A HUGE game from Mikaela Ruef was one of the biggest driving factors as the Logan Thunder downed the Ipswich Force in the NBL1 North Women’s over the weekend.

The Force were always going to be up against it given the current form with the Thunder sitting nicely in second spot on the ladder, while Ipswich had just the four wins from 14 games. The two sides clashed at  Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre on Saturday night, with the Thunder looking to close the gap between themselves and the first-placed Wizards.

The home side dominated play in the first quarter, storming out of the gates with plenty of fluidity on the offensive end as they took a double-digit lead into the first change. Although Ipswich managed to get its productivity going in the second, but could not make up any ground and still trailed significantly heading into the second half. The result of the game was essentially sealed when the Thunder held the Force to just eight points in the third quarter, and although the fourth saw a bit more fight from the visitors,, Logan still cruised to a 14-point victory.

One of the most prominent reasons the Thunder were able to perform so strongly was the impact of Ruef over the course of the match, posting some ridiculous numbers in the process.

Logan Thunder (83) def. Ipswich Force (69)

Mikaela Ruef – 31 points, 29 rebounds, five assists, two steals, one block

Ruef was extremely prominent for the winning side, posting one of the biggest double-doubles in Australian basketball for 2023.

She showed extreme confidence shooting the ball, and for good reason with 12 of her 24 shots finding the bottom of the net. Ruef does her best work close to the hoop, backing down the opposition and using her physicality to get into scoring position.

Ruef even chimed in with a trio of three-pointers, stretching her range even further to make herself an unpredictable defensive assignment. The Thunder looked to get the ball in her hands as much as possible, and were rewarded with scoreboard impact.

The most impressive part of her game was her rebounding, pulling down a whopping 29 boards and controlling the skies. 10 of these were on the offensive end, and helped create plenty more scoring opportunities. Her ability to crash the glass was a crucial part of Logan’s success, and was one of the defining factors of the match.

Ruef was by far the standout performer of the match, dominating from start to finish and showcasing why she is one of the best bigs in the competition.