NBL1 North Recap | Saturday Round 16

The South West Metro Pirates women won on the last NBL1 North night to finish fourth, Mikaela Ruef ensured Logan Thunder made it 11 straight, Jonah Antonio put up 41 and Kouat Noi 37 in the one game, and the Cairns Dolphins women, and Southern Districts Spartans and Sunshine Coast Phoenix men were denied.

Saturday night's women's results saw the Sunshine Coast Phoenix beat the Ipswich Force 96-83, the South West Metro Pirates defeated the North Gold Coast Seahawks 69-63, the Mackay Meteorettes downed the Red City Roar 84-77, Logan Thunder winning 70-57 against the Southern Districts Spartans, and the Cairns Dolphins beat USC Rip City 94-88.

Those results leave the Northside Wizards (16-3) finishing on top of the NBL1 North from Logan Thunder (15-4), Rockhampton Cyclones (14-5), South West Metro Pirates (13-6), Southern Districts Spartans (13-6), Darwin Salties (11-8), Gold Coast Rollers (11-8) and Townsville Flames (10-9) as the top eight teams.

The men's games saw Cairns defeat Rip City 123-102, Logan beat Southern Districts 87-78, Mackay down Red City 102-84, South West Metro win 103-99 against North Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast beat Ipswich 106-104.

The men's top eight teams are the Gold Coast Rollers (17-2), Logan Thunder (15-4), Ipswich Force (13-6), South West Metro Pirates (11-8), Mackay Meteors (11-8), Cairns Marlins (11-8), Darwin Salties (10-9) and USC Rip City (10-9).

NBL1 NORTH RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 16

WOMEN

MacLeod leads Phoenix to season ending win

The Sunshine Coast Phoenix overcame a big game from Ipswich's Alison Gorrell and got a big outing from Kathleen MacLeod of their own to finish their season on a high with the 96-83 victory.

Both teams were out of playoff contention coming into the last game of the regular season with Ipswich at home to Sunshine Coast at JBS Stadium trying to make it three consecutive wins.

Sunshine Coast also came into the game having won its past two matches and it was high scoring opening quarter with both teams combining for 56 points with the Phoenix leading 30-26.

Sunshine Coast then put an even more significant gap between the two teams by leading by as much as 21 points in the second quarter and 29 throughout the second half before settling on the 13-point win having survived a couple of runs from Ipswich.

The result means that the Phoenix finish the season with 6-13 record having won three straight matches. The Force ended up at 6-13 as well with the defeat.

Kathleen MacLeod finished the night, and the season, with 23 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and three steals for Sunshine Coast.

Amy Browne also added 17 points and six rebounds, Alex Wittinger 15 points and 12 boards, Kendell Heremaia 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Nicola Handreck 17 points, seven assists and six boards.

Alison Gorrell did all she could to try and lift Ipswich to the win to close the season and ended up with 34 points, eight assists and four rebounds on 12/19 shooting from the field, 3/4 from three-point range and 7/10 at the foul line.

Maria Blazejewski also had 16 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks, Jasmin Howe 13 points and 16 boards, and Meg Essex 10 points and five rebounds.

Pirates earn fourth spot with win over Seahawks

The South West Metro Pirates secured home court advantage for the quarter finals thanks to a hard earned 69-63 win on the road to the North Gold Coast Seahawks on Saturday night.

Coming into the last night of the season and the Seahawks had slipped from playoff contention after a loss to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix on Friday, but it was a big game for the Pirates with the chance to earn a top four finish.

South West Metro made a flying start away from home to lead by 13 points in the first quarter and to still hold a 27-16 advantage by quarter-time.

The Pirates didn’t have things their way the rest of the night, though, as the two teams continued to trade the lead.

A three-pointer from Lexi Held returned the Seahawks to the lead with six minutes to play but the Pirates took charge once more and once they got back in front that's where they stayed with Maddy Rocci icing the game with three free-throws which were the last scores of the contest.

The six-point win means that South West Metro closes the regular season in fourth place with a 13-6 record ahead of playing the Southern Districts Spartans in the quarter finals.

