North Recap | Round 3 Saturday

Image credit: @simons_sportspics

Miela Sowah put up 35 points in win for Brisbane Capitals, Nicole Fransson dominated for Southern Districts Spartans with 45/17 while NZ Breakers NBL veteran Reuben Te Rangi helped Gold Coast Rollers to NBL1 North win.

NORTH RECAP | ROUND 3 FRIDAY

WOMEN

Ipswich Force (78) defeated South West Metro Pirates (67)

Elissa Brett hit five three-pointers and finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals as the Ipswich Force beat the South West Metro Pirates 78-67.

Ipswich were back home at Ipswich Basketball Stadium looking for a first win on that floor in 2025 after last week's 33-point defeat at the hands of the Sunshine Coast Phoenix while the Pirates arrived still looking for a first win of 2025.

Not much separated the two teams in the first quarter with the Force shooting 9/20 and the Pirates 9/17 with Ipswich clinging to the narrow 24-23 advantage by quarter-time.

The scoring dried up from both teams in the second term and they only combined to shoot 10/33 from the field, but South West did outscore Ipswich 16 points to 12 to go into half-time leading 39-36.

Ipswich were able to turn the tide in the third quarter outscoring the Pirates 23 points to 10 including going on an 11-0 run to end up leading by as much as 10.

That advantage grew to 15 in the fourth quarter as well for Ipswich before they secured the 11-point victory to improve to 2-1 on the season and winning at home for the first time in 2025.

Elissa Brett was the star of the night for the Force finishing with 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals on the back of shooting 5/10 from the three-point arc.

Kahlaijah Dean added 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Natasha Elliott 12 points and seven boards, and Olivia West 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.

South West are now 0-3 to start the season with Beyonce Bea producing 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots on 9/12 shooting from the field.

Grace Champion also had 12 points and two steals, Steph Bairstow 11 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Brooke Malone nine points and nine rebounds.

IPSWICH FORCE 78 (Brett 23, Dean 21, Elliott 12)

SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 67 (Bea 22, Champion 12, Bairstow 11)

Gold Coast Rollers (66) lost to Logan Thunder (87)

Logan Thunder scored a third straight win and kept the Gold Coast Rollers winless as they proved too strong for the 87-66 road victory on Saturday evening.

Logan had started the season strongly under new coach Aja Parham-Ammar winning their last two games over the South West Metro Pirates and Cairns Dolphins.

Meanwhile, the Rollers were back home at Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium trying to secure a first win of the season under the coaching of Australian basketball legend Mark Bradtke with his son playing on the men's team.

Gold Coast did manage an early five-point lead, but by quarter-time Logan had worked on top to lead 26-22 thanks to knocking down 5/9 from the land of plenty and 7/10 at the charity stripe.

Logan then blew the game open in the second quarter with 30 points to 14 on the back of shooting 10/18 from the field opposed to the 4/21 from Gold Coast.

That saw the Thunder leading 56-36 at half-time and that lead got out to as much as 25 points in the second half before Logan completed the eventual 21-point victory.

It's three straight wins for the Thunder who improve to a 3-1 record as a result with Leah Scott delivering 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals on 5/8 shooting from the field and 10/12 at the foul line.

Prasayus Notoa scored 17 points with 5/11 from three-point range with seven rebounds and three assists with Sharni Reisinger contributing 12 points, three boards and three assists, Amandine Toi 11 points and three assists, and Mikhaela Cann 10 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds.

Gold Coast remain winless to start the season after three games with all of them at home with their losing streak now at 11 dating back to last year.

Katie Deeble top-scored for the Rollers with 23 points, six rebounds and three assists with Juna Umezawa adding 17 points, eight boards and four assists, and Jasmin Howe 11 points, four assists and four steals.

GOLD COAST ROLLERS 66 (Deeble 23, Umezawa 17, Howe 11)

LOGAN THUNDER 87 (Scott 20, Notoa 17, Reisinger 12)

Cairns Dolphins (85) lost to Brisbane Capitals (97)

Miela Sowah's 35 points was instrumental in the Brisbane Capitals overcoming another big performance from Mia Loyd and the addition of Cayla George in the 97-85 road win over the Cairns Dolphins.

The Caps opened their road double in Far North Queensland losing to the Townsville Flames despite the addition of Sowah who is fresh off a standout WNBL season at the Perth Lynx and starring performances with the Australian Gangurrus 3x3 team.

Cairns then then added their own ultimate superstar with home town legend Cayla George pulling on the Dolphins uniform once more, and it was a high-scoring start from both teams with the combined 56 first quarter points.

Brisbane ended up leading 29-27 thanks to shooting 12/21 against the 11/16 from Cairns.

The Caps then began to pull away in the second quarter with 23 points to 17 to go into the half-time break with the 52-44 lead.

