North Wrap | Women's Anzac Round

Logan Thunder and Southern Districts Spartans continued dominant starts in NBL1 North with Ariana Moorer lifting the Gold Coast Rollers with Courtney Woods doing the same for Townsville Flames and Mia Loyd for Cairns Dolphins.

>> NORTH SPOTLIGHT | MOORER LEADS GOLD COAST TO BOUNCE BACK WIN

>> NORTH SPOTLIGHT | SPARTANS GO 3-0 WITH WIN IN MACKAY

>> NORTH SPOTLIGHT | MCDOWELL-WHITE SISTERS RULE AGAIN FOR SPARTANS

FRIDAY

Cairns Dolphins (95) defeated South West Metro Pirates (49)

The Cairns Dolphins held the South West Metro Pirates to just five points in the first quarter to set themselves on the path to the eventual 95-49 Friday night home win.

Cairns were back home at Trinity Ford Stadium on the back of beating the Townsville Flames to open the season while the Pirates headed north attempting to bounce back from a loss to the Ipswich Force.

The Dolphins dominated from the outset going on a 13-0 run in the first quarter and by quarter-time they were leading 20-5 with the Pirates having a horror opening 10 minutes.

Cairns went on with the job from there leading by as much as 32 points in the second quarter, 32 in the third and 49 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 46-point win to improve to 2-0.

Mia Loyd finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Dolphins with Summah Evans adding 19 points, seven boards and three assists, and Taryn Bond 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Brooke Basham also had 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, Mikala Williams 12 points and two steals, and Leichan Williams seven points and seven rebounds.

The Pirates are now 0-2 to start the season with former East Perth Eagles captain in the NBL1 West, Tessa Morrison, having 10 points while Kate Head added nine points, seven assists and four rebounds, and Jenna Kitty seven points and two assists.

 

Brisbane Capitals (110) defeated North Gold Coast Seahawks (91)

Ashley Harris and Tyla Stolberg combined for 54 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Brisbane Capitals to their first win of the season beating the North Gold Coast Seahawks 110-91.

Both teams lost their opening games to the Southern Districts Spartans and Sunshine Coast Phoenix respectively ahead of the match up at Auchenflower Stadium.

It was a flying start on their home floor from the Caps with 32 points to 11 in the first quarter and that lead got out to 21 in the second frame with them leading 58-43 by half-time.

From there the Caps went on with the job to lead by as much as 25 and win by 19 to improve to 1-1 to start the season.

Ashley Harris delivered 29 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks on 10/14 shooting in the win with Tyla Stolberg adding 25 points, 10 boards, two assists and two steals on 8/13 with 9/10 free-throw shooting.

Chanel Enriquez-Paea added 15 points and two rebounds with 3/5 three-point shooting with Ella White contributing nine points and three assists, and Jessica Reif eight points, six assists and five rebounds.

The Seahawks have returned to the NBL1 North in 2026 but are now 0-2 with Georgia Woolley putting in a standout performance with 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists with 12/12 foul shooting.

Charli Reece added 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, Charlize Brown 18 points and seven boards, and Jess Smith eight points, three assists and two steals.

Rockhampton Cyclones (66) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (95)

Jess McDowell-White had her second straight triple-double to start the season while sister Hayley had 41 points on 10 three-pointers as the Southern Districts Spartans won big again 95-66 away to the Rockhampton Cyclones.

The Spartans beat the Brisbane Capitals by 44 points last week and then repeated the dose on the road to the 2024 champion Cyclones at Bravus Arena on Anzac Day eve.

Hayley McDowell-White set the tone with four threes in the first quarter and ended the night hitting 10 of them with the Spartans ending up leading by as much as 31 on the way to the 29-point victory to go to 2-0 and send the Cyclones to 0-2.

Hayley landed 10/23 from behind the three-point line for 41 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Then Jess had her second straight triple-double with 11 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds to go with four steals.

Abby Solway added 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Spartans, Emily Preston 10 points, five boards and three steals, and Kalani Purcell pulled down 10 rebounds to go with two points, three assists and three blocked shots.

Rockhampton are now 0-2 to start the season with Gracie Stugart top-scoring with 20 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Isla Shackleton added 12 points and four rebounds, Halle Shipton 12 points, seven boards and two assists, and Emily Kiser six points and 11 rebounds.

ANZAC DAY

Townsville Flames (77) defeated South West Metro Pirates (70)

Courtney Woods was back on deck and starred for the Townsville Flames as they got on the board for 2026 with the 77-70 overtime win over the South West Metro Pirates.

Fresh off not only winning a WNBL championship with the Townsville Fire but being Grand Final MVP, Woods was on board for the Flames on Anzac Day for their first home game at Carmichael Ford Stadium.

Both teams were looking to bounce back from opening round defeats and at no point was more than eight points ever separating them.