Quite the dramatic and eventful season for the Seahawks comes to an end with a 9-10 record and a 10th place finish.

Maddy Rocci ended up top-scoring for the Pirates with 27 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals including going 10/14 from the foul line.

Leah Scott also produced 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, and Hannah Young 11 points and 11 boards.

Lexi Held ended the season for North Gold Coast with 24 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals while Bride Kennedy-Hopoate contributed 14 points and seven boards, Erin Riley 13 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Emma Gandini 10 points, four boards and two steals.

Maddi Rocci from deeeeep ?

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Mackay finishes season on a winning note

The NBL1 North's bottom two teams finished their seasons playing one another on Saturday night with the Mackay Meteorettes ending up beating the Red City Roar 84-77.

The two teams had just a combined 4-32 record coming into the game but one of them was going to finish their tough season on a winning note when they met at Mackay Basketball Stadium.

Red City managed to lead by eight at quarter-time before extending that lead to 10 in the second term and still being to the good of six points in the third stanza.

That's when Mackay took over the game to turn a six-point deficit into an eight-point lead of their own which grew out to 11 in the fourth term before ending up winning by seven.

The victory means the Meteorettes ended the season with a 4-15 record with the Roar at 1-18 with the defeat.

Davida Dale ended up with 19 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals for Mackay with Charli Bliss contributing 13 points and two boards, Denesha Bobongie 11 points and five rebounds, Courtney Virgo 11 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals, and Brittany Reeves 10 points, 20 rebounds and four assists.

Lilly Rotunno put together a standout performance to close the season for Red City with 28 points, four rebounds and four assists on 9/15 shooting from the field, 3/5 from downtown and 7/8 at the foul line.

Donica Cosby contributed 20 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals, and Angela Beadle 17 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Donica Cosby with the vicious block ?

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Ruef ensures Logan an 11th straight win

It was the battle of top four teams at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre and Logan Thunder finished the season with 11 straight wins thanks to a monster performance from Mikaela Ruef to beat the Southern Districts Spartans 70-57.

Logan came into the game in second place and the Spartans fourth, and the Thunder came in on a 10-game winning streak and weren’t about to let that slip even though the Spartans had put together a run of winning six straight themselves.

Logan scored 10 consecutive points in the first quarter and ended up leading by 16 at quarter-time.

The Thunder remained on top the rest of the way to lead by 17 in the third quarter and then remain up double-digits virtually all the rest of the way to secure the 13-point victory.

That means Logan ends the season on an 11-game winning streak in second position at 15-4 to set up a quarter-final battle with the Gold Coast Rollers.

The Spartans dropped to fifth position as a result of the loss to end up at 13-6 with a quarter-final battle to come with the South West Metro Pirates.

It was yet another dazzling and emphatic performance from Logan centre Mikaela Ruef as she finished with 25 points, 35 rebounds, two assists and a steal in her 38 minutes of court time. She might have shot just 5/27 but went 15/17 at the foul line.

Ashley Taia added 22 points and three rebounds for the Thunder, and Odette Isaac five points, five rebounds and three assists.

Elin Gustavsson finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals for Southern Districts with Jess McDowell-White contributing 15 points, seven assists and two rebounds.

Dolphins beat Rip City but narrowly miss playoffs

The Cairns Dolphins finished the NBL1 North season beating USC Rip City 94-88 on Saturday night but it wasn’t quite enough to earn them a playoff position.

Cairns were looking for a big finish to their season against the out of contention Rip City and the Dolphins led by 10 points early on, but that lead had dissipated with scores level by quarter-time.

However, the Dolphins opened up another 11-point lead in the second period and this time kept it going to extend the advantage to a high of 27 in the third quarter.

Cairns were still leading by as much as 19 in the fourth term but Rip City then put together quite the run at pulling off the miracle victory. They ended up outscoring the Dolphins 29 points to 15 in the last quarter, but just came up short.

Cairns held on for the six-point victory which means they finish the season on a 10-9 record but they just missed out on a playoff berth having lost the series split with arch-rivals Townsville by just four points.

It was a heartbreaking way for Cairns to miss out on a playoff position but despite that, Shaneice Swain had a big finish for the Dolphins ending up with 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists while knocking down 4/8 from beyond the arc.

