The Wrap QBL Round 12 14th July 2019 | Page 14

WOMEN Sunshine Coast Phoenix v Cairns Dolphins The Phoenix are coming off a disappointing weekend where they allowed the Capitals to record their first win of the year in a 16-point loss at Maroochydore Stadium. This was followed by a 39-point drumming by the undefeated Lady Spartans on Saturday night. The two losses now see Sunshine Coast sitting outside the playoff picture at 9th on the table. Carlie Smith still averaged 18.0 points and 14.0 rebounds across the weekend but was a dismal 4/24 shooting against the Lady Spartans. They will face a Dolphins outfit who are coming off a 19-point home loss to the Rockhampton Cyclones in round 11. Cairns had no problems scoring the ball putting up 89 points (2nd highest of the season) but allowed a season- high 108 points on the defensive end. Janee Thompson had 26 points to along with 7 dimes, whilst Summah Evans had an efficient 19 off the bench. We expect Phoenix to put last weekend behind them as they return to the winners list. USC Rip City v Townsville Flames USC fell to the Gold Coast Rollers by 9 points in round 11. Rip entered the last quarter only trailing by 4 but were unable to bridge the gap any closer. Chevannah Paalvast put up a massive 30 out of her teams 75, including connecting on 12 free-throws from the stripe. The loss now sees Rip fall further out of the playoff race despite still sitting in 10th on the ladder. They will face the visiting Townsville Flames who enter round 12 winners of four straight after a convincing road victory over the Mackay Meteorettes. The team have turned around their early season struggles and a major part of that being the inclusion of Abby Bishop who had another 17 points, 16 boards, 6 assists and 4 steals. McCully and Cocks were also contributors with 20 and 18 respectively. The Flames will continue on their winning ways as they knock off Rip on the road. Gold Coast Rollers v South West Metro Pirates The Gold Coast Rollers overcame USC Rip City to escape with a 9-point round 11 victory. Ariana Moorer put in an efficient 25 points, whilst Luna- Castro had an 18 point/10 rebound double-double. The win sees the Rollers hold on to fourth position on the QBL ladder with the same record as Ipswich in third. South West suffered their fifth straight defeat, this time going down to the visiting Cyclones by 17 points. Kayla Roberts and Maddy Willey were still able to exceed 20 points each in the loss. With a 4-8 record entering round 12 a playoff berth seems unlikely for the Pirates and this is a must-win if they are to keep any hope alive. Gold Coast enter this contest on a four-game winning streak and should prove too strong for the Pirates as they extend their streak to five. Logan Thunder v Gold Coast Rollers Logan jumped out of the blocks against Gladstone setting up a 19-point half time lead before taking their foot off the gas and eventually coming out 17 points the better. Mikaela Ruef put up a monstrous 26 points and 26 rebounds to go along with 4 blocks. Another incredible individual effort from Ruef sees her win the QBL Player of the Week award for the second time this season. A fourth straight W has the Thunder sitting nicely in fifth position on the ladder and only a game outside of third. The Rollers will be backing up after a Friday night contest against the Pirates and should enter this match up looking for their second win of the weekend. This will be a battle between 4th v 5th and a win will go a long way towards securing a home final for either side. We are giving Logan the slight edge at home and being their first game of the weekend. Thunder in a close one. North Gold Coast Seahawks v Carina Leagues Club Lady Spartans North Gold Coast suffered a disappointing 17-point home loss to the Force in round 11 which sees them drop to 8th position on the ladder. The Seahawks struggled on the offensive end finishing with their lowest scoring total of the season (62) on a dismal 31% shooting. Deja Middleton battled hard to finish with 15 points and 8 rebounds. They also allowed Ipswich to shoot 51% for the game, a stat which will need to change quickly if they are to be competitive against the undefeated Lady Spartans. Southern Districts made light work of the visiting Phoenix as they ran away with a commanding 39-point victory. Aja Parham-Ammar was the game’s top scorer with 20 including 10-10 from the line, whilst Leah Scott had another double- double with 16 and 11. It is hard to tip against the undefeated Lady Spartans who outscore their opponents by an average of 18 points a game. Southern Districts to comfortably extent their streak to 13. 14