With new import Erron Maxey in tow and fresh off of a thrilling win, the Gold Coast Blaze will visit the Cairns Taipans tonight to kick off Round 3 of the 2009-2010 NBL season.
Departing import Michael Joiner top scored for the Blaze in their victory over Wollongong last Friday so the team will be looking for "quick gel" with Maxey in the lineup.
Cairns will be looking to make it three wins in a row after disposing of Perth last Saturday night.
Going into Cairns is always a tough ask, more so with a new addition to the team so I will take the Snakes to grab another home win by 6 points or less.
07 October 2009
NBL Round 2 Wrap continued....
Perth ran out of puff Saturday night in their quest to sweep the "NQ" double falling to the Cairns Taipans by a score of 89-71. The Wildcats seemed to be on the verge of breaking the game open early in the second quarter leading 37-29 but were doomed when team spark plug Shawn Redhage picked up his third foul. From there the Snakes went on a 16-6 run over the next few minutes. halftime saw Cairns leading 48-43 and looking to consolidate.
The third quarter was a nip and tuck affair before a monster dunk by Rich Melzer sparked the crowd. From there Dusty Rychart scored a quick basket and Perth's Brad Robbins was called for and offensive foul along with a technical foul. Phill Jones turned the blunder to points and the Cairns crew led 70-55 heading into the fourth. The Taipans were never headed in the fourth in route to the win.
Melzer finished the night with totals of 23 points/7 rebounds while Rychart fired in 18 points to go with his 7 boards. Phill Jones with 12 points and Gary Boodnikoff with 11 points also scored in double figures for the Taipans.
Kevin Lish led Perth with 14 points.Luke Schenscher scored 13, Shawn Redhage was held to 12 points/five rebounds and young gun Steven Weigh finished with 11 points in the Wilcat loss.
In Adelaide, the New Zealand Breakers fought hard but were overcome by another poor shooting performance in going down 80-76 to the 36ers.
The 36ers were emotionally charged from the start with Bret Maher's #5 being retired in a pre match ceremony. They led at every change and survived for the close win.
Adam Ballinger's 22 points topped the score sheet for the 'Sixers with support from John Gilchrist 17 points/7 rebounds, Brad Hill (13 points) and Cortez Groves (10 points/5 rebounds).
Kirk Penney and Rick Rickert scored 18 points apiece for the Breakers with Awvee Storey chipping in 11. Rickert also grabbed 8 rebounds while Storey and Thomas Abercrombie snared 7 rebounds each in the second loss of the season for the Breakers.
Prediction wise, I had a perfect 0 right, 5 wrong week!! But at least I picked the Storm in the NRL!!!
The third quarter was a nip and tuck affair before a monster dunk by Rich Melzer sparked the crowd. From there Dusty Rychart scored a quick basket and Perth's Brad Robbins was called for and offensive foul along with a technical foul. Phill Jones turned the blunder to points and the Cairns crew led 70-55 heading into the fourth. The Taipans were never headed in the fourth in route to the win.
Melzer finished the night with totals of 23 points/7 rebounds while Rychart fired in 18 points to go with his 7 boards. Phill Jones with 12 points and Gary Boodnikoff with 11 points also scored in double figures for the Taipans.
Kevin Lish led Perth with 14 points.Luke Schenscher scored 13, Shawn Redhage was held to 12 points/five rebounds and young gun Steven Weigh finished with 11 points in the Wilcat loss.
In Adelaide, the New Zealand Breakers fought hard but were overcome by another poor shooting performance in going down 80-76 to the 36ers.
The 36ers were emotionally charged from the start with Bret Maher's #5 being retired in a pre match ceremony. They led at every change and survived for the close win.
Adam Ballinger's 22 points topped the score sheet for the 'Sixers with support from John Gilchrist 17 points/7 rebounds, Brad Hill (13 points) and Cortez Groves (10 points/5 rebounds).
Kirk Penney and Rick Rickert scored 18 points apiece for the Breakers with Awvee Storey chipping in 11. Rickert also grabbed 8 rebounds while Storey and Thomas Abercrombie snared 7 rebounds each in the second loss of the season for the Breakers.
