The hotly contested WNBL season is nearing a crescendo as Canberra Capitals face off against the Bendigo Spirit for a chance to play Bulleen’s Boomers for the 2010-2011 WNBL Championship on 13 March 2011. To get to this point, Bendigo disposed of the Logan Thunder 74-53 last weekend while Canberra dropped a 71-67 heartbreaker to Bulleen.
On paper, Canberra should breeze through this one after 64-53 and 87-59 romps over the Spirit in the regular season. Suzy Batkovic, Marianna Tolo and Carly Wilson have led from the front for the Capitals all season and should do so again in this game. Bendigo will need a boost from key players Tess Madgen, Kristi Harrower and Gabrielle Richards to be competitive.
The action can be viewed live from 1500 (AEST) Saturday on the ABC network.
Unfortunately this week is a busy one for me so I am not doing much original content. In the meantime, here are some of the recent happenings courtesy of: basketball.net.au.
HARROWER NAMED ROUND 2 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Opals point guard Kristi Harrower has been named the Women’s National Basketball League Player of the Week after two outstanding performances on the road in Round 2 of the competition.
Harrower led the Bendigo Spirit to one win and one loss on a two-game road trip, nearly single-handedly reigning in the Adelaide Lightning on Friday before top-scoring against the Go for 2 and 5 Perth Lynx on Sunday.
In the 76-62 loss to the Lightning Harrower led all scorers with 28 points including 3-of-6 from 3-point range and dominated all areas of the court with an equal team-best eight rebounds to go with four assists and two steals.
The 163cm guard said despite the loss Bendigo is on the way up.
“We thought that we lost the game against Adelaide in a five or six minute spurt in the second quarter and then we had to play catch up basketball for the rest of the game so it made it difficult. Against a quality team like Adelaide you can’t have those little lapses because they play too well to be able to get it back,” Harrower said.
“I think our team needs to take some positives away from the loss which is that we’ve only had two sessions together as a team. Moving forward I think there’s a lot of positives to come for the Spirit.”
Just over 24 hours later the 163cm on-court general posted 27 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals in a 85-58 victory over Perth.
Fresh from signing a two-year deal with the Spirit, where she will also fill a role as General Manager of the club, Harrower said the all-round contribution against Perth is a goal for Bendigo.
“We came out of the blocks really fast against Perth, we started really well as a team and everyone was involved straight away. We weren’t relying on one or two people to score for us,” she said.
“Everyone was doing what they had to do and it started with our defence; we played great defence in the first quarter, forced them into turnovers and we got the chance to get out and run.
“Everyone contributed in the game, we had four people in double figures and that’s what we need to have every week. There’s a lot of work to be done but we’re quite happy sitting with 2 wins and 1 loss at the moment.”
Coming off a season with the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, Harrower is re-adjusting to Australia’s elite female competition.
“I’ve been a little bit tired after the WNBA season but I feel okay when I’m out there on the floor. I feel like I need to get fitter to be able to sustain the fitness and play forty minutes.”
“There are times when I’ll get tired maybe in the second quarter; for me it’s just a matter of getting back in shape after being in America.”
Harrower and the Spirit take the floor again on Friday night when they host the Logan Thunder at Bendigo Stadium.
Opal centres Suzy Batkovic-Brown and Liz Cambage also led their teams to victory in Round 2.
Cambage top-scored with 31 points and grabbed a game high 10 rebounds to steer Bulleen over her former club, the Australian Institute of Sport, 110-40 on Saturday.
Batkovic-Brown also bagged a double-double to post game high numbers for the Sydney Uni Flames with 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 73-65 win over the Dandenong Rangers.
Other noteworthy performances from Round 2 included:
Adelaide Lightning: Sam Woosnam led the Lightning with 18 points, 11 boards, and 3 assists, captain Jessica Foley added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Cayla Francis posted 13 points and 13 rebounds. Point guard Angela Marino matched Woosnam’s tally with 18 points, adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
AIS: Alice Kunek led the AIS with 8 points and 4 assists against Bulleen.
Bendigo Spirit: Lauren King supported Harrower with 16 points and 3 rebounds against Adelaide and recovered to add 17 points and 4 rebounds against the Lynx.
Bulleen Boomers: Liz Cambage stood tall for Bulleen with a game high 31 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. Hanna Zavecz backed up from a 19-point performance in Round 1 to scored 15 points including 6-of-7 from the field, and added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. AIS graduate Rachel Jarry bagged 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Canberra Capitals: Jess Bibby led the Caps in a tough road double. She led all scorers with 23 points and 3 rebounds against Logan on Friday night, then posted 16 points and 2 rebounds against Townsville on Saturday. Tracey Beatty put in some great defensive work against the Thunder with 9 rebounds and 3 blocks before bagging 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists against Townsville.
Dandenong Rangers: AIS graduate Stephanie Cumming led the Rangers with 16 points, adding 3 boards and 3 assists. Veteran Caitlin Ryan added 15 points and 5 rebounds.
Logan Thunder: Captain Kristen Veal steered Logan on court with 11 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks.
Perth Lynx: Ashley Gilmore bagged her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, with 4 assists. 176cm guard Kate Malpass stepped up in with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Sydney Uni Flames: Opal Suzy Batkovic-Brown once again led the Flames with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals. Eva Afeaki tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Off-season recruit Deanne Butler went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to score 11 points, and also grabbed 4 rebounds to go with 4 assists and 2 steals.
Townsville Fire: Amy Lewis and Aneka Davis led Townsville’s fightback over Canberra. Lewis posted 8 points in the final four minutes to score a team high 15 points with 4 assists. Davis notched up 14 points with an equal game high 11 rebounds and 4 assists.
