North Wrap | Women's Round 14

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It was a remarkably tight finish to the NBL1 North season with Logan Thunder locking away top spot, Cairns Dolphins second and then third through sixth all ending up at 11-5 with the Townsville Flames just ahead of Mackay Meteorettes, Northside Wizards and Southern Districts Spartans.

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FRIDAY

Cairns Dolphins (82) defeated Rockhampton Cyclones (68)

Leichan Williams put up 23 points in just 18 minutes for Cairns Dolphins as they avoided going into the finals with three straight losses with the 82-68 home win on Friday night.

The Dolphins were playing their last game of the regular season at Trinity Ford Stadium and having lost their past two games after a 9-0 start to have dropped behind Logan Thunder into second position.

They were still guaranteed a top two finish coming into the last round but the Cyclones arrived on a three-game winning streak and were keen to continue to finish their season with momentum despite being out of contention.

The scores were all level by quarter-time and Cairns were only leading by five at half-time but the Dolphins then took over and held Rockhampton to just nine points in the third term with the home team from there going on to score the 14-point win and finish the regular season at 13-3 in second place.

Leichan Williams proved quite the weapon down low for Cairns with 23 points and seven rebounds on 8/10 field goal shooting and 7/8 at the foul line.

Brooke Basham added 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals with 4/8 three-point shooting fresh off signing in the WNBL for the Tasmania Jewels.

Mia Loyd also had another 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Dolphins, Alessandra Burke nine points, six boards and two assists, and Teyla Evans seven points and 10 rebounds.

The Cyclones are now 5-10 with one game left in their season with Shanique Lucas finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists on 5/11 shooting from the outside.

Emily Kiser also had 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals, Akaysha Muggeridge 13 points and three assists, and Gracie Stugart eight points, seven rebounds and five assists.

SATURDAY

South West Metro Pirates (64) lost to Mackay Meteorettes (88)

The Mackay Meteorettes started their double header weekend to close the last round with the 88-64 win over the South West Metro Pirates as they try to lock in a home final.

The Pirates were playing their last game of the season and were hosting the Meteorettes at Hibiscus Sports Stadium and trying to avoid ending up with a seven-game losing streak.

South West Metro started well on their home floor with 26 points to 21 in the first quarter before Mackay took over in the second term with 31 to 13 to go into half-time leading 52-39.

The Meteorettes retained control throughout the second half with the lead getting out to 22 points in the third quarter and 24 in the fourth before securing the 24-point victory.

The win improves Mackay to a 10-5 record with River Baldwin delivering another 22 points and six rebounds with Eden Catip adding 16 points, three steals and two boards, Monique Bobongie nine points, eight assists and four rebounds, Alley Simpson nine points and five boards, and Chelsea Brook nine points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

South West Metro now ended their season at 3-13 in bottom spot with Charlotte Whittaker finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

Steph Bairstow added 17 points, six boards and there assists, and Tess Moarrison 11 points and four assists.

Brisbane Capitals (75) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (83)

The Southern Districts Spartans returned to action and will enter the finals in winning form with the 83-75 road victory against the Brisbane Capitals.

The Capitals were back home at Auchenflower Stadium to play their last game of what's been a disappointing season while the Spartans were looking to get some winning momentum to take into the finals.

The last game Southern Districts played was two weeks earlier with a loss to the Cairns Dolphins and then having the bye last weekend so this was their last game to tune themselves up for a crack at getting back to the Grand Final they reached in 2025.

The Spartans started well with 23 points to 17 in the opening quarter before another 24 to 21 in the second on the way to the 47-38 half-time advantage.

Brisbane did stay in touch through the second half with the Southern Districts lead never getting out beyond 13 points but the Spartans did enough to secure the eight-point win.

The result sees Southern Districts end the regular season with an 11-5 record and ultimately in sixth position

Jess McDowell-White produced 20 points, six assists and three steals for Southern Districts with Hayley McDowell-White adding 19 points and seven boards, Kalani Purcell 15 points and nine rebounds, and Mikayla Cowling 11 points, eight boards, six assists and four steals.

