NBL1 North Recap | Saturday Round 14

Saturday night in the NBL1 North included a remarkable 39-point triple-double from Isaac White while the Gold Coast Rollers had a pair of big wins, Lachlan Anderson hit the winner for the Cairns Marlins, and Deng Deng made two huge plays to win it for the Ipswich Force.

Saturday night's Round 14 women's results saw the Gold Coast Rollers beat the North Gold Coast Seahawks 77-56 while the Ipswich Force defeated the Darwin Salties 90-76, the Mackay Meteorettes downed the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 100-93, and the Rockhampton Cyclones won 91-60 against the Cairns Dolphins.

Then in the men's matches, Gold Coast beat North Gold Coast 115-88 along with Ipswich defeating Darwin 106-105, Mackay beat Sunshine Coast 97-77, and Cairns won 91-90 against Rockhampton.

NBL1 NORTH RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 14

WOMEN

Reese, Moorer lead Gold Coast into top eight

The Gold Coast Rollers enhanced their playoff prospects on the back of the efforts of Cate Reese and Ariana Moorer to beat the North Gold Coast Seahawks 77-56.

With the Seahawks sitting seventh at 8-6 and the Rollers 10th at 8-7, plenty went on the line when the local rivals locked horns on Saturday at Carrara Stadium.

It didn’t take long for the Rollers to take control to lead by eight points in the opening quarter and then never look back.

Gold Coast continued to build on that lead throughout the evening being up by as much as 21 points in the second quarter, 24 in the third and 33 in the fourth before ending up winning by 21 after the Seahawks did put up some points late.

The victory improves Gold Coast to a 9-7 record to move into the top eight with North Gold Coast slipping to 8-7.

Cate Reese continued her standout form for Gold Coast finishing with 28 points, six rebounds and two assists on the back of shooting 12/20 from the floor.

Ariana Moorer was terrific as well with 24 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and two blocks with Carla Drennan contributing nine points, two boards and two assists, and Riley Evans nine points, six rebounds and two assists.

Lexie Held finished with 25 points and six rebounds for the Seahawks with Erin Riley delivering 13 points and 10 boards, and Emma Gandini six points, four rebounds and two assists despite going 1/7 from downtown.

Blazejewski stars as Force give Salties another loss

The horror start to the triple-header away from home continued for the Darwin Salties on Saturday night with the Ipswich Force beating them 90-76.

Darwin lost to the previously winless Red City Roar on Friday night to begin their three-game road trip this weekend before they took on the also out of contention Ipswich who had lost their past two matches.

On paper, it didn’t look to be the worst two road games to start the weekend for Darwin, but after being the first team to lose to the Roar on Friday, the pressure was on them against Ipswich at JBS Stadium.

It was a high scoring and tight opening half to the contest with the teams combining for 51 points in the first quarter and 50 in the second, but not much separated them with Ipswich narrowly leading 51-50 at the main break.

However, the Force took over in the second half to outscore the Salties 39 points to 26 to secure the 14-point win for their fifth victory of the season. The Salties fall to 11-6 before finishing the road trip against the Logan Thunder.

Maria Blazejewski has warmed into the season nicely with Ipswich after playing with the East Perth Eagles in the NBL1 West in 2022. She produced another 28 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 10/14 shooting from the field and 7/8 at the foul line.

Jasmin Howe added 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Alison Gorrell 15 points, eight assists, seven boards and five steals, Georgia Ralph 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Meg Essex eight points, nine boards, three assists, two steals and a block.

Catherine MacGregor produced 25 points and five rebounds for Darwin while knocking down 7/14 from the land of plenty.

Tsubasa Nisbet also had 12 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists, Jessica Boundy 11 points, five boards and two steals, and Claire-Maree Hunt 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

Catherine MacGregor was on something different today ?

The Darwin forward shot 7?? triples in a brilliant shooting performance ?

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Meteorettes catch fire to beat Phoenix

Two out of contention teams put on an entertaining encounter on Saturday night with the Mackay Meteorettes ending up beating the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 100-93.

With the two teams having recorded five wins between them so far this season, they were just playing for pride at Maroochydore Stadium, and it was the visiting Meteorettes who started on fire with 30 points to 14 in the opening quarter.

Mackay continued to build on that lead with the advantage growing to 27 points in the second stanza and they were still in control leading 56-35 at half-time.

The Phoenix would fire back throughout the second half and did get back as close as five points with a minute to play when Kendell Heremaia scored. 

However, the Meteorettes responded and did enough to win by seven and improve to a 3-13 record snapping a nine-game losing slide. Sunshine Coast is now 3-13 with a two-game winning run ending.

