WNBL Round 6 Review

photo credit: Ryan Wick via photopin cc

With another big and exciting week in the WNBL almost coming to a conclusion (Logan and Townsville has been postponed due to unsafe court conditions), it's time to look back at how this week's four games unfolded. And yes, if you were wondering, i'm starting off strong with my tipping, managing to correctly guess the winners of all four games.

Melbourne managed to outlast the Adelaide Lightning, finishing up with a 22 point win on their home floor. Rebecca Allen (18 points), Rebecca Cole (11 points) and Tess Madgen (10 points), all contributed to a shared scoring performance, but once again it was US import Chelsea Poppins who stole the show for the Boomers. Going head to toe with Adelaide superstar Laura Hodges, Chelsea kept her cool, with 23 points and 5 rebounds off 58% shooting.

Adelaide had the better of starts, starting 10-4 up, but a 24-8 streak in favour of Melbourne pushed the game out to 15 points at half time. The Lightning got back to within 9 in the 3rd quarter through the strong presence inside of Laura Hodges, but without another teammate to step up, with the rest of her team shooting at 29.5% for the game, Melbourne used Adelaide's poor shooting night to give them a 16 point lead at the final break. The 22 point win sees Melbourne fly to 6-1, with Adelaide dropping to an even record of 4-4 for the season to date.

Canberra brought their absolute A-game down to Dandenong, coming out victors by 8 points over the Rangers, handing them their second loss of the year. Natalie Hurst easily wins the player of the game, with a 31-point, 10 assist double-double coming off 63% shooting as well as 5/6 from deep stunned the passionate home crowd of 1050. Jenna O'Hea continued her MVP-caliber season, scoring 26 points to go with 7 rebounds.

After starting off terrifically in hostile territory with a 7-0 advantage, Canberra found themselves up at half-time in a offensive-orientated game, 51-47. Going into the final minutes of the game, Dandenong managed to push the Capitals lead back to only 3 points off the back of shots from Jenna O'Hea and Kayla Pederson (17 points and 12 rebounds), but the resurgent Canberra team managed to hold their lead that they had for the majority of the game through a team effort. With Abby Bishop, coming off an ankle injury scoring 22 points and 15 rebounds, she proved how vital she was to Canberra's hopes on reaching finals. Jess Bibby (18 points) and Carley Mijovic (12 points) also helped edge the scoring load.

Canberra's underdog win brings them to 3-5 on the season, while Dandenong ends up with their 2nd loss, now 6-2.

Sydney annihilated West Coast in the battle of the cellar-dwellars, beating West Coast by 37 points in the Alice Springs. West Coast struggled in all aspects of the game, only managing to shoot 27% while accumulating 23 turnovers compared to Sydney's 12 for the game. Renae Camino (16 points), Alicia Poto (15 points) and Rohanee Cox (14 points) were double-digit scorers for the Flames, with all of them making more than half their shot opportunities at the same time.

Sydney dominated from the outset, leading the Waves 26-10 at the first break through strong play from from Alicia Poto and Kathleen Scheer. West Coast outscored Sydney in the second, leading 13-11, but still found themselves trailing massively 37-21 at the main break. West Coast's terrible run of form came back to haunt them in the second half, getting destroyed by Sydney 21-4 in the quarter. Sydney once again put in a terrific defensive performance in the last, finishing with a 37 point win over the team who now finds themselves dead last on the ladder.

Sydney now moves to 2-8, while West Coast are stuck at 1-7.

Bendigo are now equal-top of the ladder with Melbourne after a 16 point win against Canberra, who was coming off a game the previous night against Dandenong. Kelsey Griffin was dominant for Bendigo, bringing in 16 points to go along with 20 rebounds (8 offensive), while Sara Blicavs had her best game for the year, notching up a game-high of 20 points. For Canberra, Nat Hurst continued her terrific form going off the previous night, leading all Capitals scorers with 19 points and 6 assists.

Bendigo looked to start quick against a fatigued Capitals squad, and they did so, starting off strong with a 13-2 run to start the game. Kelsey Griffin showed her talent in the second quarter, with a strong defensive effort leading her team to a 8 point lead at the half due to 2 late Jess Bibby 3's. Bendigo managed to run over the Capitals in the second half, going into the 4th quarter with a 14-point lead, before cruising towards their 6th win for the year with a 16 point win towards their name.

Bendigo are now 6-1 and equal 1st, while Canberra find themselves in 6th, dropping to 3-5.

Round 6 results

Melbourne Boomers 75 (Poppens 23, Allen 18, Cole 11) defeated Adelaide Lightning 53 (Hodges 25, Marino 9)

Dandenong Rangers 85 (O'Hea 26, Kunek 18, Pedersen 17) defeated by Canberra Capitals 93

West Coast Waves 38 (Garbin 8, Marsh 8, Fielding 7) defeated by Sydney Uni Flames 75 (Camino 16, Poto 15, Cox 14)

Bendigo Spirit 84 (Blivacs 20, Griffin 16, Harrower 12) defeated Canberra Capitals 68 (Hurst 19, Bibby 11, Bunton 11)

Logan Thunder vs Townsville Fire - Game cancelled due to poor weather conditions - Rescheduled for 7th December