Sport
9 December, 2025
Lady Blazers vanquish Braves in classic final
Saturday, December 6, 2025, will go down in Maryborough basketball infamy as the day the Maryborough Lady Blazers defeated the Bendigo Braves dynasty 97-95 in an all-time CBL North West Women’s Grand Final.
After over 39 minutes of gripping end-to-end action, the capacity crowd at Cobblebank Stadium was on the edge of their seat as the Lady Blazers and Braves were deadlocked at 95 apiece.
With time winding down, Brodie Hillier pounced on an errant Braves pass to score the go-ahead layup with less than 30 seconds left, allowing the Lady Blazers to claim their second CBL premiership, this time with a perfect record.
Maddy Egan cemented her status as one of the most influential players in Lady Blazers history by winning Finals MVP, finishing with 17 points and being the bedrock to Maryborough’s interior defence.
Egan joined Maryborough player-coach and 2025 CBL North West Women’s MVP Millie Cracknell as players to win the prestigious award, with the star guard awakening fond memories of her title-winning performance back in 2022 with a startling 34 points.
Despite winning four of the last five premierships, the Braves entered the season finale as slight underdogs following the Lady Blazers’ undefeated regular season, which included a 13-point win over the Braves just over a fortnight ago.
However, the Grand Final is an entirely different ball game, and Bendigo star Jessica Smith seemed emboldened by the occasion, scoring her team’s first 10 points to force a Maryborough timeout three minutes into the contest.
With her team clearly unsettled by Smith’s smoking start, Cracknell took it upon herself to ensure the Lady Blazers didn’t immediately flame out, reaching double-digit points with a floater that drew Maryborough level halfway into the first period.
Neither team failed to give an inch for the remainder of the term, with Maggie Tranter containing the impact of Smith while Azalea Wighton produced some spectacular defensive plays.
Cracknell finished the first period with 12 points and Egan provided a much-needed jolt off the bench with five points, including a punctuating and-one.
As the second quarter began with the teams tied at 21-21, the Braves’ defence strangled the Lady Blazers to one field goal and six turnovers from their first 15 possessions of the term.
Despite Maryborough playing some excellent defence themselves, an Amelia Grist bucket in the paint put the Braves up 12, as the reigning premiers threatened to generate a substantial margin.
Maryborough’s silver lining to Bendigo’s 15-3 run to open the second term was that their opponents quickly found themselves in serious foul trouble, with six fouls in as many minutes.
With the Braves forced to defend with caution and Smith on the bench with three fouls, the Lady Blazers chipped away at the lead thanks to timely makes from Wighton and Egan.
Mistakes from Bendigo’s offence allowed Egan to give Maryborough the lead with a tough finish through a foul. Egan’s make was the high point of a Lady Blazers 12-2 run to end the quarter, as Maryborough entered half time up by four.
The Braves reverted to basics to open the third quarter to tremendous effect. Ciarah McDermott and Smith routinely attacked the Lady Blazers as they quickly wiped out Bendigo’s half time deficit.
Despite relinquishing their slim lead, Maryborough’s fearless attack on the heart of their opponents’ defence kept the game in the balance, routinely drawing fouls at the rim, which led to eight consecutive points at the free throw line.
Four of those points came from semi-final hero Aislinn McCarthy, who found some confidence during the third term after being held to six points in the first half.
With a Hillier jumper drawing Maryborough within a point with less than a minute left in the third, the Lady Blazers suddenly produced a passage of magic.
First, a Brandy Santon steal led to a tough Wighton finish, assisted by McCarthy to give Maryborough the lead.
After a defensive stop, McCarthy drove from a pick and roll and finished on the reverse, then swiped the ball from the inbound and hit a long two at the buzzer to send the travelling Maryborough supporters into a frenzy.
In the blink of an eye, the Lady Blazers held a five-point lead heading into the final quarter, in touching distance of ultimate glory.
As both teams threw haymakers to begin the fourth period, it looked like Maryborough would deliver when it counted, with a Cracknell strip steal and a sweet assist from Hillier for a McCarthy two giving them a 10-point lead with less than three minutes to play.
After some offensive struggles, particularly with three-ball, Hillier stepped up massively for the Lady Blazers in crunch time, combining some instrumental defensive efforts with clutch buckets driving into the paint.
Egan was also making a difference on both sides of the floor, as Maryborough looked poised to take the flag.
With their final roll of the dice, the Braves turned to Smith, who scored her team’s subsequent five points to keep Bendigo alive as Maryborough’s offence hit a dry spell.
Back-to-back threes from Jessie Rennie and Smith suddenly drew the Braves level, with the Lady Blazers calling a timeout with less than a minute to play and the score at 95-95.
Following a Hillier turnover, the Lady Blazers forced a bad pass from the ensuing Braves possession, giving Hillier a chance to redeem herself with a left-handed finish on the fast break.
The stadium held its breath as Hillier’s layup swirled around the basket for what seemed like an eternity before eventually dropping in to give Maryborough a two-point lead.
Smith’s desperation three on the next possession caught nothing but air, and despite a pair of free throw misses from McCarthy, Bendigo only had time for a three-quarter court heave that fell short, giving the Lady Blazers a stunning premiership victory.
McCarthy ended a memorable finals series with 22 points in the Grand Final, while Hillier ended a sensational final term with a game total of 12 points.
Santon and Tranter were tireless on defence throughout the match, well supported by Wighton, who also scored 10 points in an impactful performance.
