Seahawks save season

Samuels stars in crucial triumph over Dolphins

CASEY Samuels has celebrated her WNBL signing with the Townsville Fire in a matchwinning performance for North Gold Coast that could push her Seahawks into the post-season QBL conversation.

Samuels scored a team-high 29 points and seven rebounds as North Gold Coast beat the Cairns Dolphins 96-84 in the second leg of their North Queensland road trip.

Despite losing 90-61 to heavyweights Townsville on Friday night, the Seahawks (3-3) bounced back to beat Cairns and maintain a 50 per cent record that could keep them in the finals hunt.

Coach Robert Sleaford was pleased with the effort of his players in the second leg of the double-header.

“We knew it was a very gettable game and it was one we pencilled in as a must-get game,” Sleaford said.

“It was one that we were very confident that we could get and we played very well, I thought.

“At halftime, we were shooting at 63 per cent as a team which is double what we’ve been shooting in any other game. And we played well as a team to get ourselves open for the shot rather than just living and dying by the three-point line.”

Former Australian under-19 guard Samuels signed a oneyear deal with the Fire last week and celebrated with an outstanding effort against the Dolphins, while US import Leeza Burdgess had 15 points.

And with the WNBL preseason not starting until the end of the state league competition, Samuels is free to continue her stint with the Seahawks in their QBL debut.

“We’re lucky that the NBL seasons don’t clash, so we don’t lose her which is a bonus and we’re obviously very happy for her signing,” Sleaford said.

While the Seahawks are in ninth place on the QBL ladder, they have the same win percentage as sixth-placed Mackay and can continue to put themselves in the finals conversation if they can improve slightly on that 50 per cent.

While the women won in Cairns, the Seahawks men’s side did not perform as well, losing to the Cairns Marlins 100-70 after going down to Townsville 121-82 on Friday night to drop both legs of the Sunshine Swing.

The Gold Coast Rollers men and women both lost at home to Logan. The Rollers men were poor in a 104-80 loss to the Thunder and the women fell 81-61.