ROUND FOURTEEN PREVIEWS
Mackay are still within a shot of
making the top 2, but will need a
big win here at home to keep the
pressure on Logan.
GLADSTONE PORT CITY
POWER VS USC RIP CITY
Gladstone continue to surge
up the QBL ladder on the back
of another outstanding week-
end from Tabatha Richardson
Smith. The Power won both their
matches in Round 13 against
Townsville and Cairns respec-
tively to now sit in the top four
with 2 rounds to play. Richard-
son Smith dominated her oppo-
nents over the weekend scoring
an average 42 points per game
as well as 10.5 rebounds and 3.5
assists. Her performances saw
her being awarded another QBL
Player of the Week title, her sec-
ond in a row. The USC Rip have
seen their finals hopes evaporate
despite pushing the unbeaten
Spartans to overtime on Sun-
day. The Rip put in their best
performance of the season and
an upset seemed on the cards
before the Spartans managed to
force the game into overtime and
eventually win by 5 points. Claire
O’Bryan top scored for the Rip
with 18 points and 9 rebounds
and was backed up by Jen
Carden-David and Brooke Le
Mar with 15 points each. Glad-
stone are firing and no team has
been able to stop TRS in the last
month. The Power will win and
win well at home.
BRISBANE CAPITALS VS
BRISBANE SPARTANS
There is no better time for the
Capitals to knock off the unde-
feated Spartans than in the Battle
of Brisbane this weekend at NAB
Stadium. The Capitals remain
6th on the ladder despite a 1-1
record in their double header last
weekend. After a brilliant 1-point
win against 3rd place Mackay
on Friday night, the Capitals suf-
fered a disappointing loss to the
Cyclones in Rockhampton the
following night. D’Lesha Lloyd
averaged 20 points and 12.5 re-
bounds over the weekend, whilst
Heidi Freeburn averaged 19
points per game, Victoria Aldred
11 rebounds and Amy Lewis had
5 assists. Despite belting the
Phoenix the previous night, the
Spartans suffered an almighty
scare on Sunday going into
overtime against the USC Rip
before prevailing by 5 points in a
tough contest. Maddie Allen led
the team in points and rebounds
with 22 and 17 respectively. The
shooting percentage was down
for the Spartans despite put-
ting up 10 more shots. Ashleigh
Karaitiana was the top scorer for
the Spartans on Saturday with
18 points and Allen again led
the team in rebounds with 12.
The Spartans are still ranked top
of the league in assists, blocks,
rebounds and give up the few-
est turnovers and fouls. With
these stats in mind, the Spartans
should be able to get bragging
rights over their namesake and
cement top position heading into
the final round of the season.
TOOWOOMBA MOUNTAINEERS
VS GOLD COAST ROLLERS
Both teams head into this
Round 14 clash without a win
and both are desperate not to
finish on the bottom of the lad-
der. Toowoomba and Gold Coast
play each other again next week
setting up a mini-series for 13th
place. Toowoomba hosted Ips-
wich on Friday night and despite
a good start to the game were
ultimately beaten by 28 points.
Francis Donders top scored
with 13 points, whilst Kimberlee
Wilson and Tea Charlton both
gained 7 rebounds each. The
Mountaineers registered the low-
THE WRAP 2017 Official Game Program
est number of rebounds and as-
sists on the weekend – a stat that
needs fixing this week against
the Rollers. The Gold Coast will
be coming off a tough road trip
to Ipswich the night before with
their sights firmly set on this
contest. The Rollers were com-
petitive for most of their match
against the South West Metro Pi-
rates in Round 13 but again their
lack of points and low percent-
age shooting were big factors in
their loss. Shanelle Tolley scored
19 points, whilst Ashli Payne
had 17 and 10 rebounds for the
Coast. This may not mean much
for the rest of the competition but
this game will be tightly fought
with the loser facing the wooden
spoon. Rollers in a close one.
SOUTH WEST METRO
PIRATES VS TOOWOOMBA
MOUNTAINEERS
The South West Metro Pirates
have found themselves in the
top 8 after a strong 15-point
win over the Rollers on the Gold
Coast. The Pirates were led by
Stephanie Bairstow once again
with a game-high 19 points and
3 blocks. Shelby Cheslek was
again dominant in defence reg-
istering 13 rebounds in the Pi-
rates’ big win. Their opponents
Toowoomba will face off against
fellow cellar-dwellers Gold Coast
the night before and based on
that result will either be full of
confidence after their first win
or despondent facing a likely
wooden spoon. The Mountain-
eers will look to improve on their
scoring as well as assists, turn-
overs and free throw percentage
in which they are ranked last in
the league in all three areas. The
Pirates have a strong home court
advantage and should punish
Toowoomba setting up a fantas-
tic last round before the finals
series.
15