That lead got out to 12 points in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth before the Capitals sealed the deal on the eventual 12-point win for their first win of the season after three successive defeats.

Miela Sowah starred in the win for Brisbane with 35 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals with 5/10 three-point shooting.

Ashley Arlen also had 17 points and five rebounds, Tyla Stolberg 14 points and five boards, and Jessica Reif 11 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Cairns are now 2-2 to open the season after three rounds with Mia Loyd continued her standout form to open 2025 with 31 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 12/21 shooting from the floor and 7/7 at the foul line.

Cayla George was back at home in Cairns and delivered 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 5/8 three-point shooting while playing all but 1:22 of the game.

Taryn Bond also had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Teyahna Bond eight points, three assists and two steals.

CAIRNS DOLPHINS 85 (Loyd 31, George 20, Taryn Bond 12)

BRISBANE CAPITALS 97 (Sowah 35, Arlen 17, Stolberg 14)

Southern Districts Spartans (91) defeated Northside Wizards (75)

Nicole Fransson was unstoppable with 45 points and 17 rebounds as the Southern Districts Spartans stayed undefeated this season with the 91-75 home win over the Northside Wizards.

The Spartans were back home at Rowland Cowan Stadium putting their unbeaten record on the line up against a Wizards team also having won their opening two matches of the season on the back of playing in each of the past two grand final series.

The battle of the two undefeated teams was always going to be quite the contest and the Spartans were able to get off to a 25-20 start by the end of the first quarter.

It was another 20 points to 16 in the second term from Southern Districts to see the home team lead 45-36 by half-time despite missing all 12 of their three-point attempts.

The Spartans finally made their first two triples of the game in the third quarter on the back of outscoring the Wizards 25 points to 17 to end up leading by as much as 17.

That lead kept on growing in the fourth quarter getting out to as much as 22 before Southern Districts secured the 16-point win to improve to 4-0 to start the season.

The Wizards kept things close by shooting 9/27 from downtown opposed to the 3/21 from the Spartans but Southern Districts attempted 23 more shots on the back of 25 offensive rebounds to nine, and forcing Northside into 24 turnovers from which they scored 21 points.

Nicole Fransson was the most dominant player in the game finishing with 45 points and 17 rebounds on 20/29 shooting from the floor and 5/7 at the foul line.

Taylah Simmons added 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists, Jess McDowell-White eight points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals, and Tiana Mangakahia's remarkable return continued with another seven points, 11 assists, five steals and two boards.

It's a first loss of the season for the Wizards who are now 2-1 with Courtney Woods delivering 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists with Nadeen Payne contributing 17 points, five boards and three assists, and Cierra Walker 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Southern Districts Spartans 91 (Fransson 45, Simmons 13, J McDowell-White 8)

Northside Wizards 75 (Woods 21, Payne 17, Walker 12)

Sunshine Coast Phoenix (69) lost to Mackay Meteorettes (101)

The Mackay Meteorettes unveiled former NBL1 East Grand Final MVP Unique Thompson and she had a 20/20 night first up as they scored the 101-69 road win over the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.

The Phoenix were back home at Maroochydore Stadium trying to back up their 33-point win against the Ipswich Force while Mackay had won their opening two matches and now have added former Albury-Wodonga Bandits NBL1 East championship winner Thompson.

Mackay knocked down four three-pointers to nil in the first quarter but were only narrowly leading 26-22 by quarter-time.

It was in the second period when the Meteorettes made their move with 27 points to 12 even while shooting just 2/14 from behind the three-point arc.

That saw Mackay leading 53-34 by half-time and then it was another 21 points to 13 in the third frame, and 27 to 22 in the fourth with the Meteorettes ending up with the commanding 32-point victory away from home.

Mackay improves to 3-0 on the season with the win ahead of taking on the Northside Wizards on Sunday with Unique Thompson making a spectacular debut with 20 points, 20 rebounds and two assists on 9/18 shooting from the field.

Amari Robinson added 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, Emme Shearer 18 points, four assists and three boards, and Tori Rouse 11 points and three steals.

Nikita Van Wyk also had 10 points, four rebounds and two steals, Cheyenne Bobongie 10 points and five assists, and Monique Bobongie 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Sunshine Coast are now 1-2 on the season following the loss with Erin Bollmann producing 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Shannon Ryan added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Kayla Matthews 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 69 (Bollmann 12, Ryan 18, Mathews 11)

MACKAY METEORETTES 101 (Thompson 20, Robinson 19, Shearer 18)

MEN

Ipswich Force (93) defeated South West Metro Pirates (86)

Lamar Patterson led his new Ipswich Force team to the Saturday night 93-86 home win over his former South West Metro Pirates outfit with by putting up 26 points.

