Seahawks on way to finals

NORTH Gold Coast have made the playoffs in their first season in the Queensland Basketball League in a stunning achievement for the fledgling club.

The Seahawks women have been one win away from sealing a position in the eight for the past month but until Saturday night had been unable to clear the final hurdle.

Their clash against the University of Sunshine Coast at Runaway Bay was crucial to their playoff chances and while a narrow loss would have left them with some hope, their 94-72 victory sealed their fate.

The win ensured the Seahawks will make the post-season at their first attempt.

Coach Robert Sleaford said his players were thrilled to secure their playoff place.

“That (win) confirms it. I think we still could have lost that one because we beat them the first time we played them but I didn’t tell the girls that,” Sleaford said.

“It’s good to earn it. We’ve had a tough four weeks playing

some quality teams and I thought we’d played some pretty good basketball without the wins but we showed on Saturday that when we play as a team, we play well.”

The Seahawks worked hard to earn promotion to the QBL to give a pathway to players on the northern Coast to the NBL and WNBL.

Casey Samuels was the standout with 36 points and 13 rebounds, while Emily Allen finished with 17 points and import Leeza Burdgess with 16

points and 10 rebounds.

The Seahawks men were not as good, losing 83-66 to USC and will have to win their final match of the season against Southern Districts on Saturday to ensure they do not finish with the wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, the Gold Coast Rollers also kept their slim playoff chances alive with an 88-71 win against the South West Metro Pirates.

The Rollers women lost a heartbreaker to the Pirates, going down 81-79.