Prediction wise, I had a perfect 0 right, 5 wrong week!! But at least I picked the Storm in the NRL!!!
Boomer named WNBL Player of the week for Week 1
From press release supplied by: www.basketball.net.au
OPAL PENALUNA NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bulleen Boomers centre Elyse Penaluna has been named Player of the Week for her match winning performance against Canberra in the opening round of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).
The 193cm Broadmeadows junior tallied a game high 13 rebounds and led Bulleen with 22 points and four blocks in the 88-73 win over the Capitals in a rematch of the 2008/09 Grand Final.
Penaluna made her Opals debut in May this year and her time at the top level showed on the court as she dominated both ends of the floor in the ABC TV Game of the Week.
“I thought I started off a bit slow, a bit nervous because it was the first game but as the game went on I got a bit more confidence and my teammates had more confidence in me to pass me the ball and I just went out and had some fun,” Penaluna said.
Despite the shaky start Penaluna said she has grown in confidence since last season.
“I definitely feel like I have more confidence in my game and with what I need to get done on the floor,” she said.
“[Former head coach] Cheryl Chambers helped me with that a lot last year but now having Tom Maher as Bulleen’s coach and being in the Opals with Carrie Graf I’ve just jumped up the next level with my confidence in the game.”
Although Penaluna and her Bulleen team were impressive on Saturday, the 21-year-old said the 15-point win could not make up for the 2008/09 Grand Final loss to the Caps.
“Nothing’s going to feel any better than getting into the Grand Final and winning it. Hopefully we’ll meet them in the Grand Final again this season and we go that one better.”
Close behind Penaluna in the vote was her Opals teammate Jessica Foley who led Adelaide Lightning over early championship favourite Sydney Uni, 86-73.
The Adelaide Captain had a near flawless game with 25 points, shooting 11-of-20 from the field, including 3-of-6 from the arc. She added seven rebounds and four assists without committing a single turnover.
Other noteworthy performances from Round 1 included:
AIS: Former Townsville Fire guard Jillian Haughton led the Institute in both outings, posting 8 points and 3 assists against Logan to go with 11 points and 2 rebounds against her former club.
Adelaide Lightning: Angela Marino supported Foley and Adelaide’s team effort with 15 points and 8 assists.
Bendigo Spirit: Fresh off a plane from the WNBA playoffs, Kristi Harrower led Bendigo with 23 points and 6 rebounds while Kelly Wilson added 20 points and 8 rebounds in support.
Bulleen Boomers: Hanna Zavecz shot 7-of-9 from the field to post 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in her club debut.
Canberra Capitals: After making her Opals debut earlier this year Natalie Hurst continued her sparkling form with 25 points to lead all scorers against Bulleen, shooting 10-of-17 from the field. She added 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Dandenong Rangers: Great Britain international Megan Moody impressed on debut with 18 points and 7 rebounds for the Rangers.
Logan Thunder: New import Marta Dydek delivered the goods with 17 points and 3 blocks in her WNBL debut.
Perth Lynx: American Takia Starks posted a team high 15 points, adding 5 assists and 3 rebounds while former Bendigo junior Ashley Gilmore bagged a double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Sydney Uni Flames: Opals centre Suzy Batkovic-Brown went for 29 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists against Adelaide in her first WNBL appearance in 7 years. Captain Natalie Porter tallied 17 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals against Perth before pouring on 21 points in the second half against Adelaide, also pulling down 9 rebounds.
Townsville Fire: Seven Townsville players scored in double figures with Amy Lewis leading the pack with 21 points, 2 steals and 2 assists. Rachael Flanagan added 19 points, 4 assists and 2 steals and NZ Tall Fern Aneka Davis led the rebound count with 12 boards and 12 points.
06 October 2009
NBL Wrap from Round 2
The action continued over the past weekend as the Breakers were brought crashing to reality with a Saturday night loss in Adelaide. The Perth Wildcats split their North Queensland double but in unexpected fashion with a Friday night win in Townsville and a Saturday night loss in Cairns. Friday nights other game saw the Blaze held off the Hawks on the Gold Coast.
