NBL1 North Recap | Sunday ANZAC Round

Isaac White put up another 40 points to keep the Mackay Meteors unbeaten this NBL1 North season with Chris Cedar the hero for South West Metro Pirates to get their first win and Samantha Bowman again dominated for the Rockhampton Cyclones.

ANZAC Round in the NBL1 North wrapped up with the four women's fixtures on Sunday with the Rockhampton Cyclones beating the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 86-77 with the South West Metro Pirates defeating the Cairns Dolphins 76-69, Townsville Flames downing Logan Thunder 75-68, and Southern Districts Spartans beating Mackay Meteorettes 76-63.

Then in the men's action, the Phoenix beat the Rockhampton Rockets 90-82 while the Pirates beat the Cairns Marlins 75-74, Logan downed the Townsville Heat 90-70, and the Mackay Meteors defeated the Spartans 100-90.

WOMEN

Bowman dominates again as Rockhampton keep winning

The Rockhampton Cyclones scored their second win within 18 hours on the road to beat the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 86-77 on Sunday.

Rockhampton was coming off beating USC Rip City by 18 points the previous night and started well against Sunshine Coast with 24 points to 16 in the opening quarter.

It was a ??????????? dominant performance from @cwu_wbb alum Samantha Bowman, guiding Rockhampton to another dub with:

2??8?? points
1??7?? boards
2?? steals
1?? block

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That proved the difference in the game with the Cyclones going on to win by nine points in the finish to improve to 4-1 on the season while the Phoenix are 1-4.

Samantha Bowman backed up a huge performance on Saturday with another dominant showing for Rockhampton with 28 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and two steals on 12/21 shooting from the floor.

She had plenty of support too with Lara McSpadden putting up 19 points, 15 boards and six assists, Elizajane Loader 19 points, 11 boards and four assists, and Lauren Heard 14 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and two blocked shots.

Kendell Heremaia did what she could to try and lift Sunshine Coast to a second win of the season with 30 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals on shooting 8/17 from three-point territory.

Amy Browne also had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, Caitlin Reed 12 points and four boards, and Kathleen MacLeod nine points, nine assists, four rebounds and four steals.

If Amy Browne wants to shoot, ???'? ????? ????? ?

Cleeeean back-to-back triples and 1??0?? first quarter points for the Sunshine Coast vet ?

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Pirates deny Dolphins third win of road trip weekend

The South West Metro Pirates continued their strong start to the NBL1 North season handing the Cairns Dolphins the 76-69 defeat to close their road trip.

The Dolphins did start their weekend triple-header with wins over the Rollers and Seahawks, but couldn’t quite complete the triple with the Pirates starting well on Sunday and maintaining that advantage.

South West Metro led 25-13 by quarter-time and then from there went on to claim the seven-point win to finish the round at 4-1 with Cairns 3-3.

Leah Scott finished up top-scoring for the Pirates with 19 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals with Hannah Young adding 17 points and six boards.

Alana Fraser also had 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals for South West Metro, Lulu Twidale 11 points, nine boards and seven assists, and Courtenay Wragg eight points, eight boards, three steals and two assists.

Penina Davidson battled hard for Cairns finishing with 17 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks with Shaneice Swain adding 15 points, five boards and four assists, Teyahna Bond 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, and Leichan Williams 11 points and six boards.

Shaneice Swain is out here dropping full court dimes ?

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Townsville complete sweep of weekend on the road

The defending NBL1 North champion Townsville Flames completed their third win on the road this weekend winning their Grand Final rematch with the Logan Thunder 75-68 on Sunday.

Townsville hadn’t won a game this season coming into their three games away from home in Round 4, but with Steph Reid and Kate Gaze teaming back up, the Flames beat Ipswich on Friday and Red City on Saturday.

That set the stage for Sunday's Grand Final rematch with Logan out for a measure of revenge after losing that decider having gone through the season undefeated up to that point, but again the Flames proved too good.

While the Thunder led 37-34 by half-time, Townsville got rolling in the third quarter putting up 29 to 12 and then resisted the fightback of Logan in the final period to win by seven and improve their season to 3-4 while Logan is 1-3.

Steph Reid has made the world of difference for Townsville back in the line-up this weekend after her pivotal role in the Fire's WNBL championship. She put up another 19 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals against Logan.

Kate Gaze added 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Indiah Bowyer 17 points, eight boards, three steals and two assists on her old home floor, and Majella Carey 15 points and five rebounds.

Ashley Taia top-scored for Logan with 22 points and eight rebounds with Mikhaela Cann adding 20 points and five assists, Alleah Hanson 11 points and two rebounds, and Odette Isaac 10 points, four boards, two assists and two steals.

Don't mind Steph Reid just ???????? splitting three defenders with that pass ?

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Spartans hand Meteorettes third straight loss of weekend

The rough triple-header road weekend proved fruitless for the Mackay Meteorettes with the Southern Districts Spartans blowing them away early on the way to Sunday's 76-63 victory.

Mackay was looking to end its triple-header on the road with a win after going down to the Caps and Wizards by a combined 74 points the previous two nights, but the Spartans weren’t in a giving mood at Rowland Cowan Stadium.

Southern Districts were fresh playing their only game of the weekend and started like it with 20 points to 10 in the first quarter. Another 22 to 10 in the second and the Spartans were in control leading 42-20 at the main break.

To Mackay's credit they fought the game out well and outscored Southern Districts 43 points to 35 in the second half, but still the Spartans prevailed by 13 points to improve to 2-3 on the season with the Meteorettes now 1-4.