Taylor Mole added 16 points, three rebounds and three assists while also making 4/8 of her three-point attempts while Teyahna Bond contributed 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Jennifer Coleman 15 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

Carlie Smith produced 24 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for Rip City with Megan Mullings delivering 18 points, 10 boards and four steals, Steph Bairstow 14 points and seven rebounds, N'dea Flye 13 points, four boards, four assists and two steals, and Madeline Campbell 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

MEN

Phoenix win over Force not quite enough

The Sunshine Coast Phoenix managed to pull off the thrilling 106-104 win over the Ipswich Force but it wasn’t enough to secure them a playoff position.

The Phoenix were able to open up an 11-point lead over Ipswich during the second quarter with that advantage growing to 12 points in the third term, and they were still up nine in the last period.

Ipswich didn't go away, though, and even took the lead with five minutes to play when Nathan Sobey knocked down a three-pointer.

Despite that, Sunshine Coast were able to respond and work back on top and then hold on to a narrow lead the rest of the way to end up winning by two points when Deng Deng was denied at the rim on the buzzer with a spectacular block from Nelson Kahler.

Ipswich finishes in third spot at 13-6 to now take on Cairns in the quarter finals while the Phoenix miss the playoffs at 10-9 despite the win.

Mason Bragg delivered 32 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win for Sunshine Coast with 11/17 shooting from the floor and 9/12 at the foul line.

Jamaal Robateau put up another 30 points, seven boards, three steals and two assists, Jonathan Janssen 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Kiran Shastri 10 points, three boards and two steals.

Deng Deng ended up with 28 points and six rebounds for Ipswich despite the loss with Nathan Sobey contributing 27 points, eight assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Jason Ralph also had 13 points and 10 assists, Kyrin Galloway 12 points, four boards and three assists, and Cameron Goldfinch 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. 

Pirates finish fourth after OT win over Seahawks

South West Metro Pirates needed overtime to overcome the North Gold Coast Seahawks and the 38 points from Josh Duach but got the win they needed 103-99 in the finish.

The Seahawks might have been out of playoff contention but wanted to finish the season on a high on their home floor against a Pirates team needing to look in their playoff position.

North Gold Coast opened up a 19-point lead during the second quarter and were still up as much as 15 in the third term, but South West Metro had too much on the line and fired back in the second half including going on a 16-0 run.

It was always going to come down to a thrilling finish and with 1:45 to play, Wesley Harris hit a huge three to put the Seahawks back in front by two. The tying bucket for the Pirates came on a putback from Jeremy McLaughlin when he grabbed the offensive rebound on a missed Chris Cedar three.

The game ended up going to overtime after North Gold Coast's attempted winner with 1.4 seconds to go out of a timeout somehow rimmed out when Josh Duach had a clear layup on the wonderful inbounds pass from Lachlan Wood.

The two teams then combined for 34 points in overtime but it was the last three points of the game that came from three free-throws from Lamar Patterson that secured the win for the Pirates who finish the season in fourth place to take on Mackay in the quarter finals.

Patterson ended up with 29 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals for South West Metro with Ben Volkman contributing 26 points and nine boards on 12/14 shooting. 

Kai Woodfall added 19 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, and Brendan Teys 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Josh Duach produced a huge performance for North Gold Coast despite the eventual loss with 38 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals on 14/27 from the floor, 5/11 from downtown and 5/7 at the foul line.

Wesley Harris contributed 19 points and eight boards, David Gurney 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, Kody Stattmann 11 points, 10 boards and five assists, and Lachlan Wood 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Meteors win big to secure fifth position

The Mackay Meteors only narrowly missed out on a top four finish in the NBL1 North but will enter the playoffs from fifth position and in winning form after Saturday night's 102-84 victory against the Red City Roar.

Mackay was always going to need a bit of luck to nab a top four position especially without MVP candidate Isaac White on the final night of the season but all they could control was getting the win on their home floor against Red City.

The Meteors started strongly opening up a 12-point lead in the first quarter and to still lead by eight at quarter-time.