The Flames were leading by just a point at quarter-time, by four at half-time and then the Pirates had 17 points to eight in the third period.

That set up a thrilling finish and Townsville came from eight points down to get the game to overtime thanks to a huge three-point bomb from Kate Searle.

Then in the extra period, the Flames took over with 11 points to four to secure the seven-point win and get on the board for 2026.

Woods was outstanding for Townsville with 24 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and two steals on 7/13 shooting from the field and 10/12 at the foul line.

Ella Tofaeono added 17 points, four rebounds and two blocks, Mia Murray 12 points, six boards, two assists and two steals, Kate Searle eight points and six rebounds, and Chailee Ward eight points, three boards, two assists and two steals.

The Pirates are now 0-2 to start the season with Jovana Ilic finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and two steals, Charlotte Whittaker 21 points, five boards and two steals, and Kate Head 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Logan Thunder (86) defeated Brisbane Capitals (52)

Logan Thunder continued the hot start to their championship defence with a thumping 86-52 home win against the Brisbane Capitals on Anzac Day.

The Thunder beat the Gold Coast Rollers in their first game of 2026 after last year's championship and were at home at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre to host a Caps team trying to back up their Friday night win over the North Gold Coast Seahawks.

It was a dominant start from Logan with 23 points to nine in the first quarter and another 26 to eight in the second saw them leading 49-17 by half-time.

That lead got out to as much as 40 points in the second half before they won by 34 in an emphatic start to their title defence.

Leah Scott top-scored for Logan with 19 points and 10 rebounds with Vahayliah Seumanutafa adding 17 points, 11 boards, four steals and three assists, and Prasayus Notoa 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Mikhaela Cann also had nine points and nine assists, Maddy Allen eight points, two rebounds and two steals, and Maddy Reisinger seven points, nine boards and two assists.

The Caps couldn’t quite back up their Friday night win with Tyla Stolberg finishing with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists with Keriana Hippolite adding nine points and three boards, Elise Siganto six points and four rebounds, and Ashley Harris six points and six boards.

Mackay Meteorettes (78) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (84)

Two undefeated teams locked horns on Anzac Day and it was the Southern Districts Spartans who improved to 3-0 with all their starters having strong showings in the 84-78 road win over the Mackay Meteorettes.

The Meteorettes opened the season also at Mackay Basketball Stadium beating the Rockhampton Cyclones by 19 points while the Spartans arrived on Anzac Day having beaten both the Brisbane Capitals and Cyclones by a combined 73 points.

It was the performance of all five starters led by Abby Solway top-scoring that saw the Spartans score the six-point victory to improve to 3-0 on the season with the Meteorettes now 1-1 after two home games.

After the McDowell-White sisters dominated in the wins against the Capitals and Cyclones, they weren’t needed to do the same on Anzac Day either as several teammates stepped up further.

That included Abby Solway delivering 14 points in the first half on the way to 19 in the game with seven rebounds and 4/10 three-point shooting.

Kalani Purcell added 14 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals with Emily Preston contributing 13 points, seven boards, four steals and three assists.

The McDowell-White duo still made strong contributions too with Jess finishing with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Hayley 10 points and six boards despite not making a three-point shot after hitting 10 on her way to 41 points the night before.

Mackay have started the season with two home games and now have a win and a loss on the board despite the best efforts of Monique Bobongie with 23 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals.

Cheyenne Bobongie added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, River Baldwin 16 points and five boards, Chelsea Brook nine points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists, and Sammie Puisis nine points and three steals.

SUNDAY

Gold Coast Rollers (76) defeated Ipswich Force (70)

Ariana Moorer showed her class and experience to lead the response from the Gold Coast Rollers to a big first up loss to beat the Ipswich Force 76-70 at home.

It wasn’t the sort of effort to open the season the Rollers were hoping for with the 45-point loss to the defending champion Logan Thunder last week on the back of only putting 49 points on the board.

They were back home at Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium hosting an Ipswich team who got a first up win at home as well to the South West Metro Pirates.

With Moorer showing the way, Gold Coast were on top most of the afternoon including being up by 11 points in the third quarter, but Ipswich fired back and even hit the front briefly early in the last term thanks to an and-one from Georgia Ralph.

The Rollers again responded after that and secured the six-point victory with both teams now 1-1 after their opening two games.

Moorer was the biggest difference between the Rollers and Force on Sunday. She finished the afternoon with 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to go with going 15/18 at the free-throw line.

Emma Petrie also delivered 19 points and five rebounds on 7/9 shooting, Tara Manumaleuga 12 points, five steals, four boards and three assists, Maya Barnes nine points and six rebounds, and Nyah Morris seven points, four boards and three steals.

Valerie Huerta finished with 19 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists for Ipswich with Georgia Ralph stepping up for 19 points and two assists on 3/9 three-point shooting while the rest of the team only went 1/16 from behind the arc.