Americas
The semifinals in Brazil started on Saturday and the game was excellent. Araraquara had the lead going into the fourth quarter, but Campinas started the comeback, forcing overtime and then prevailing. The other series started on Sunday with Sampaio getting the win at Cerrado.
The finals in Chile started this week with Colegio Los Leones de Quilpue hosting the first two games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Chyna Cornwell had 21 rebounds in the opener and Sportiva Italiana got the road win, but the hosts bounced back the next day and tied the series. Cornwell grabbed another 20 rebounds on Saturday to create the possibility of clinching the championship the next day. Facing elimination, Los Leones put together a great game on Sunday to force a deciding game at home.
Australia
All of the NBL1 conferences were in action, including the South, which featured the top two teams playing. The Knox Raiders had a decisive win over the Eltham Wildcats to sit all alone in the lead. Hannah Hank finished the week with 36 points in a Bendigo Braves win after Maddison Rocci had 30 points in a Keilor Thunder win. Nikita Young dished out 16 assists in a Kilsyth Cobras win.
The top two teams in the North conference played each other with the Logan Thunder getting the win even though Brooke Basham had 30 points for the Cairns Dolphins, but the gap dropped back down to a game when they lost the next day. The most exciting game went to double-overtime as Erin Bollmann’s 31 point, 16 rebounds, 11 assist triple-double was not enough for the Sunshine Coast Phoenix after Shanique Lucas had 42 points for the Rockhampton Cyclones. Georgia Woolley finished the weekend with a 42 point game for the North Gold Coast Seahawks.
The West conference had tons of big statlines this weekend as Makenna Marisa had games of 34 and 32 points in Perry Lakes Hawks losses. Teige Morrell had 30 points in that first game for the Rockingham Flames, which she followed up with a 20 rebound effort while Delaynie Byrne had 40 points in the second game for the Goldfields Giants. The Cockburn Cougars are still firmly in the lead, getting 30 points from Jessie Edwards and a 17 point, 16 rebound, 12 assist triple-double from Daniel Raber in a win over the last place team. Sarah Mortensen had a 34 point game for the East Perth Eagles and Claire Jacobs had a 31 point game for the Mandurah Magic.
The top two teams in the East conference played with the Norths Bears remaining undefeated with a win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. They won another game even though Seehia Ridard had 30 points for the Inner West Bulls. Chantel Horvat had the most rebounds in a game with 23 for the Sydney Comets. Shyla Heal had 34 points in a win for the Bankstown Bruins. Caitlyn Jones had the highest-scoring game with 36 points for the Canberra Nationals, but Emily Lytle had 31 points to secure the win for the Albury Wodonga Bandits.
It was the final day of the regular season in the Central conference and the top two teams met while being locked into their seeding. The Sturt Sabres were looking to send a message and had the lead at home, but the West Adelaide Bearcats looked like the top seed in the fourth quarter getting ready for their bye week with a big win. The Norwood Flames won again as they sat behind them while seeding was still on the line for the last two playoff teams. The Woodville Warriors lost and finished outside of the playoffs. The South Adelaide Panthers and Forestville Eagles won to hold their seeds.
The top four teams in Big V met with the Sherbrooke Suns and McKinnon Cougars staying well ahead of the rest of the pack with wins. Haruna Inamura had 30 points in a Wyndham Wildcats loss in the middle division.
Tuesday marked the end of the regular season in North West Tasmania. Somerset sealed the top seed courtesy of a 54 point effort from Sharna Thompson in a win over Smithton. Burnie had hoped to jump above them for the psychological edge as there was technically no impact on the playoffs, but finished in a tie with a win over last-place Wynyard, which got 22 rebounds from Kiara Stewart. The last playoff spot was on the line and Devonport got 32 points from Bekki Kalaydjiev in their win over Penguin to make sure that they will get another game at their home. Latrobe got ready for their playoff game with an easy win over Ulverstone.
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