WNBL Player of the Week 2009/10
Round 1: Elyse Penaluna (Bulleen Boomers)
HOMICIDE WINS NBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Townsville Crocodiles’ enigmatic import Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams has taken out the National Basketball League Player of the Week award for Round 3.
For the week Williams averaged 25.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists as he helped his team to a 1-1 record on the road.
Williams came tantalisingly close to a rare triple-double (double-figures in three major statistical categories) in the opening game of the Crocs’ road trip against Adelaide, a 90-89 loss on Friday night.
Going head-to-head with 36ers import guard John Gilchrist, Homicide scored 32 points as well as adding 11 rebounds and nine assists. It took a clutch shot from Gilchrist (himself a leading contender for the weekly award after his 21-point, five-rebound, three-assist performance) to deny Williams and the Crocs the win.
Despite the heart breaker in Adelaide, Williams helped his team bounce back in style when they visited Melbourne the following night with a 103-68 walloping of the Tigers. Williams scored 19 points and added six rebounds and seven assists in the win.
The mercurial Hawks’ point guard had 20 points, six rebounds, two assists and five steals for the Hawks in their impressive 71-59 home win over the Cairns Taipans on Saturday.
New Gold Coast import Erron Maxey also received consideration after two games in Round Three. Maxey opened his NBL career with a 16-point, eight-rebound performance in his team’s 83-66 loss to Perth on Wednesday night. Against Perth on Saturday, Maxey scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds to show he will be a player to watch this season.
There were a plethora of strong performances in Round Three, and New Zealand’s CJ Bruton (32 points in a victory against Melbourne) and Perth’s Shawn Redhage (32 points in a win over Gold Coast) also staked their claims for the weekly honour.
Other leading contenders for the NBL Player of the Week in Round Three included Julien ‘Skip’ Mills (Cairns), Rick Rickert (New Zealand), Adam Ballinger (Adelaide), Luke Kendall (Melbourne).
With Kristi Harrower fresh off a plane from the WNBA playoffs, the 2008/09 WNBL All-Star led the Bendigo Bank Spirit over Victorian rival Dandenong Jayco Rangers 70-55 in their season opener on Friday night in Dandenong.
Harrower, playing with Bendigo on a short-term contract, led all scorers with 23 points, supported by Kelly Wilson with 20 points and eight rebounds. Great Britain international Megan Moody led the Rangers with 18 points and seven rebounds.
It was a nervous start to the season for both teams with defence ruling in the opening quarter as Bendigo established a three point lead at the first break, 9-6.
A 22-12 second quarter gave the Spirit some breathing space and they managed to hold off Dandenong in an otherwise close match.
Fresh Bendigo recruits Marita Payne made five blocks and posted eight points for her new team, while Canadian Chelsea Aubry grabbed seven rebounds but failed to score. Dandenong’s American import Casey Nash added nine points and eight rebounds.
While the Spirit endeavour to secure Kristi Harrower on a season-long contract, Bendigo will face Adelaide Lightning next week before Dandenong travels to Sydney to take on the Flames.
BENDIGO SPIRIT 70 (Kristi Harrower 23, Kelly Wilson 20, Louise McLean 8, Marita Payne 8) bt DANDENONG RANGERS 55 (Megan Moody 18, Alison Downie 10, Casey Nash 10)
Sydney/Perth
Sydney Uni hold off Perth
The ACUVUE Sydney Uni Flames have held off a second half onslaught from the Go for 2 & 5 Perth Lynx to record a 12-point triumph at Perry Lakes Stadium on Friday night.
Back on her old stomping ground, former Lynx MVP winner Deanna Smith top-scored for her new club in a glittering start to the new season. 2007/08 WNBL MVP Nat Porter also made a triumphant return to the league for Sydney Uni, matching Smith for 17 points. Texas A&M graduate Takia Starks posted a team high 15 points for the Lynx. In the end, the home team were left to rue a poor first term that had them playing catch-up basketball for the remainder of the night against their much more fancied opponents.
A 22-7 first quarter appeared to set the scene for what looked to be a very bad night for the home side as they struggled in both offence and defence, allowing the Flames to control the key at both ends of the court.
Not helping their cause, Perth’s field shooting looked terrible at just 11% for the first quarter, landing just one basket from within the key.
Regaining some composure in the second term, the home side managed to get their defensive zone working and finally put some pressure on the Sydney shooters, but at the half time break a big deficit still lay ahead.
Trailing by 19 points, the nervous Lynx rallied to finally settle into their grove, heavily outscoring their opposition and pegging the margin back 50 - 54 at the last change. Their charge lead by new import Takia Starks who racked up ten points for the period.
But all their good work in the third term became unravelled early in the last period. With the Flames reverting to a zone defence, the Lynx were again forced to shoot from outside the key, lacking the composure that held them together in the third term.
Managing just two baskets for the first half of the final period, the Lynx also got into foul trouble early in the quarter losing Kate Malpass and Rebecca Mercer who both racked up five personal fouls.
The veteran heads of Sydney then took over to steady the ship to eventually claim a deserved victory.
Perth now have 9 day break to lick their wounds before hosting Bendigo at Perry Lakes Sunday 17th Oct from 3:30pm while Sydney finish their road double header with a game against Adelaide this weekend.
SYDNEY UNI FLAMES 73 (Deanna Smith 17, Natalie Porter 17, Mikaela Dombkins 15) bt PERTH LYNX 61 (Takia Starks 15, Danielle Campbell 14, Melissa Marsh 11)