The Capitals end up at 3-13 with losing their last seven games with Ashley Harris finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Alyssa Brown had another 16 points and two rebounds with Rachel Mate contributing 13 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Tyla Stolberg 12 points and six boards.

Then there was Mikaela Ruef playing her third game back having only given birth on July 9 and putting up 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Sunshine Coast Phoenix (72) lost to Northside Wizards (82)

The other results didn’t fall their way but the Northside Wizards did score the 82-72 road win over the Sunshine Coast Phoenix to start their final round double with Nes'eya Parker-Williams having 25 points and 18 rebounds.

Coming into the final round of the season and the top six teams had been set but with only one game separating the Southern Districts Spartans, Townsville Flames, Mackay Meteorettes and the Wizards, all four could finish anywhere from third to sixth.

Those four teams will all play one another to open the finals next week, it's just about who gets home court advantage and it was out of the Wizards hands because they needed those above them to lose if they wanted to rise.

That didn’t happen with Townsville beating the Rockhampton Cyclones, the Spartans downing the Brisbane Capitals and then the Mackay Meteorettes beating the South West Metro Pirates.

The Phoenix hosted the Wizards at Maroochydore Stadium and while they couldn’t play finals any longer having lost their past two matches, but they still wanted to end their season on a positive note.

But it was the Wizards who went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter but Sunshine Coast responded with 24 to 15 in the second to go into half-time on top 38-35.

The Wizards worked back on top in the third quarter and then took control for good in the last with 27 points to 18 on the way to the eventual 10-point victory to improve to a 10-5 record.

The biggest difference was the eight extra free-throw attempts for the Wizards on the back of 10 more offensive rebounds with Nes'eya Parker-Williams outstanding once more with 25 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Nadeen Payne added 13 points and six rebounds, Kelsey Ransom 13 points, five rebounds and two assists, Alice O'Driscoll 11 points and three assists, and Grace Ellis 10 points, eight boards and three assists.

Sunshine Coast now finish their season at 7-9 having lost their last three matches with Erin Bollmann providing another 29 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals on 11/17 field goal shooting.

Maya Price also had 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals, and Isabel Palmer 16 points and three boards.

Townsville Flames (111) defeated Rockhampton Cyclones (70)

The Townsville Flames ended the regular season with a massive 111-70 home win over the Rockhampton Cyclones which end the end secured them third position and a home final.

The Flames were back home at Carmichael Ford Stadium already guaranteed of playing finals but needing to win or face the prospect of finish all the way down in sixth position.

Rockhampton were already out of contention despite coming into the weekend having won three straight before losing on Friday night to start their road double to the second placed Cairns Dolphins.

It was a high scoring first quarter with Townsville ending up with 34 points to 25 before the Flames dominated the second term with 24 to 10 on the way to leading 58-35 by half-time.

That continued in the third quarter with another 29 points to 11 with the lead ballooning to as much as 49 points in the fourth quarter before the Flames went on to score the 41-point victory.

Townsville finish the season now in third position at 11-5 with Courtney Woods delivering 24 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Chailee Ward also had 20 points, eight assists and two rebounds, Ella Tofaeono 17 points, nine boards and two steals, Mia Murray 14 points on 4/6 shooting from the outside, and Kate Searle nine points, five rebounds and two assists.

Rockhampton are now 5-11 having lost both games in Far North Queensland this weekend to end the season with Emily Kiser producing 27 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Aria Dooley also had 14 points with 4/5 three-point shooting, Akaysha Muggeridge eight points, five rebounds and four assists, and Shanique Lucas eight points.

Logan Thunder (95) defeated Ipswich Force (75)

Logan Thunder ensured they finished the regular season a game clear in top spot with the 95-75 home victory against the Ipswich Force.

Logan had already secured the regular season championship coming into the match up at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre ahead of hosting an Ipswich team out of contention but looking forward to a positive finish to their campaign.

And the Force did start well with 27 points to 25 in the first quarter before Logan worked on top in the second period with 23 to 15 in the second and that saw them go into the half-time interval on top 48-42.

The Thunder then continued to work further on top through the second half with the lead getting out to 17 points in the third frame and 24 in the fourth before they secured the 20-point victory.

