NBL1 North Round 1 Saturday Women’s Recap

Catch up on all the action from a busy night in the opening round of the NBL1 North Women's competition.

Brisbane Capitals 82 def Northside 65

Brisbane’s Brooke Blair has led the Capitals to a first round 82-65 victory over rivals Northside Wizards at Auchenflower Stadium on Saturday night.

The Capitals guard scored a game high 23 points as the home side fought back from a 28-24 first-quarter deficit to level at the break.

Blair scored 7 of her 23 points in a game-defining third quarter which saw the Capitals outscore their rivals 24-14.

Capitals forward Meg Essex (14 points, 12 rebounds), centre Emilee Tahata 11 points, guard Maddison Woodford 10 points, and two other teammates on 8 points showcased Brisbane’s depth on offence.

The Capitals were dominant on the boards, outrebounding the Capitals 56-39 including 19-8 on the offensive glass.

Northside’s backcourt Georgia Woolley (19 points) and Courtney Woods (16 points) top scored for the away team. Wizards forward Regan McCarty added 14 points including 3 three-pointers.

Logan Thunder 95 def Red City Roar 37

Logan’s Ashley Taia had the hot hand as the Thunder ran away with a 95-37 win over Red City Roar at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre on Saturday night.

The Thunder guard nailed 10 three-pointers to notch a game high 35 points. The impressive shooting performance included 10 of 13 (76.9%) shooting behind the arc.

Thunder’s two Mikaelas proved to be double trouble as guard Mikaela Cann tallied a double-double with 20 points and 11 assists and centre Mikaela Ruef scored 16 points and 10 rebounds.

On top of a far superior shooting percentage (Logan 47.3% compared to Red City 24.1%), the Thunder controlled the game and led in most statistical categories including 22-10 assists and 21-4 steals.

Roar’s Mikayla Watkinson (11 points and 9 rebounds) and Annaliese Watkinson (11 points) top scored for the road team.

Cairns Dolphins 58 def by Mackay Meteorettes 100

Mackay’s Chelsea Brook found her range to help the Meteorettes bounce back from a Friday night loss to Townsville to beat Cairns 100-58 at Early Settler Stadium on Saturday.

Brook hit 6 of 12 three-point attempts and 7 of 7 free-throw attempts on her way to score a game high 37 points.

The Mackay forward (37 points, 11 rebounds) combined with Cayla George (22 points, 20 rebounds) to put in a dominant performance in the front court.

Cairns forward Sarah Heard scored 18 points to top score for the Dolphins, but the home side mostly struggled on their offense, hitting just 6 of 32 (18.8%) three-point attempts.

The Meteorettes improve to a 1-1 record after being the only team to play a back-to-back in the opening round.

South West Pirates 56 def by Southern Districts Spartans 85

The 2020 QSL Women MVP Maddison Rocci transferred her valuable skills to help her new club Southern Districts Spartans beat South West Pirates 85-56 at Hibiscus Sports Stadium on Saturday night.

The Spartans guard, who averaged 32.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game for USC Rip City last season, notched 17 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.

Forward Nadeen Payne (15 points), forward Ash Karaitiana (14 points), and guard Madelyn Willey (13 points) joined Rocci in double figures.

Pirates forward Amanda Johnson, who tallied a double-double with 30 points and 18 rebounds, scored 53.5% of her South West’s total.

More efficient scoring from the Spartans proved the difference as the away team hit 33 of 67 (49.3%) field goals compared to Pirates’ 19 of 64 (29.7%).