 North season by beating the Mackay Meteorettes 82-56 on their home floor on Saturday night.

The Salties were back at Darwin Basketball Stadium fresh off also beating the Brisbane Capitals at home last week while the Meteorettes arrived after a 35-point home loss to the Gold Coast Rollers.

Darwin used the inspiration of its home crowd to start strongly with 25 points to 11 in the opening quarter to set the tone for the evening.

The Salties went on to outscore Mackay 39 points to 27 in the second half to end up winning by 26 points to improve to a perfect 7-0 record. The Meteorettes slip to 2-6.

Erin Bollmann was the star of the evening for Darwin with 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks on the back of shooting 12/16 from the field and 8/11 at the free-throw line.

Chelesa Brook added 19 points, five rebounds and two steals on 7/10 shooting including 3/4 from beyond the arc while Sophie Johnston had six points, four rebounds and three assists.

Davida Dale ended up top-scoring for Mackay with 17 points, five rebounds and four steals with Brittany Reeves adding 14 points and 13 boards, Charli Bliss eight points and four rebounds, and Courtney Virgo six points, five steals and four rebounds.

MEN

Ipswich bounce back despite 39 from Noi for Rip City

The Ipswich Force responded to suffering a first loss of the NBL1 North season to beat USC Rip City 111-102 at home on Saturday night.

After winning the opening six games of the season, Ipswich fell to the South West Metro Pirates last Sunday despite the 43 points from Nathan Sobey as they tried to hit back against Kouat Noi and Rip City.

It was a USC team also having lost its past two matches so the grand finalists from last year weren’t short on motivation either to set the stage for the match up.

The Force came out with a point to prove and put up 34 points in the opening quarter but Rip City hit back with 35 of their own in the second which saw them narrowly lead 58-57 at the half.

Ipswich was able to open up a handy lead with another 28 points to 17 in the third quarter and that was enough to set them up for the eventual nine-point win.

The victory improves the Force to a 7-1 record while Rip City slips to 3-4 with a third consecutive defeat.

Nathan Sobey once again led the charge for Ipswich in the win finishing with 30 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals on 10/16 shooting from the floor, and 6/12 from three-point territory.

Deng Deng added 26 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Jaylin Galloway 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Cameron Goldfinch 15 points, seven boards and three blocks, and Michael Fleming 10 points and three assists.

Kouat Noi did what he could to lift Rip City to the win by delivering 39 points and 14 rebounds on 15/23 shooting from the floor and 9/11 at the foul line.

Brandon Wood added 33 points and three assists, and Matt Kenyon 15 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and five assists.

Rollers hold off Pirates in battle of in-form teams

The defending champion Gold Coast Rollers held off the fast finishing South West Metro Pirates for the nail-biting 102-99 victory.

The Rollers were back home at Carrara Stadium on a five-game winning streak hosting a Pirates team who had won four straight including handing Ipswich a first defeat last Sunday.

That set the stage for a mouth watering contest and it certainly delivered even with Gold Coast never surrendering a lead from the first quarter onwards.

The Rollers did lead by as much as 12 points but the Pirates stayed in touch throughout the contest and a late three-pointer Kai Woodfall made it a two-point ball game again with just under a minute to play.

However, South West Metro couldn’t manage another score and Jason Cadee sealed the win for the Rollers at the foul line to make sure of the three-point win.

The victory improves Gold Coast to 7-2 with six consecutive wins while the Pirates are 4-5.

Captain Cadee was superb again for the Rollers with 21 points, 16 assists and five rebounds with Todd Blanchfield contributing 26 points, 10 boards and five assists, Preston Le Gassick 17 points and three boards, and Cameron Thew 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

Lamar Patterson came up huge for South West Metro with 35 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals with Kai Woodfall adding 25 points, six boards and five assists, Brendan Teys 17 points and four assists, and Ben Volkman 13 points and 10 boards.

Sapwell fires Spartans to overcome Roar

The Southern Districts Spartans came from behind with Koen Sapwell leading the charge in the eventual 88-83 victory against the Red City Roar.

The Spartans were at home to the Roar on Saturday night at Rowland Cowan Stadium with the home team looking for a third successive win and Red City trying to stop a three-game losing slide.

Southern Districts started well to lead by four points at quarter-time and to stretch that advantage to eight by half-time, but Red City turned the tide in the third quarter with 26 points to 14 to grab the lead.