Krystal Leger-Walker finished with 23 points, four rebounds and two assists for Southern Districts with Madelyn Allen contributing 20 points, 12 boards and six assists, and Holly Smith 11 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Ellie Collins delivered 15 points and eight rebounds for Mackay with Davida Dale adding 14 points, nine boards, five steals and two assists, and Phoebe Holmes 12 points, three rebounds and two assists.

MEN

Phoenix overrun tired opponents to keep Rockets winless

The Sunshine Coast Phoenix sent the Rockhampton Rockets back home still winless this NBL1 North season with Sunday's 90-82 victory.

The Rockets were playing their third game of the weekend away from home while the Phoenix were playing their only game of the round, but it took them until the second half to work on top.

??Kiran Shastri is CLUTCH??

30 seconds to go with Rockhampton pushing home hard? No worries ?

Iceman ?

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The teams combined to score 58 points in the first quarter with scores tied at 29-29 before the Rockets did well in the second period to take a 49-43 lead into half-time.

However, Rockhampton just ran out of legs with the Phoenix outscoring them 47 points to 33 in the second half to claim the eight-point win and improve to 3-2 on the season with the Rockets 0-5.

Jamaal Robateau finished with 24 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals for Sunshine Coast, and Kiran Shastri 24 points, four boards, three assists and three steals.

Jonathan Janssen also ended up with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Mason Bragg 12 points, seven boards and four assists, and Nelson Kahler ended up with 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

Damian Prgomet top-scored for Rockhampton with 21 points and seven rebounds with Wesley Harris contributing 16 points, eight boards, three assists and two blocks, and Chier Maker 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Damian Prgomet absolutely ??????? ?? ?

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Cedar the hero as Pirates beat Marlins for first win

It was a Sunday thriller with Chris Cedar the hero hit the game winning three-point bomb for the South West Metro Pirates to record their first win of the season beating the Cairns Marlins 75-74.

Cairns was attempting to get its first win of the weekend on the road from three attempts having lost to the Rollers and Seahawks to begin the round with the Marlins hoping the winless Pirates might allow them to head home on a winning note.

However, South West Metro started strongly with 23 points to 16 in the opening quarter before Cairns worked on top over the next couple of quarters and it was all set up for a thrilling finish.

After Cairns were leading by four in the last minute, Roman Siulepa scored to bring the Pirates back within two and then it was a three ball from Chris Cedar, who had just checked back into the game that was the finishing blow.

That put the Pirates on top 75-74 and with Jonah Antonio missing a shot at the winner for Cairns, South West Metro held on to win by a point to get their first win of the season.

Cedar had missed his first five three-point attempts of the game but hit the one that mattered to finish with seven points and 10 rebounds with Kai Woodfall top-scoring with 18 points, three boards and two assists.

Lamar Patterson also had 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Pirates, Brendan Teys 11 points, Ben Volkman 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Siulepa 10 points and seven boards.

Tad Dufelmeier produced another standout performance for Cairns as he tries to earn another NBL opportunity. He finished with 30 points, four rebounds and two steals with Ky Stattmann adding 25 points, 11 boards and four assists, and Antonio 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Christopher Cedar hits the final shot and WINS IT for the Pirates??

What a way to get your first win of the season! ?

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Logan take full advantage for big win over tired Townsville

The Logan Thunder took full advantage of a tired looking Townsville Heat to score a thumping 98-70 victory at home on Sunday.

Townsville was playing its third game of the round on the road having already lost to start the road trip against Ipswich and Red City coming into Sunday's clash against a Thunder team playing their only game of the weekend.

Logan started well with 26 points to 17 in the opening period and added another 31 to 23 in the second term to go into half-time on top 57-40.

The Heat were just hanging in there, but couldn’t make a run throughout the second half in their third game of the road trip. Logan outscored them 41 to 30 in the second half to end up winning by 28 improving to 4-1 as a result with Townsville now 3-4 after starting the weekend 3-1.

With 201 NBL games of experience behind him, Majok Deng led the charge for the Thunder with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three steals with Elijah Puna adding 15 points and seven boards, and another former NBL veteran Mitch Young 14 points and seven rebounds.

Boston Mazlin contributed 11 points, five assists and four rebounds, Jean-Luc Morel 11 points and seven boards, and Rasmus Bach eight points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Michael Cedar top-scored for Townsville back on his former home court with 19 points, three assists, three rebounds and three steals while hitting 5/13 of his three-point shots.

Ethan Betts added 15 points, four rebounds and three steals, Max Norton 10 points, three boards and two steals, and Matthew Rees seve3n points, eight boards, three assists and two blocks.

Not sure what's better here - Mitchell Young's dunk, or the bench reaction ?

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White puts up 40 to keep Meteors unbeaten on the season

The Mackay Meteors continued their hot start to the NBL1 North season by completing their triple-header road trip beating the Southern Districts Spartans 100-90.

Mackay had already scored road wins against the Capitals and Wizards to open the weekend before turning up on Sunday at Rowland Cowan Stadium attempting to keep their undefeated record intact.

The Spartans were fresh and playing their only game of the weekend but it was the Meteors who started well with 28 points to 20 in the first period. 

Mackay then pulled away further with 31 points to 21 in the third term to set up the eventual 10-point win that improves the Meteors to 5-0 to start the season with the Spartans now 1-4.

Isaac White has been in blistering form all season for the Meteors and the new Brisbane Bullets signing delivered 40 points, eight rebounds and four assists on the back of shooting 12/18 from the floor, 3/4 from beyond the arc and 13/19 at the foul line.

Tyler Williams also had 18 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists for Mackay, Isaiah Lee 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Shane Temara 11 points and nine boards.

New Cairns Taipans signing Akoldah Gak was exciting for Southern Districts with 25 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals with Ben Hastings adding 18 points and three assists, Koen Sapwell 15 points and six rebounds, and Kian Dennis 14 points, six boards and five assists.