NBL1 North Round 6 Saturday night women’s recap

Catch up on the Round 6 action from the NBL1 North women’s competition on Saturday night.

Northside Wizards 67 def by Southern Districts Spartans 93

Southern Districts Spartans continued their unblemished NBL1 North season with a 93-67 win over Northside Wizards at South Pine Sports Complex on Saturday night.

With little in it after each break, the Spartans, who led 57-54 after three quarters, turned the afterburners on in the final quarter to outscore Wizards 36-13 including a 14-2 run at the start of the fourth.

Spartans guard Maddison Rocci scored a game-high 27 points with 4 of 8 three-point shots made. The WNBL Canberra Capitals star also contributed nine rebounds and six assists.

Southern Districts outrebounded the home side 51-34 including 20-6 on the offensive end. Nadeen Payne (19 points), Kalani Purcell (13 points) and Rocci combined for 14 offensive boards.

Spartans guard Madelyn Willey found her range in the final quarter as she scored nine of her 10 points down the stretch.

Wizards guard Courtney Woods (20 points), forward Regan McCarty (17 points), and guard Tiana Mangakahia (14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) were the top contributors for Northside.

The 1-5 Wizards host Rockhampton Cyclones on Friday and the 7-0 Spartans await the visitors for the third leg of their Brisbane road trip on Sunday.

Red City Roar 59 def by Brisbane Capitals 87

Brisbane Capitals bounced back from back-to-back losses with an 87-59 victory over Red City Roar on Saturday night.

With scores level at 19 apiece at the 8.48 mark in the second quarter, the Capitals got hot with a 25-4 run to lead 44-23. Brisbane took a 47-28 lead into the main break and didn’t look back.

In a true team effort, the Capitals had eight players with eight-plus points. Brisbane guard Brooke Blair top scored with 16 points, while forward Anna Cameron contributed 13 points and 16 rebounds, and centre Stephanie Collins added nine points and 13 rebounds.

Roar forward Annaliese Watkinson scored a game-high 22 points including 5 of 7 three-point shots made.

The 4-4 Capitals host Rockhampton Cyclones on Saturday, while the 0-5 Roar go on the road to Ipswich on Saturday.

Gold Coast Rollers 49 def by Sunshine Coast Phoenix 59

Sunshine Coast Phoenix climbed to third on the NBL1 North women’s ladder after a 59-49 defensive tussle with Gold Coast Rollers on Saturday night.

The Phoenix backcourt of Kathleen MacLeod (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) and Amy Browne (14 points, 7 rebounds) combined for 28 points, nearly half of Sunshine Coast’s offence.

Gold Coast forwards Aimee Durbidge (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Casey Samuels (16 points, 14 rebounds) combined for 65% of the Rollers offence.

Phoenix (6-1) host Mackay (5-1) on Saturday, while Gold Coast Rollers (3-3) host the undefeated Logan Thunder on Saturday.

Cairns Dolphins 58 def by USC Rip City 123

Determined to pick up a win on their North Queensland trip, USC Rip City came out firing in a wire-to-wire victory over Cairns Dolphins 123-58 on Saturday night.

Rip City forward Carlie Smith scored a game-high 32 points and 10 rebounds, while Alex Delaney found her range to score 29 points with 5 of 7 shots from deep making a splash.

The WNBL duo combined for just under 50% of Rip City’s offence, while guard Jasmine Forcadilla added 14 points and captain Liisa Ups contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and six steals.

Rip City scored at a high clip to reach triple figures thanks to 57.7% field goals made (45 of 78) and 84.6% free throws made (22 of 26).

The Dolphins were led by Leichan Williams (15 points), Myra Donkin (11 points), and Sarah Heard (10 points).

USC (3-3) return home to face Mackay (5-1) on Sunday, while the Dolphins have a bye in Round 7.

Mackay Meteorettes 89 def South West Metro Pirates 56

Mackay Meteorettes ran away with an 89-56 win over South West Metro Pirates at Mackay Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.

Up six at half time, the Meteorettes went on a 10-2 run after the break and with momentum on their side outscored the Pirates 46-19 in the second half.

Mackay centre and Australian Opal Cayla George, who will represent Australia at the Tokyo Olympics next month, put in a strong performance with 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Fellow WNBL player and Meteorettes forward Chelsea Brook contributed 22 points while Mackay guard Heidi Freeburn added 17 points.

Pirates centre Amanda Johnson top scored for the visitors with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

The Meteorettes (5-1) travel to the Sunshine Coast for a double against Phoenix and Rip City at the weekend, while the Pirates (3-4) host Northside Wizards (1-5) on Saturday.