Logan Thunder has claimed victory in the 2025 NBL1 North Women’s Championship in a nail-biting performance against the Southern District Spartans.
Three games, over the 15, 16, and 17 August, decided who would be crowned state champions of the semi-professional Queensland Basketball League and progress to the upcoming national championships.
The first of three state final games ended in a disappointing loss for the Logan Thunder team. General Manager Mitchell Young said the team knew it wasn’t their best.
“Game one wasn’t us, we just had a really off night and knew that we were going to play better in the second game,” he said.
“The group was disappointed in how they played, but the second game was much more like us.”
Logan Thunder had met their finals opponent, the Southern District Spartans, in round one of the NBL1 league earlier this year in May. Both teams went on to play an undefeated season, sitting at the top of the leader board.
“When we met again in the finals, it was always going to be a close game, and it was physical, it was really competitive,” Mr Young said.
“Different players stepped up, including some of our younger players who have come through the Thunder pathway. They had some pretty big contributions in the fourth quarter and in overtime.
“Game three was a high-quality game of the series. Our women’s team hung tough, they got it done, and won the league.”
The final state championship game was played in Carina on the Spartans’ home court, but Mr Young said Logan locals turned up in huge numbers to support their team.
“We played over at Carina, but our fans were probably four to one in there, in support of Logan Thunder,” he said.
“The players put in a lot of work and a lot of time to prepare, and it was huge for our fans and our members and our community.”
This weekend, 29 to 31 August, Logan Thunder’s NBL1 Women’s team will meet the Western Australian final victors in the national championship games, which will be held in Canberra.
Mr Young said training for the team would be business as usual between now and the national games.
“Logan Thunder has never been to a senior nationals, we’ve never had our senior team go to the national final. So it’s a first for the association and the Thunder family, which is really cool.
Mr Young said the team’s progress and success reflect the growth of basketball in Logan and, in particular, women’s basketball.
“Over the last five to 10 years, we’ve gone from a medium-sized association to one of the best and strongest in Queensland, and we’re getting that recognition on the national stage,” he said.
“We’ve got the strongest women’s program in Queensland. We’ve won the under-14 girls, the under-16 girls, and the under-18 girls state championships in the junior programs.
“All of our junior female talent is coming through to the senior team, which is also really strong. It’ll be really cool to represent Logan on the national stage.”