Ipswich started the season with a win over Gold Coast before losing last week to Sunshine Coast while South West had lost their opening two matches to Logan and Northside.

It was a tight opening to the contest with Ipswich narrowly leading 20-18 by quarter-time despite going 0/8 from three-point range.

Both teams then combined for 59 points on 25/39 shooting in the second quarter with the Pirates scoring 30 points to 29 and that cut the Ipswich advantage to 49-48 at the half-time interval.

The Force lead grew to 10 points in the second half and they retained that sort of advantage most of the rest of the way before recording the eventual seven-point victory.

Ipswich pulled down 50 rebounds to 36 for the night along with 17 offensive boards to seven as they scored the win to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Lamar Patterson enjoyed the night against his former team as he delivered 26 points, four rebounds and four assists on 11/21 shooting from the floor.

Will Mahoney added 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, Ngor Nai 15 points, nine boards and two assists, Kane Bishop 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Jason Ralph eight points, six assists and three boards.

The Pirates are now 0-3 following the loss despite Kai Woodfall delivering 28 points with 6/13 three-point shooting.

Kahlil Whitney also had 15 points, three rebounds and two steals, Ben Volkman 12 points and six boards, Lachlan Anderson 11 points and seven rebounds, and Brendan Teys 11 points and eight boards.

IPSWICH FORCE 93 (Patterson 26, Mahoney 15, Nai 15)

SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 86 (Woodfall 28, Whitney 15, Volkman 12)

Gold Coast Rollers (88) defeated Logan Thunder (86)

Reuben Te Rangi set it up for the Gold Coast Rollers and then Boston Mazlin closed the deal on their thrilling 88-86 home win over Logan Thunder.

The Rollers were back home at Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium on Saturday night having welcomed New Zealand Tall Blacks star and 358-game NBL veteran Te Rangi into the line-up as he reunited with coach Anthony Petrie after they were teammates at the Brisbane Bullets.

Gold Coast were looking to rebound from a loss to Cairns while Logan also lost last up to the Marlins as well so the form line was similar for both outfits.

The two teams combined to shoot 1/15 from three in the first quarter but it was Logan narrowly leading 24-23 by quarter-time before Gold Coast put up 31 points to 25 in the second frame.

The Rollers knocked down 4/6 from three in that quarter to go into half-time leading 54-49 and even though Gold Coast's lead got out to nine in the third term, Logan weren’t going anywhere.

The Thunder were up three heading into the fourth quarter before Boston Mazlin hit a three for Gold Coast to tie scores up once more.

Mazlin put Gold Coast up two, but then Logan were back up one thanks to three free throws from Zac Triplett, but from there the Rollers worked on top starting with another three ball from Mazlin with just over six minutes to play.

In the end Mazlin made six clutch free throws in the final two minutes as well to secure the eventual two-point win which looks closer than it was thanks to a late three for Logan from Triplett.

The Rollers improve to a 2-1 record as a result of the win with Te Rangi having an especially hot first half on the way to 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the game.

Mazlin also came up huge with 24 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists while Charles Smith IV added 19 points, five boards, three steals and two assists, and Brodie McGregor nine points and three rebounds.

Logan are now 1-3 following the loss with Callum Dalton delivering 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks on 12/21 shooting.

Zac Triplett ended up with 19 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Matt Kenyon 18 points, 19 boards and four assists.

GOLD COAST ROLLERS 88 (Te Rangi 27, Mazlin 24, Smith IV 19)

LOGAN THUNDER 86 (Dalton 24, Triplett 19, Kenyon 18)

Cairns Marlins (75) lost to Brisbane Capitals (111)

Six Brisbane Capitals players scored in double digits as they scored the thumping 111-75 win on the road to the Cairns Marlins to make it a perfect weekend trip to Far North Queensland.

The Capitals started their weekend on Friday night with the 82-71 win in Townsville as they arrived in Cairns to take on a Marlins team having won their past two matches as well this season.

The Caps came in full of confidence from their win in Townsville and outscored the Marlins 22 points to 16 in the first quarter before another 28 to 19 in the second term to go into half-time leading 50-35 on shooting 18/35 from the floor opposed to the 10/35 from Cairns.

Brisbane then blew the game open even further in the third term with another 30 points to 16 to open up a 32-point lead, and that became a 36-point advantage in the fourth term which would be the final margin.

The Capitals ended up shooting 55 per cent from the field to the 34 from Cairns while pulling down 54 rebounds to 31 as they made it a double win weekend to improve to 3-1 on the season.

The Caps had plenty of big contributors in the commanding win with Isaih Tueta top-scoring with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists with 3/5 shooting from beyond the arc.

Reigning MVP Sam McDaniel had 18 points, five rebounds and three assists with Uche Dibiamaka adding 18 points and eight boards, Geordan Papacostas 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and Tim Soong 10 points and three boards.