Courtney Virgo finished up top-scoring for Mackay with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists while knocking down 6/14 from behind the three-point line.

Davida Dale had a strong all-round performance with 20 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals with Brittany Reeves contributing 18 points and 10 boards, Phoebe Holmes 15 points, and Ellie Collins 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Alex Wittinger did what she could to try and lift Sunshine Coast to a third successive win with 29 points, 14 rebounds and two assists on 8/16 shooting from the floor and 12/12 at the free-throw line.

Kendell Heremaia also had 27 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, Amy Browne 14 points and nine boards, and Kathleen MacLeod 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

You ???? ?? respect Davida Dale's step back ?

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— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 1, 2023

Rockhampton complete perfect Far North weekend

The Rockhampton Cyclones ensured themselves the perfect weekend in Far North Queensland beating the Cairns Dolphins 91-60 on Saturday night.

Rockhampton started the road double with a 20-point win over a shorthanded Townsville on Friday ahead of taking on the Dolphins at Early Settler Stadium.

The game was the only one for Cairns this weekend and it didn’t take Rockhampton long to take charge with the visitors racing to a 30-14 lead by quarter-time.

The Cyclones continued to control the contest the rest of the evening with another 23 points to 22 in the second period, 17 to 15 in the third and 21 to nine in the fourth to come away with the 31-point triumph.

The double win weekend steadies the Cyclones inside the top eight and enhances their top four hopes at 12-5 while the Dolphins remain outside a playoff position at 9-8.

The three stars all stepped up for standout performances for Rockhampton with Lauren Heard outstanding with 32 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals on 13/23 shooting from the field.

Sam Bowman also had 30 points and eight rebounds on 11/18 shooting while Lara McSpadden contributed 24 points, 10 boards and three assists while shooting 10/14 having just signed at the Sydney Flames for the upcoming WNBL season.

Taylor Mole finished up top-scoring for Cairns with 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists with Jennifer Coleman adding 13 points, five boards and four assists, Leichan Williams 10 points and nine rebounds, and Shaneice Swain 10 points, three assists and two boards.

MEN

Cadee, Le Gassick lead Gold Coast to 14th straight

Jason Cadee and Preston Le Gassick combined for 62 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists as the Gold Coast Rollers made it 14 straight wins beating the North Gold Coast Seahawks 115-88.

Gold Coast was back home at Carrara Stadium looking to continue their momentum that has taken them to top spot in the NBL1 North as the reigning champions, and the Seahawks just had no answers for them.

It didn’t take long for the Rollers to continue their hot form with them putting up another 35 points in the first quarter to already by leading by 16 at quarter-time.

Gold Coast went on with the job from there to lead by as much as 25 points in the second quarter, 34 in the third and then to eventually beat North Gold Coast by 27 points.

The victory was a 14th in-a-row for the Rollers as they improve to a 15-2 record to retain top spot while the Seahawks are now 7-8 to remain outside a playoff spot.

Jason Cadee produced another spectacular performance for Gold Coast made up of 32 points, nine assists and five rebounds with 4/8 three-point shooting and going 10/10 at the foul line.

Preston Le Gassick also delivered 30 points, six rebounds and five assists with 6/12 three-point shooting of his own.

Todd Blanchfield produced another 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Cameron Thew 13 points, three boards and two blocked shots, and Billy Rigby 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Wesley Harris top-scored for the Seahawks with 29 points, 11 rebounds and five steals while Biwali Bayles added 18 points, six boards, four assists and two steals, and Majok Majok 13 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Deng Deng huge in thrilling Force win over Salties

Exciting and dramatic matches are just following the Ipswich Force this NBL1 North season and that continued on Saturday night as they beat the Darwin Salties 106-105.

Ipswich was coming off a weekend where they snapped the winning run of the Logan Thunder before losing an incredible match up with the Gold Coast Rollers ahead of hosting the Salties at JBS Stadium.

15 seconds to go. Three points down. Two game winners.

Jason Ralph at one end... ?

And Deng Deng AT THE OTHER ?

Absolute ?????? in Ipswich ?

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— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 1, 2023

Darwin is in the middle of a triple-header on the road this weekend having started off beating the Red City Roar on Friday night to set up the clash with Ipswich.

It was a tight first half with Ipswich leading by three points at quarter-time and then stretching that to a seven-point lead at the main break, before the Force then opened up an 11-point advantage and they were on target for the win.