Here are my match reports:
Blaze 84/Hawks 78
The Blaze made a furious fourth quarter comeback to overtake the Hawks in their Friday night encounter. Timely outside shots from Adam Gibson and Chris Goulding along with the hustle of Mike Vukona put the Breakers over the top in the torrid affair.
Michael Joiner, in what turned out to be his farewell outing, led the Blaze with 18 points, Ayinde Ubaka had 15 points/5 assists, James Harvey dropped in 14 points and Vukona added 10 points/13rebounds to his all in effort for the Blaze.
Twain McKee 23 points/9 rebounds/6 assists was again Mr. Everything for the Hawks while Glen Saville added 16 points/9 rebounds.
Wildcats 91/Crocs 89
A fierce final quarter fight back led by Kevin Lisch erased a four point Townsville lead as the Wilcats escaped with the narrow victory.
Lish scored 16 points for the night to lead a balanced Wildcat attack. Shawn Redhage 15 points/8 rebounds, Jesse Wagstaff 11 points, Martin Cattalini 11 points and Damian Martin 7 assists were other contributors to the cause for Perth.
Mike Cedar fired in 24 points to lead the Crocs with help from Corey Williams (17 points/5 assists/6 rebounds), Roland Roberts (13 points/8rebounds), and Cameron Toovey (10 points/7 rebounds).
I will finish the review of Round 2 tomorrow and have a preview of the Wednesday night match.
Here are my match reports:
Blaze 84/Hawks 78
The Blaze made a furious fourth quarter comeback to overtake the Hawks in their Friday night encounter. Timely outside shots from Adam Gibson and Chris Goulding along with the hustle of Mike Vukona put the Breakers over the top in the torrid affair.
Michael Joiner, in what turned out to be his farewell outing, led the Blaze with 18 points, Ayinde Ubaka had 15 points/5 assists, James Harvey dropped in 14 points and Vukona added 10 points/13rebounds to his all in effort for the Blaze.
Twain McKee 23 points/9 rebounds/6 assists was again Mr. Everything for the Hawks while Glen Saville added 16 points/9 rebounds.
Wildcats 91/Crocs 89
A fierce final quarter fight back led by Kevin Lisch erased a four point Townsville lead as the Wilcats escaped with the narrow victory.
Lish scored 16 points for the night to lead a balanced Wildcat attack. Shawn Redhage 15 points/8 rebounds, Jesse Wagstaff 11 points, Martin Cattalini 11 points and Damian Martin 7 assists were other contributors to the cause for Perth.
Mike Cedar fired in 24 points to lead the Crocs with help from Corey Williams (17 points/5 assists/6 rebounds), Roland Roberts (13 points/8rebounds), and Cameron Toovey (10 points/7 rebounds).
I will finish the review of Round 2 tomorrow and have a preview of the Wednesday night match.
AIS finishes Double of Doom and Adelaide rips Sydney to round out first week of WNBL action
There was sport other than the NRL Grand Final happening on Sunday with two NBL matches taking place.
The AIS finished the second leg of their Queensland double with another comprehensive loss at Townsville by a score of 97-62 while in Adelaide, the Link opened their season with an 86-73 victory of the visiting Sydney Flames.
In Townsville the Fire blazed away to a 26-14 quarter time lead and were rarely bother in the win over the students. Amy Lewis covered the absence of Rohanee Cox, topping the Fire score tally with 21 points. Rachael Flanagan added 19 points with Aneka Davis (12 points/12 rebounds), Leah Rush (12 points/9 rebounds) and Rebecca Schatz (12 points) providing additional punch.
Jillian Haughton with 11 points and Tayla Roberts 10 points/9 rebounds were best on court for the students.
In Adelaide, Jess Foley (25 points) and Angela Marino (15 points) helped the Link offset 29 points by Opal Suzy Batkovic-Brown who was seeing her first WNBL action since 2002. The link used a strong second stanza to pull away to an 11 point (43-32) half time lead and stretched it to as much as 18 points (71-53) in the third term before holding on for the final margin of 86-73.