However, the Spartans took back control with 26 points to 17 in the fourth period to turn that three quarter-time deficit into a five-point victory.

The result means Southern Districts improves to a 4-5 record with three straight wins while Red City is 2-6 with four losses in-a-row.

Koen Sapwell continued his terrific form for Southern Districts as he tries to earn an NBL contract. He put up 30 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals while shooting 10/17 from the floor and 5/8 from three-point land.

Akoldah Gak added 21 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists for the Spartans, Kian Dennis 10 points, seven boards, three assists and two blocks, and Ben Hastings eight points and three assists.

Nelson Larkins has been in standout form for Red City and he continued that with 25 points, three assists and three steals while hitting 5/7 from long-range. 

Jaylen Key added 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals, Josh Brown 13 points, five boards and two assists, and Mitch Poulain seven points and 10 rebounds.

Malakye Cunningham seals it with the one-handed JAM ?

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Robateau shoots Phoenix to win over Wizards

The Sunshine Coast Phoenix produced a statement performance at home on Saturday night beating the Northside Wizards 91-68.

The Phoenix came into the contest at Maroochydore Stadium looking to bounce back from a loss to the Brisbane Capitals with the Wizards on a two-game winning run.

But it was Sunshine Coast who flipped that recent form early on Saturday night with 27 points to 15 in the opening quarter. The Phoenix added another 26 points to 18 in the second quarter, 21 to 14 in the third and they eventually went on to win by 23 points.

The victory improves the Phoenix 4-3 on the season while the Wizards are 5-3 after the defeat.

Jamaal Robateau ended the night for Sunshine Coast with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists while knocking down 5/9 from three-point territory.

Jonathan Janssen added 18 points and 11 rebounds, Nelson Kahler 13 points and 12 boards, and Mason Bragg 11 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Lual Diing finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists for the Wizards while Andrew White III added 14 points and five boards, Kyle Zunic 13 points, two assists and two steals, and DeShawn Ross-Paiwan 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Monster Majok Deng game lifts Thunder over Seahawks

Majok Deng couldn’t possibly be doing more to attract himself another NBL contract offer after a monster performance in the 100-74 win for the Logan Thunder against the North Gold Coast Seahawks.

Deng has played 201 games in the NBL across the Adelaide 36ers and Cairns Taipans, and is showing night after night that that he still would have plenty to offer in NBL24 as he produced a match-winning performance at home to the Seahawks for Logan.

The Thunder started the game on fire with 29 points to 16 in the opening quarter. They would then go on to outscore North Gold Coast 47 points to 33 in the second half to end up winning by 26 points.

The win improves Logan to 7-1 on the season with six straight wins while the Seahawks have now lost three in-a-row at 3-4.

Deng was the major difference between the two teams and in his 32 minutes on the floor for Logan, he produced 39 points, 17 rebounds and four assists while shooting 16/21 from the field and 6/6 at the foul line.

Boston Mazlin added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, Mitch Young 12 points and six rebounds, Shaun Bruce 11 points, 12 assists, seven steals and six boards, and Rasmus Bach 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Biwali Bayles produced 26 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Seahawks with Josh Duach contributing 24 points, five boards and four steals, and Lachlan Wood eight points and four rebounds.

Salties catch fire to hand Meteors third straight loss

The Darwin Salties started on fire to set up the eventual 102-88 home victory on Saturday night against the Mackay Meteors.

Darwin came into the clash at home having won its last two matches with Mackay arriving having lost its first two games of the season so the stage was set for a tantalising tussle.

The Salties shot out of the blocks in blistering fashion with 30 points to 14 in the opening quarter. Another 30 points to 22 in the second term and Darwin were leading 60-36 by half-time.

While the Meteors outscored the Salties in the second half 52 points to 42, they could never come close to closing the gap with Darwin going on to win by 14 and improve to a 5-2 record with three straight wins.

Mackay is now 5-3 having lost three straight after winning the first five games of the season.

Jerron Jamerson was tremendous for Darwin finishing with 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals on 8/14 shooting from the field and 13/14 from the free-throw line.

Sean Macdonald added 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, Viliami Foketi 15 points, six boards and three assists, Deng Riak 14 points and 10 rebounds, Deba George 14 points, three boards and two assists, and Makuach Maluach 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Isaac White led the charge once more for the Meteors with 31 points, six rebounds and six assists with DJ Baptiste adding 20 points and 12 boards, and Tyler Williams 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.