North Recap | Round 12 Sunday

The championship defence of the Rockhampton Cyclones is over with the top six NBL1 North women's teams locked away after a pair of Townsville Flames and Heat wins on Sunday.

NORTH RECAP | ROUND 12 SATURDAY

NORTH RECAP | ROUND 12 FRIDAY

NORTH RECAP | ROUND 11 SUNDAY

WOMEN

Townsville Flames (89) defeated Rockhampton Cyclones (74)

The Townsville Flames made sure the top six teams was locked away with a round to play this NBL1 North season with the 89-74 victory at home to the defending champion Rockhampton Cyclones.

Coming into the Sunday match up at Carmichael Ford Stadium in Townsville and Rockhampton had to win to keep their finals hopes alive while a win for the Flames on their home floor and the teams taking part in the post-season would be set.

Rockhampton started their road double in Far North Queensland with the loss to the Cairns Dolphins on Saturday night while Townsville since beating the Mackay Meteorettes back on July 4.

The Flames had the chance to lock in their finals place and they opened up a 12-point lead in the first quarter on the way to leading 23-14 by quarter-time thanks to shooting 9/21 from the field opposed to 6/19 from the Cyclones.

Rockhampton was then able to stay in touch with 23 points to 21 in the second term to cut the Townsville advantage to 44-37 by the half-time break.

The Cyclones then pulled it back to a five-point deficit as well by three quarter-time but Townsville then delivered 22 points to 12 in the final term to secure the eventual 15-point record.

The Flames finished off shooting 44 per cent from the field to 38 from the Cyclones to end up scoring the win that improves them to a 7-6 record with the three straight victories.

The Cyclones now have three consecutive defeats meaning that heading into the last round with every team having one game to play, the top six is set with Townsville sixth at 7-6 while Rockhampton is seventh at 5-8.

Sam Bowman was a dominant force in the win for the Flames with 33 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots on 14/23 shooting from the field and 4/5 from the foul line.

Harriet Carey added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, Mia Murray 13 points, seven boards and two assists, Shaylee Browning 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Chailee Ward 10 points, eight assists, four boards and three steals.

Rockhampton now won't play as the defending champions and nor will the Northside Wizards team that they've gone to war with in each of the past two grand final series in the NBL1 North.

Mary Goulding finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Cyclones with 4/6 three-point shooting with Akaysha Muggeridge contributing 16 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Alana Paewai added 14 points, three assists and two boards, Chelsey Perry 13 points, 13 rebounds and two assists, and Moira Joiner nine points, nine boards and five assists.

TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 89 (Bowman 33, Carey 17, Murray 13)

ROCKHAMPTON CYCLONES 74 (Goulding 20, Muggeridge 16, Paewai 14)

MEN

Townsville Heat (107) defeated Rockhampton Rockets (97)

The Rockhampton Rockets couldn’t grab their chance of jumping into the NBL1 North top six with their finals hopes taking a big hit as the Townsville Heat scored the 107-97 victory.

With just four wins to their name for the season and only two games to play, the finals hopes were already over for the Heat coming into the Sunday clash at Townsville's Carmichael Ford Stadium.

Rockhampton arrived coming off beating the Cairns Marlins on Saturday night to keep their finals hopes alive and making it a double win weekend could have seen the Rockets return to the top six.

Rockhampton then started well with 27 points to 22 in the opening quarter but Townsville caught fire in the second frame with 35 points to 22.

The Heat ended up shooting 13/23 from the field with 6/10 from downtown in that second term to go into the half-time break leading 57-49.

That lead for Townsville got out to 22 points in the third term and 27 in the fourth before they held out the fast finishing Rockhampton by 10 points to win on their last home game for 2025.

The Heat improve to a 5-8 record with the win and they will now finish their season away to the Cairns Marlins this Saturday night.

Kuany Kuany finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win for Townsville with Richard Peachey adding 17 points and five boards on 5/8 three-point shooting.

Ethan Betts added 14 points, 11 assists and six rebounds with Harrison Pennisi contributing 13 points, three boards and three blocked shots, Chris Kann 11 points, four assists and two rebounds, Matthew Rees 10 points, four assists and three boards, and Grant Teichmann eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.

The Rockets did put up 35 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t quite enough with the loss now leaving them with a 6-7 record with a home game to finish against the Mackay Meteors on Saturday night.

Rockhampton not only will need to win that game but then need plenty of other results to go their way if they want to sneak into the top six and to play finals in 2025.

Jalen Graham finished with 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals with 10/15 shooting from the field and 4/6 at the free-throw line.

Malcolm Bernard added 22 points, six rebounds and five assists, Isaac Ayoubi 16 points and five assists, Harrison Hornery 15 points, four rebounds and two assists, Keahn Tuakura nine points and three boards, and Malok Majak eight points and nine rebounds.

TOWNSVILLE HEAT 107 (Kuany 24, Peachey 17, Betts 14)

ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS 97 (Graham 24, Bernard 22, Ayoubi 16)