The Marlins are now 2-2 on the season following the heavy loss at home with Kody Stattmann finishing with 23 points and six rebounds with Ky Stattmann adding 13 points and four boards, and Damon Heuir 10 points and two assists.

CAIRNS MARLINS 75 (Kody Stattmann 23, Ky Stattmann 13, Heuir 10)

BRISBANE CAPITALS 111 (Tueta 19, Dibiamaka 18, McDaniel 18)

Southern Districts Spartans (83) defeated Northside Wizards (79)

The Southern Districts Spartans went on a late 7-0 run to come from behind the secure the 83-79 win at home to the Northside Wizards.

Adding extra intrigue to the contest at Rowland Cowan Stadium was the coaching match up between NBL legends Peter Crawford and Darryl McDonald with the Spartans and Wizards both attempting to score a second win of the 2025 season.

The Wizards were attempting to bounce back from last week's loss to the South West Metro Pirates and made a blistering start outscoring the Spartans 30-15 in the first term thanks to shooting 9/20 from the field and 9/10 at the foul line.

Southern Districts did begin to work back into the contest limiting Northside to two free-throw attempts in the second quarter and holding them to 17 points while scoring 24 themselves to cut the lead of the Wizards to 47-39 by half-time.

It was another 21 points to 17 in the third quarter from the Spartans to further cut the Wizards' lead to four at three quarter-time setting up a thrilling finish.

Blake Jones then scored the first four points for Southern Districts of the last quarter to tie scores up before Tamuri Wigness put the home team in front but the momentum swings continued.

Nikau McCullough put Northside back on top by three with 3:30 to play but then Southern Districts would score the next seven points to go from three down to leading by six, and winning by four thanks to clutch free throws from Kyle Adnam and Andre Ugrinic.

Southern Districts improves to 2-2 on the season with the win with Tamuri Wigness top-scoring with 21 points and three steals on 8/13 shooting from the field.

Max Kerle added 16 points, three rebounds and three assists, Blake Jones 15 points, 17 boards, five assists and two steals, Kyle Adnam 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Andre Ugrinic 11 points, seven boards and two steals.

The Wizards are now 1-2 to start the season ahead of hosting the Mackay Meteors on Sunday with Tyler Williams finishing with 20 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Nikau McCullough also had 18 points and three rebounds on 4/9 three-point shooting, Ben Adamson 12 points and five boards, and Brodie Crown eight points and seven rebounds.

Southern Districts Spartans 83 (Wigness 21, Kerle 16, Jones 15)

Northside Wizards 79 (Williams 20, McCullough 18, Adamson 12)

Sunshine Coast Phoenix (121) defeated Mackay Meteors (94)

The winning run of the defending champion Mackay Meteors is over with the Sunshine Coast Phoenix unleashing their firepower in the 121-94 win with DeShawn Ross-Paiwan, Earnest Ross and Jamaal Robateau combining for 71 of those points.

Mackay won last year's championship in dominant fashion but from that team has lost coach Joel Khalu, captain Isaac White, Grand Final MVP Todd Blanchfield and key players Emmett Naar and Luca Yates.

Despite that, the Meteors still won their first two games of the 2025 season ahead of hitting the road to take on the Phoenix on Saturday night at Maroochydore Stadium.

It was a stunning opening quarter performance from Sunshine Coast as they piled on 41 points on the back of shooting 15/23 from the field including 7/13 from downtown to already be leading the reigning champions by 21 at quarter-time.

Sunshine Coast were able to continue to build on that lead too with it growing to 25 points in the second quarter, to 32 in the third and 34 in the fourth before they ended up winning by 27.

It was quite the statement performance from the Phoenix who shot 51 per cent from the field and went 16/40 from downtown opposed to the 47 per cent shooting from the Meteors and the 6/25 from behind the three-point arc.

The offensive firepower possessed by this Phoenix team was on full display with DeShawn Ross-Paiwan finishing with 25 points, five rebound and three assists on 5/8 three-point shooting.

Jamaal Robateau 24 points with 5/11 three-point shooting too while Earnest Ross added 22 points, five rebounds and five assists, Nelson Kahler 15 points and 12 boards, and Darnell Robateau 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

It's the first loss of the season as reigning champions for Mackay and also ends their eight-game winning streak dating back to last year with Makuach Maluach top-scoring with 21 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Jaxon Brenchley added 15 points and six assists for the Meteors, Jerron Jamerson 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, Cameron Goldfinch 12 points, nine boards and three blocks, and Kye Medhurst 11 points, two rebounds and two steals.

SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 121 (Ross-Paiwan 25, J Robateau 24, Ross 22)

MACKAY METEORS 94 (Maluach 21, Jamerson 15, Brenchley 15)