a much different side since the July 5th match.
Despite the Rockets turning their season
around in recent times, it’s almost impossible
to pick against the Marlins at home.
then, the fortunes of both teams have been
reversed with Rocky enjoying a 14-4 record
to finish second on the ladder, whilst Ipswich
have lost their last three games to finish
seventh with an 11-7 record.
Prediction: Cairns by 8
WOMEN
Carina Leagues Club Lady Spartans (1) v USC
Rip City (8)
Last time they met: Round 10 – Spartans 80
(Isaac 24) def USC 75 (Tupaea 29)
The Spartans head into the 2019 finals series
with just one loss on the season looking for
three straight QBL titles. The competition
favourites take on a USC outfit who have won
their past five games to surge into the playoffs.
With the exception of a close loss in Mackay
to the Meteorettes, the Spartans have
dominated in 2019 crushing opponents on
the back of stars Leah Scott (24 points and 8
rebounds), Aja Parham-Ammar (14 points and
8 rebounds) and Natalie Taylor (14 points and
5 rebounds) over the season. The strong team
dynamic of the Spartans has been the key this
year with multiple players scoring double-
digits week to week.
The Rip have enjoyed a fantastic past few
weeks winning games against Cairns, Phoenix,
South West, Ipswich and a tight 3-point win
over the Seahawks which enabled them to
win the head-to-head tie for the final playoff
spot. USC have benefited from the addition of
Kisha Lee who averaged over 22 points across
the season as well as Tahlia Tupaea, Maddison
Rocci and Chevannah Paalvast who have each
put up over 17 points a game.
The Rip have been competitive against the
Spartans this season going down in both
games by 8 and 5 respectively and will relish
the role of underdogs heading into Rowland
Cowan Stadium. On paper and based on
previous form this year, the Spartans should
come away with an easy win, however, USC
have proven to cause the occasional upset.
Prediction: Spartans by 13
Rockhampton Cyclones (2) v Ipswich Force (7)
Last time they met: Round 3 – Ipswich 100
(Johnson 25) def Rockhampton 75 (Bishop 21)
The only time these two teams met in 2019
was way back in Round 3 when Ipswich
destroyed Rockhampton by 25 points. Since
The Cyclones have enjoyed a consistent
season thanks to strong contributions from
Jessica Thomas, Brooke Blair and Mary
Goulding and have a good home-court record
at 7-2 for the season. Rockhampton endured
a tough final week of the season traveling
north to face Townsville and Mackay coming
home with one win in the two clashes. They’ll
appreciate playing in front of their adoring
crowd in the first week of the finals and will
hope to shut down Ipswich’s key player
Amanda Johnson.
Whilst Johnson has had another great season,
her stats are down from last year’s incredible
MVP-winning campaign with teams focusing
more on stopping the star forward. Johnson
top-scored for Ipswich this season with
averages of 22 points and 13 rebounds, whilst
Amy Lewis, Georgia Ralph and Kaili McLaren
all featured heavily with double-digit points
throughout the season.
The focus for Ipswich will be on Amanda
Johnson and if she can find her sparkling best
an upset may be on the cards. The Cyclones
have a great home record in 2019 and will
hope that the fans can drive home another
playoff victory.
Prediction: Rockhampton by 4
Townsville Flames (3) v Mackay Meteorettes (6)
Last time they met: Round 11 – Townsville 83
(McCully 20) def Mackay 55 (Burgess 17)
Since the welcome addition of Abby Bishop,
no team has been hotter than the Townsville
Flames in the backend of the season. This
quarter final sees them take on arch-rivals
Mackay in a clash that’s sure to match the
hype.
Townsville won 9 out of their last 10 games
to finish third on the ladder, a thought that
looked improbable after starting the season
4-4. Bishop’s impact has been significant with
the Opal scoring an average of 26 points,
11 rebounds and 4 assists across 7 games.
Veteran guard Micaela Cocks has enjoyed
another stellar season averaging 14 points,
whilst the Flames’ young stars Alex Fowler
and Harriet Carey have also been impressive
averaging 12 and 7 respectively.
The Meteorettes flew out of the blocks to start
the season winning 7 of their first 8 games,
however, a bad stretch in June hurt Mackay
falling down the ladder to eventually finish in
sixth position and face a tough road trip north
to Townsville. Erica Covile and Heidi Freeburn
have been the leading contributors for Mackay
with 18 and 16 a game respectively and their
match-up with Bishop this weekend will prove
pivotal for the team’s chances.
Townsville won both encounters in 2019 and
are in far better form than their northern rivals
and with a massive crowd expected, they
should have enough firepower to get through
this one.
Prediction: Townsville by 8
Gold Coast Rollers (4) v Logan Thunder (5)
Last time they met: Round 12 – Logan 70 (Taia
20) def Gold Coast 65 (Moorer 17)
This quarter-final shapes as the game of the
round and the closest to predict with both
teams having beaten each other this season.
Gold Coast have been one of the stories
of 2019 finishing in the top four with a 13-5
record after winning just three games in the
last two seasons combined. There have been
many success stories for the Rollers this year
including Jacquie Luna-Castro averaging 18
points and 8 rebounds a game, whilst Ariana
Moorer, Carleigh Patrick and Susannah
Walmsley all had impressive campaigns each
averaging in double-digits. The Rollers team
ethos has improved dramatically under the
coaching of Cassie Dover and Gold Coast are
now hunting their first playoff victory for some
time.
Logan have quietly put together another
impressive season narrowly finishing outside
the top four with a 12-6 record. Consistency
has been the issue for the Thunder with
impressive wins in Townsville and against
Mackay negated by defeats to Ipswich and
South West Metro. Mikaela Ruef has been
one of the standout players this season with
averages of 21 points and 20 rebounds each
night. Ash Taia and Brittany Carter have also
been influential putting up 18 a game, whilst
the loss of star player Mikhaela Cann in recent
weeks is huge after she produced another
outstanding season.
This matchup should prove to be the closest
of all quarterfinals this weekend and it will be
interesting to see if Gold Coast can handle the
pressure of playoffs against an experienced
Logan outfit.
Prediction: Logan by 2
7