Marino added 8 assists and Foley grabbed 7 rebounds to go along with their respective scoring totals. Cayla Francis added 14 points, Mia Newley chipped in with 11 points/7 rebounds and Sam Woosnam dished out 7 assists and snared 7 boards for the Link.
Natalie Porter posted 21 points/9 rebounds and Deanna Smith put in 10 points for the Flames in the losing effort.
The AIS finished the second leg of their Queensland double with another comprehensive loss at Townsville by a score of 97-62 while in Adelaide, the Link opened their season with an 86-73 victory of the visiting Sydney Flames.
In Townsville the Fire blazed away to a 26-14 quarter time lead and were rarely bother in the win over the students. Amy Lewis covered the absence of Rohanee Cox, topping the Fire score tally with 21 points. Rachael Flanagan added 19 points with Aneka Davis (12 points/12 rebounds), Leah Rush (12 points/9 rebounds) and Rebecca Schatz (12 points) providing additional punch.
Jillian Haughton with 11 points and Tayla Roberts 10 points/9 rebounds were best on court for the students.
In Adelaide, Jess Foley (25 points) and Angela Marino (15 points) helped the Link offset 29 points by Opal Suzy Batkovic-Brown who was seeing her first WNBL action since 2002. The link used a strong second stanza to pull away to an 11 point (43-32) half time lead and stretched it to as much as 18 points (71-53) in the third term before holding on for the final margin of 86-73.
Marino added 8 assists and Foley grabbed 7 rebounds to go along with their respective scoring totals. Cayla Francis added 14 points, Mia Newley chipped in with 11 points/7 rebounds and Sam Woosnam dished out 7 assists and snared 7 boards for the Link.
Natalie Porter posted 21 points/9 rebounds and Deanna Smith put in 10 points for the Flames in the losing effort.
04 October 2009
The rest of the WNBL wrap thus far.
Here are match reports from the rest of the WNBL weekend with todays Adelaide Link/ Sydney Flames match yet to come.
Match reports courtesy of: wnbl.com.au
Bendigo/Dandenong
Match reports courtesy of: wnbl.com.au
Bendigo/Dandenong
Kristi's return lifts Bendigo over Dandenong
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)
Courtesy of David MacRae for www.lmsc.com.au
Bulleen strong in Opening round of WNBL
The Bulleen Boomers have put themselves near the top of the heap as the team to beat in the WNBL this season. The Boomers easily accounted for defending champions Canberra 88-73 in Saturday afternoons feature match of the round.
Size was a huge advantage for Bulleen in the form of Opals Elyse Penaluna and Elizabeth Cambage. The two combined to dominate from the inside and limited the effect of the Capitals centre Tracey Beatty who fouled out of the match and had a total of only ten minutes court time.
The win gained a measure of revenge for Bulleen after last seasons title game loss to the Canberra crew.
Penaluna led the Boomers with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Cambage added another 4 blocks to go with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Hanna Zavecz 19 points/9 rebounds, Sharin Milner 12 points/9 assists and Jenna O'hea 9 points/7 rebounds were also key contributors to the victory.
For Canberra, Natalie Hurst popped in 25 points with support from Jessica Bibby who provided 15 points. Marianna Tolo battled gallantly on the inside and finished with 6 points and 7 rebounds to go with her 7 points.
Size was a huge advantage for Bulleen in the form of Opals Elyse Penaluna and Elizabeth Cambage. The two combined to dominate from the inside and limited the effect of the Capitals centre Tracey Beatty who fouled out of the match and had a total of only ten minutes court time.
The win gained a measure of revenge for Bulleen after last seasons title game loss to the Canberra crew.
Penaluna led the Boomers with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Cambage added another 4 blocks to go with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Hanna Zavecz 19 points/9 rebounds, Sharin Milner 12 points/9 assists and Jenna O'hea 9 points/7 rebounds were also key contributors to the victory.
For Canberra, Natalie Hurst popped in 25 points with support from Jessica Bibby who provided 15 points. Marianna Tolo battled gallantly on the inside and finished with 6 points and 7 rebounds to go with her 7 points.
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