Mackay remained in control the rest of the evening to lead by as much as 11 points in the second stanza and then it got out to a 19-point ball game in the fourth before they won by 18.

The victory sees the Meteors end the season at 11-8 in fifth spot setting up a quarter-final match up with the South West Metro Pirates. The Roar end up in bottom spot at 2-17 having lost 15 straight. 

Tyler Williams ended the night with 23 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Meteors while hitting 5/14 from downtown.

Christian Maran also had 23 points, six assists and four rebounds for Mackay, Amarco Doyle 14 points, nine boards, three assists and two steals, Isaiah Lee 13 points, eight assists and seven steals, and DJ Baptiste 10 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

Jaylen Key produced 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for Red City with Kane Bishop adding 18 points, seven boards and five assists, Michael Afrakoff 13 points and five assists, Javaan Mumtaz 11 points and two rebounds, and Jarrod Molnar 10 points and two assists.

Deng stars as Logan end Spartans season

Logan Thunder hit back from the heartbreaking loss on the buzzer the night before to head into the playoffs from second spot with the 87-78 victory against the Southern Districts Spartans.

Logan lost at the buzzer the previous night with top spot up for grabs between the Gold Coast Rollers ahead of returning home on Saturday to host a Spartans team still fighting for a top four finish.

Both teams had their time in charge of the contest with Southern Districts able to open up a 10-point lead during the second quarter but Logan were able to turn the tide after half-time to end up leading in the third quarter by as much as eight points.

That advantage got out to 11 in the fourth stanza with Logan ending up winning by nine to finish on a 15-4 record to end up in second spot ahead of a quarter-final battle with the Darwin Salties.

The Spartans not only missed out on a top four spot with the loss after a four-game winning streak, but are the big losers of the weekend in the NBL1 North to miss out on the playoffs altogether and slip to ninth place.

Majok Deng might well have been spurred on by not being an MVP candidate for his season with the Thunder and delivered 38 points, 19 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots on 13/24 shooting from the field and 11/11 at the charity stripe.

Logan's MVP candidate Shaun Bruce also fired with 20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals with Rasmus Bach adding 12 points, five boards, three assists and two steals, and Boston Mazlin seven points, seven rebounds and two assists.

It's a bitter pill for the Spartans to swallow to miss playoffs with Koen Sapwell delivering another 18 points and three rebounds with Akoldah Gak contributing 15 points and 10 boards, Andre Ugrinic 14 points, three rebounds and three steals, and Kian Dennis 11 points and five boards.

Majok Deng had a STATEMENT GAME ?

3??8?? points, 1??9?? rebounds and thunderous dunks ??

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Antonio, Noi shine as Marlins beat Rip City

The Cairns Marlins geared up for their playoff campaign with an offensive explosion at home to USC Rip City on Saturday night with the eventual 123-102 victory.

Cairns had to win to guarantee its spot in the playoffs up against a Rip City team who had the chance to secure a top four finish with a victory at the same time after beating Townsville on Friday to begin their road double this weekend.

It was a high-scoring contest right from the outset with Rip City leading 30-29 by quarter-time but the Marlins worked their way on top from there including scoring another 32 points in the second period to lead by as much as 12.

Cairns ended up leading 61-56 at half-time before the Marlins just kept on scoring to put up another 62 points in the second half and limiting Rip City to 46 on the way to the eventual 21-point win.

The result means that Cairns finishes with an 11-8 record in sixth position to take on the Ipswich Force in the quarters. Rip City ends up in eighth spot at 10-9 to set up a grand final rematch from last year with the Gold Coast Rollers.

Jonah Antonio had a huge night for Cairns ending up with 41 points, three rebounds and two assists while shooting 15/21 from the field and 7/10 from beyond the arc.

Tad Dufelmeier added 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while also shooting 6/9 from downtown with Lachlan Anderson contributing 16 points, six assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks, and Ky Stattmann 13 points and five assists.

Kouat Noi geared up for another playoff push for Rip City by delivering 37 points and 16 rebounds with Brandon Wood scoring another 21 points to go with six rebounds.

Verle Williams also had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Louis Ilton 11 points, four boards and three assists.