Logan finish the season a game clear in top spot at 14-2 bouncing back from last week's loss to the Townsville Flames with Amandine Toi delivering 26 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Leah Scott added 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, Kendell Heremaia 13 points, seven boards and three steals, Maddy Allen 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Mikhaela Cann 10 points, five assists and three rebounds.

The season is now over for Ipswich at 3-13 with Valerie Huerta producing 22 points, six rebounds and three assists with Stacie Jones adding 14 points and eight boards, Olivia West 13 points, five assists and four boards, and Hannah Young 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

SUNDAY

Gold Coast Rollers (69) lost to Mackay Meteorettes (84)

The Mackay Meteorettes closed the season with the 84-69 road win over the Mackay Meteorettes and that ended up securing them a home final with six players all scoring in double figures.

Gold Coast were back home at Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium looking to finish their season on a high up against a Mackay team needing to win to avoid a sixth placed finish and with a home final at stake.

The Meteorettes were fresh off beating the South West Metro Pirates on Saturday night before starting well against the Rollers with 21 points to 17 in the first quarter.

Mackay had another 25 points to 15 in the second term and then the lead was out to as much as 21 points in the second half before the Meteorettes secured the 15-point victory.

The win for Mackay sees them finish the season with an 11-5 record and in fourth position to earn a home final against the Northside Wizards with Monique Bobongie top scoring with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Sammie Puisis added 13 points and two rebounds, Eden Catip 12 points, three boards and three assists, Chelsea Brook 11 points, three rebounds and three assists, River Baldwin 10 points, 14 boards, three assists and two blocks, Cheyenne Bobongie 10 points, five assists and three boards, and Nikita Muscat 10 points and four rebounds.

The Rollers finish their season at 5-11 having won three of the past five matches with Tara Manumaleuga finishing with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists with 8/11 three-point shooting.

Juna Umezawa added 16 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals, Ariana Moorer 14 points, six boards, four assists and two steals, and Maya Barnes nine points and three rebounds.

Northside Wizards (83) defeated North Gold Coast Seahawks (69)

It was a remarkable finish to the season with both the Northside Wizards and Mackay Meteorettes winning on Sunday to join the Townsville Flames and Southern Districts Spartans on 11 wins to occupy the last four playoff positions.

It was the last day of the regular season with the Spartans and Flames already winning on Saturday night to close their regular seasons to finish on 11-5 records.

Mackay and Northside then had doubles this weekend with both winning on Saturday night ahead of the Meteorettes away to the Gold Coast Rollers and the Wizards hosting the North Gold Coast Seahawks on Sunday.

In the end, Mackay defeated Gold Coast 84-69 and then Northside beat North Gold Coast 83-69 to leave all four teams finishing on identical 11-5 records behind the top two teams Logan Thunder (14-2) and Cairns Dolphins (13-3).

What that means is that the four teams all play in quarter finals next Saturday night with Townsville at home to Southern Districts, and Mackay hosting Northside.

The Wizards were back home on Sunday at Northside Indoor Sports Centre fresh off beating the Sunshine Coast Phoenix the previous night ahead of hosting a Seahawks team that might be out of the playoff hunt, but are dangerous and had a positive second half of the season.

There was every chance the result wouldn’t end up changing where the Wizards finished, but they still wanted to enter the finals in winning form and started well to lead 21-16 by the end of the first quarter.

But the Seahawks stayed in touch with 23 points to 20 in the second period to limit the lead of Northside to 41-39 by half-time.

The Wizards were able to pulled away in the third frame to open up a 12-point lead and to still be up 10 by three quarter-time and they closed the deal from there with 23 points to 19 in the final period to secure the 14-point victory.

Nes'eya Parker-Williams starred again with 26 points, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals and four blocked shots.

Kelsey Ransom also had 22 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals, Grace Ellis 18 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals, and Nadeen Payne four points, five rebounds and four assists in just over 12 minutes.

North Gold Coast end their season at 7-9 after starting off going 0-4 with Katie Deeble ending up with 20 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Seahawks with 4/7 shooting from the outside.

Georgia Woolley had another 16 points, five assists and three rebounds, 16-year-old Charlize Brown 11 points with 5/8 field goal shooting, and Antoniette Emma-Nnopu 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.