NBL1 North Round 3 Saturday night women's recap

Catch up on the Round 3 action from the NBL1 North Women's competition on Friday night.

Northside Wizards 74 def by  Brisbane Capitals 78

Brisbane Capitals held strong on the second leg of a double header to defeat Northside Wizards 78-74 at South Pine Sports Complex on Saturday night.

With the game tied at 56 apiece heading into the fourth quarter, the Capitals, who fell to Sunshine Coast Phoenix on Friday night, started the final period with a 7-1 run.

The buffer, partially created by Brisbane guard Brooke Blair hitting five of her 20 points in the first minute, was enough for the Capitals to hold and improve their record to 2-2.

Blair’s backcourt partner Madison Woodford added 14 points, while Brisbane forward Meg Essex scored a game-high 26 points with 12 of 18 field goals made.

The Wizards, now 1-2, were led by guard Courtney Woods with 25 points and forward Regan McCarty with a double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds).

Rockhampton Cyclones 63 def by Mackay Meteorettes 88

Mackay Meteorettes won their third game straight with an 88-63 road win against Rockhampton Cyclones at Bravus Arena on Saturday night.

The Meteorettes improved to a 3-1 win-loss record on the back of a strong triple-double performance from Cayla George, who scored 15 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists.

The 193cm centre, who was named to the Australian Olympic team for Tokyo this week, has routinely produced double-doubles to start the season.

Mackay forward Chelsea Brook had a game-high 19 points, while the Meteorettes backcourt of Sara Storeshaw (13 points) and Heidi Freeburn (10 points) also made double figures.

Rockhampton’s Laura McSpadden scored 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Katrina Clifford added 16 points and six assists.

Red City Roar 53 def by Sunshine Coast Phoenix 73

Sunshine Coast Phoenix claimed their second win of a back-to-back with a 73-53 win over Red City Roar at The Den on Saturday night.

The Phoenix improved to a 3-1 win-loss record thanks to a hot start that saw the visitors jump out to a 24-10 lead after the first quarter.

Sunshine Coast guard Kathleen MacLeod scored a game high 22 points and was joined by guard Amy Browne (10 points) and forward Jennifer Carden-David (10 points) in double digits.

Phoenix centre Rachael Ryan picked up 12 rebounds, which helped her team to a 48-40 advantage.

Roar forwards Annaliese Watkinson (18 points) and Jaylen Cooper (12 points) top scored for Red City.

Cairns Dolphins 53 def by Townsville Flames 92

The undefeated Townsville Flames cruised to a 92-53 victory over North Queensland rivals Cairns Dolphins at Early Settler Stadium on Saturday night.

After a tight 23-24 first quarter, the Flames went on a 12-0 run after the short break including eight points from guard Stephanie Reid.

Reid, who plays for the Townsville Fire in the WNBL, hit 6 of 11 from the perimeter on her way to a game-high 30 points and 10 assists.

Flames guard Jaimee Seebohm also tallied a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. They were joined in double digits by Townsville forwards Mia Murray (22 points) and Bree Stephens (10 points).

Dolphins forward Sarah Heard (13 points) and guard Myra Donkin(12 points) top scored for the home side.

South West Metro Pirates 81 def by Logan Thunder 89

Logan Thunder sit top of the standings after an 89-81 victory over South West Metro Pirates  at Hibiscus Sports Stadium on Saturday night.

Despite a close contest, the Thunder (3-0) led wire to wire thanks to an 8-0 run to start the game.

Logan guard Ashley Taia scored a game high 24 points including 3 of 7 shots made from deep while backcourt partner Mikaela Cann added 15 points .

Thunder centre Mikaela Reuf played the full game to stuff the stat sheet with 16  points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.

Pirates forward Amanda Johnson (21 points), Kisha Lee (19 points), and Bree Farley (17 points) were top scorers for the home side.

Southern Districts Spartans 92 def USC Rip City 65

Southern Districts Spartans secured a home court win on a difficult night for the home teams in Round 3 action of the NBL1 North Women.

The Spartans beat USC Rip City 92-65 at Rowland Cowan Stadium to be the lone team to register a victory on their floor on Saturday night.

Last year’s Queensland State League MVP Maddison Rocci tallied a game-high 19 points against her former team.

The Spartans guard was joined by Kalani Purcell (17 points), Nadeen Payne (15 points) and Madelyn Willey (10 points) in double digits. Purcell tallied a double-double with 13 rebounds to help the Spartans to a 46-38 advantage on the boards.

Alex Delaney, a WNBL Canberra Capitals teammate of Rocci, debuted for Rip City with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

Rip City forward Carlie Smith top scored for the visitors with 18 points and 8 rebounds, while guard Jasmine Forcadilla added 14 points and 7 rebounds.