However, there were plenty of twists to come and Darwin was able to turn that 11-point deficit into a 12-point lead by the time Makuach Maluach knocked down a three ball, and Deba George made a layup with 4:15 left on the clock.

There was plenty of work left for the Force to do but they were up to the task and three-pointers from Kyrin Galloway and Jason Ralph brought the margin back to four.

Then when the margin was down to two with time running out, Deng Deng got the ball to Ralph who was able to knock down another three to put Ipswich back in front.

There was still time up the other end for Darwin and after a miss from Maluach, Deng Riak grabbed the offensive rebound and put the ball back up. However, Deng Deng came in from the side to block it, time expired and Ipswich won by a point.

Not only did Deng Deng come up with the huge plays late, but finished the game with 30 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Nathan Sobey also had 32 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, Jason Ralph 17 points, 10 assists and five boards, Cameron Goldfinch 12 points, and Kyrin Galloway eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Makuach Maluach delivered 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Darwin, Sean Macdonald 26 points, eight boards and four assists with 6/10 three-point shooting, and Deba George 14 points and four steals.

Jerron Jamerson also had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, Deng Riak 10 points and 12 boards, and Viliami Foketi 10 points and four rebounds.

Nathan Sobey beat the half time buzzer from nearly half court ?

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White's amazing triple-double in big Meteors win

A monstrous 37-point triple-double from Isaac White lifted the Mackay Meteors to an emphatic 97-77 victory on the road to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.

Mackay had lost three of its last four matches and seven of the past 10 so needed to start building some momentum again heading towards the NBL1 North playoffs as they took on the Phoenix at Maroochydore Stadium.

Sunshine Coast were also clinging to a spot in the top eight so there was plenty at stake for both teams, but White just simply wasn’t going to let the Meteors lose again as he only strengthened his claims to be MVP this season.

Both teams had their moments leading by eight points in the opening quarter but by the end of the first term it was Mackay leading 25-21.

The Meteors were then up by six at half-time but it was in the third quarter when they blew the game wide open with 36 points to 20 on the back of scoring 23 consecutive points with White at the forefront of it all.

The lead for Mackay got out to as much as 27 points and eventually the Meteors would win by 20 to improve to a 9-7 record with Sunshine Coast 8-8 after the defeat.

Isaac White is having a remarkable season for Mackay ahead of joining the Brisbane Bullets in NBL24. 

He had a spectacular performance on Saturday night with a triple-double consisting of 37 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and seven steals while shooting 12/20 from the field, 5/9 from downtown and 8/8 at the charity stripe.

Isaiah Lee added 15 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds, Christian Maran 13 points, four boards and two assists, and Tyler Williams 12 points, six rebounds and two steals.

Max Kerle top-scored for Sunshine Coast with 21 points and four rebounds with Jamaal Robateau adding 20 points, four boards, four steals and three assists, and Jonathan Janssen 19 points and three rebounds.

Anderson hits game winner for Cairns over Darwin

Lachlan Anderson can add hitting the game winner to his early impact already at the Cairns Marlins after he delivered his team the 91-90 home victory against Rockhampton Rockets.

The Marlins were home at Early Settler Stadium hosting a Rockhampton team fresh off a loss in Townsville the previous night and the two teams would play out quite the fascinating contest.

It was a game of dramatic runs in the opening half with Cairns putting gup 39 points in the opening period in an amazing offensive onslaught to lead by as much as 21 points.

However, Rockhampton hit back with a 14-0 scoring run of its own in the second term and ending up scoring 37 points to 18 and by half-time, scores were all square at 57-apiece.

That set the stage for a dramatic finish with the game coming down to the wire and Rockhampton worked back on top firstly with a three-pointer to Sean Biernacki and then an inside finish from Damian Prgomet.

So the Salties were leading 90-89 with the Marlins having one last chance coming out of a timeout. The Marlins ran a perfectly executed play where Tad Dufelmeier handed off to Ky Stattmann who gave it to Lachlan Anderson.

He drove after curling around his defender and finished impressively inside the paint to give Cairns the lead, and ultimately the one-point victory.

Not only did Lachlan Anderson hit the game winner for the Marlins, but he also had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists while landing 4/8 of his three-point attempts.

Jonah Antonio top-scored for Cairns with 27 points, eight rebounds and two assists on 7/12 three-point shooting with Tad Dufelmeier adding 22 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Ky Stattmann 20 points, six boards and four assists.

Sean Biernacki finished with 26 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists with 4/7 three-point shooting for Rockhampton with Damian Prgomet adding 25 points and 15 boards, and Malcolm Bernard 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.