A MASSIVE performance from star big Mikaela Ruef was enough to see the Logan Thunder claim an impressive road win over the Ipswich Force in the NBL1 North Women’s on the weekend.

The two sides locked horns at JBS Stadium on Saturday evening, with the Thunder coming into the match as the favoured side. Logan has been strong to start the season and is a real chance of contending for the championship if early season form is anything to go off. On the other hand, the Force have shown solid patches of play, but have not been able to string it together to create any sort of momentum.

After a tightly contested battle in the first three quarters, the home side had given themselves every chance to claim an upset victory, keeping within five points at the final change of play. The defence from both sides looked at its best in the third quarter, but the Thunder broke the shackles in the final period, outscoring the opposition 24-17 en route to an 83-71 win, which was their seventh of the season.

The presence of Ruef was an immense factor in Logan securing the victory, as she produced one of the most dominant double-doubles seen in the 2023 season.

Ipswich Force (71) def. by Logan Thunder (83)

Mikaela Ruef – 28 points, 25 rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block

Ruef’s numbers are an accurate portrayal of how impactful her presence was, and how unstoppable she proved to be, particularly in the paint.

Although it was a balanced scoring performance from Logan’s lineup (all five starters registered double-digits in this area), no player poured in more points than Ruef with 28. The team looked to get the ball to her in and around the low block, where she was able to back down and get into a scoring position.

All 10 of her made field goals came from two-point territory, and although she tried her hand at a few long range shots, all five were wayward, further demonstrating she is at her best when getting the ball inside and punishing the interior defence.

On the glass, Ruef was just about unstoppable, pulling down a whopping 25 rebounds, which is clearly a game-high total as well. A remarkable 10 of these came on the offensive end, which in turn helped to keep her points total clicking over as she made the most of her opportunity with plenty of second-chance points. Ruef’s work on the glass is unmatched in the competition, and she punished the opposition for not getting enough body on early.

It was an emphatic and truly match-winning performance from Ruef, who put up the strongest individual outing in Round 9 of the NBL1 North Women’s competition.