Bruce sparks Thunder to convincing NBL1 North wins

Shaun Bruce and his Logan Thunder's impressive NBL1 season continued over the weekend, as they recorded strong wins against Brisbane and Sunshine Coast.

On Friday at the Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre, the Kings guard tallied 22 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and one steal as the Thunder downed the Capitals 98-79.

Twenty-four hours later, the Thunder then smashed Sunshine Coast 91-72 on the road thanks to 29 points, seven dimes, three boards and one steal from Bruce.

The Thunder, who have now won eight games in a row for a 9-1 record, next travel to Ipswich on Saturday night - pitting Bruce up against Sydney teammate Jaylin Galloway.

The latter produced another stellar performance for his Force in round eight, posting 31 points, three boards, two steals, two blocks and one dime in his side's 101-90 defeat to Northside.

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Elsewhere in NBL1 North, reigning league MVP Kouat Noi powered USC Rip City to a commanding 101-94 triumph over Southern Districts - with the forward contributing 23 points, 18 rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Next up for USC is a trip to Darwin to face the Salties - headlined by Makuach Maluach,

The new Kings signing's Salties will come into the round nine fixture on the back of two road losses - 92-86 to Mackay and 99-89 to Rockhampton.

Across the two losses, Maluach averaged 26.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.5 steals and one assist.

Moving to NBL1 South and Angus Glover added 13 points, seven assists, six rebounds and one block as Eltham outlasted Ringwood 104-99.

The first-placed Wildcats will now travel to Tasmania for a road double-header, starting with Hobart on Friday before taking over the North West Thunder on Saturday.

In NBL1 East, Archie Woodhill and his Comets lost both their round 10 fixtures.

Despite a weekend total of 31 points, 29 rebounds, three blocks and one steal by Woodhill, Sydney went down 77-55 to Illawarra and 86-77 to Sutherland.

Another road double-header awaits the Comets next weekend, including stops in Albury and Canberra to take on the Centre of Excellence side.

Shifting to the Flames' contingent and Keely Froling's Launceston Tornadoes split their round seven games against Dandenong (lost 78-71) and Sandringham (won 84-79).

Across the two fixtures, the Flames skipper totalled 60 points, 29 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

Next up for Froling is a showdown with Eltham on Saturday.

Kiera Rowe and her Knox Raiders weren't as fortunate, tasting defeat against both Frankston (80-69) and Waverley (93-87).

The Flames forward totalled 27 points, eight boards, three dimes and two steals during the round.

The Raiders will look to rebound against Mount Gambier in round eight.

In NBL1 North and Maddy Allen starred for Southern Districts in their 83-77 victory against Rip City, to the tune of 15 points, 11 rebounds, eight dimes and two blocks.

The Spartans next face South West Metro on Saturday.

Young gun Indiah Bowyer and her Townsville Flames also went 1-2 across their two matches, including winning 73-58 against North Gold Coast and losing to both losing Gold Coast (67-57) and  South West Metro (71-50).

Across those games, Bowyer contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal, with her Flames having the bye in round nine.

In NBL1 East, Vanessa Panousis, Jada Crawshaw and their Sydney Comets chalked up a pair of tough road victories across round 10, including downing Illawarra 82-70 and Sutherland 91-85.

In the two wins, guard Panousis added 32 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and five steals while Crawshaw contributed 37 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.

In round 11, the Comets face the Bandits and Centre of Excellence.

Elsewhere, Emma Donnelly put up 14 points, two boards and one steal as Norths thumped Central Coast (featuring Rachel Maenpaa, who has 14 points and five boards in her season debut) 107-63 - with the Bears looking to extend their strong run against Newcastle on Saturday.

While the Crusaders are down in the nation's capital to face the Centre of Excellence.

Finally, out west and Emma Clarke shone for her Perry Lakes Hawks against the Eastern Suns, by hitting 7/8 shots from downtown on her way to 33 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and one block.

Clarke's Hawks now travel to the Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium to battle the Goldfields Giants on Saturday.

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