The Seahawks QSL Division 1 and Division 2 teams went a perfect 3 for 3 on Saturday night, delighting the home faithful with all three teams now sitting atop of their respective ladders.
The SmartSkill Seahawks Women were on a mission to keep their undefeated season alive against the Capitals women, and they didn’t disappoint.
Both teams really struggled to put the ball in the hoop in the first quarter, with a tough fought 9-7 advantage held by the SmartSkill Seahawks women.
The second quarter saw the SmartSkill Seahawks continue to strangle their opposition on the defensive end, restricting the Capitals to another single digit quarter of just 9 points, while compiling 19 of their own.
The second half still saw both teams continue to find it challenging to get going offensively, but the SmartSkill Seahawks Women showed their dominance for the entire game and ended up winners 58-37.
Lauren Jansen continued her MVP type season, having 20 points and 19 rebounds for the night, with sharp shooting guard Courtney Willemse hot on her heels with a 15-point, 4 rebound and 4 steals night.
Head Coach for the SmartSkill Seahawks Women Bradley Kann is aware his team still has a long way to go.
“We shot the ball poorly overall on Saturday night, but really showed that our defence is the staple of our success so far” said Kann.
“We out rebounded the Capitals by 28 rebounds, and had a huge 29 offensive rebounds”
“I am really impressed with what we are able to do as a team defensively – holding the Capitals to single digit quarters for three out of the four quarters was an outstanding effort”
The QSL Seahawks Men knew they were going to be in for a battle against a Capitals team they only marginally beat in the first round of competition, and this game didn’t disappoint.
With Head Coach Jordan Mullan being away for the weekend, current player Rhys Martin stepped into the big job for the night and wanted his team firing.
Like the Women’s game, both teams really struggled get going offensively, with a lot of open opportunities to not many conversions, and the end of the first quarter seeing a slight advantage to the Seahawks Men 15-14.
The second quarter saw the Brisbane Capitals really turn up the heat on the defensive end, restricting the Seahawks to a measly 11 points for the quarter and piling on 18 points of their own.
The Seahawks were lacking spark and energy – insert Seahawks junior Mackenzie Hall.
Hall was introduced mid 3rd quarter when the Seahawks found themselves down double digits, and finding themselves further out of the contest, until he stamped his authority on the match.
In little over 10 minutes, Hall’s impact of 4 points, 2 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals lifted his sides energy and got the Nest soaring.
Hall and fellow youngster Amarco Doyle (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals), gave the Seahawk faithful a glimpse of the promising future ahead.
With Hall’s impact clawing his team back into contention, crowd favourite Riley Coombes got hot in the 4th quarter and shot the Seahawks Men into the lead off 3 threes and a pair of clutch foul shots down the stretch to seal a momentous victory 68-63.
Veteran Dave Gurney had a huge overall game, finishing with 21 points and 17 rebounds (10 offensive) and lead his young squad around as all good veterans do.
Fill in head coach Rhys Martin was extremely proud of his teammates.
“We kept our focus really simple this week and wanted the guys to achieve a small goal throughout the game,” said Martin.
“I was extremely impressed with what Mackenzie (Hall) brought to the game and felt like he was the key turning point for our game”
“We still have some large steps to take as a group, but I feel like a major part of our success will be teaching our young guys that you have to compete, non-stop for every single minute of the game”
“Once you learn to compete hard and work hard every possession, it will all start to fall in place and that’s exactly what happened in our 4th quarter”
“Hall’s energy, Coombesy taking and knocking down big shots at critical times of the game are exactly what can happen”
“It was a fantastic victory for the group but a huge win for the association”
The QSL2 Men’s team started the night off positive, with a huge 20-point victory over Ipswich 96-76.
Dan Gardner came up huge once again for side, with a team leading 22 points.