A GAME-BREAKING performance from Ruby Perkins has delivered gold to New South Wales as the Blues defeated the Queensland Maroons in the 2025 Under-20 Women’s National Championship final on Sunday afternoon.

The Blues and Maroons were the two remaining teams after a week of cracking contests, with New South Wales stunning Victoria with a two-point win in the semi-finals, while Queensland knocked off South Australia in convincing fashion to advance to the decider.

The Maroons have been dominant throughout most of the tournament, so would have been confident heading into the decider, but the Blues’ defeat of Victoria showed they are capable of knocking off any side, but would need to bring plenty on both ends of the floor.

The game started in scrappy fashion, with just a combined eight points scored in the first half of the opening term. Both sides were looking to be unpredictable in their scoring methods, but could not find the bottom of the net. A 6-0 run to Queensland saw the Maroons lead by four points at quarter time in a tight start to the contest.

The Maroons began to get on top in the second quarter, with their jumpshots becoming a viable avenue to scoring as half time approached. Queensland broke away thanks to a flurry of offence midway through the term, and the Blues trailed by as much as 12 points in what loomed as a defining patch of play within the context of the match. However, some late baskets saw the Blues cut that deficit in half at the main change.

The third quarter is where Perkins broke the game open and essentially won gold for her side with a scoring explosion that came when the Blues were on the ropes. She came out of half time on fire, knocking down back to back triples to ensure the Maroons would not run away with the contest. Over a two minute and 15 second period, Perkins posted 10 points to give New South Wales the lead, and finished with 18 for the term as the Blues remarkably took a five-point buffer into the final change.

Despite losing all momentum in the third quarter, the Maroons rallied midway through the final term to tie up proceedings with four minutes on the clock thanks to a scoring burst from Alleah Hanson. However, Perkins delivered once again, producing a pull-up jumper to give New South Wales the lead once again, before icing the game with late free throws to ensure the Blues took home the gold.

The New South Wales skipper finished with a game-high 25 points alongside five rebounds and four assists, playing all 40 minutes in a match-winning performance. Her performance in the third quarter proved defining, as she dragged the Blues back into the contest when it looked as if the Maroons were about to break out to a match-winning lead.

For Queensland, captain Prasayus Notoa led from the front with a tireless effort, posting 18 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block, doing it all to put the Maroons in a winning position in the first half, and can hold her head high.