WNBL: Fire trump Lightning and Perth impress with 2 wins

Perth kicked off Round 7 with win against the Bendigo Spirit, who are lacking the star quality without captain Kelsey Griffin and are chasing a win. Perth’s big win saw them finish at 83 to Bendigo’s 59.

Sami Whitcomb was Perth’s best with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Whitcomb’s work was backed up by Alex Ciabattoni who also impressed with 15 points. Gabe Richards tried hard with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Bendigo.

Townsville headed to Adelaide with a plan in mind which was executed brilliantly as they finished with a 101-78 point win. There was impressive performances all round for Townsville, with no one other than Suzy Batkovic leading the way with 23 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Kelly Wilson had a big game with 9 points, 12 assists and Cayla George(16 points, 13 rebounds), Michaela Cocks (17 points), Mia Murray (14 points) and Darcee Garbin (12 points) all managed to hit double figures.

Abby Bishop tried her best for the Lightning, scoring 24 points and 13 rebounds.

The Fire showed how to execute a game plan, and their massive 27 assists show they’re a well oiled team that are all on the same page. Their 50% shooting average from the field was another impressive stat they managed to achieve.

Canberra headed to Melbourne for the inaugural ‘Maddie’s Match’ for the Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision. Liz Cambage dominated with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, leading the way for a 96-66 point win.

Maddie Garrick was also on fire and damaging with her shooting with 16 points to her name. Rebecca Cole also had a good game, managing 13 points.

There were some good signs for Canberra who are trying hard to get the monkey off their back and get their next win. Abbey Wehrung continues her good form as one of the league’s underrated players, finishing on 8 points. Mistie Bass was solid with 12 points, in charge of the tough defensive assignment on Cambage.

Bendigo put up an impressive game to turnaround their form earlier in the round when they fronted up against Dandenong. It was a close game throughout, but the Rangers managed to keep the Spirit to just 4 points in the final term, giving Dandenong an 80-70 point win.

Tessa Lavey and Steph Blicavs top scored with 19 points each, Blicavs adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to her game. Betnijah Laney (17 points) and Rachel Banham (16 points) were damaging for the Spirit, but ultimately the Rangers were able to look after the ball better. The two competing talls in Gabe Richards (14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists) and Kayla Pederson (14 points, 6 rebounds) performed well.

Perth have capped off an impressive weekend with a win over the Sydney Flames in front of their fans. It was a tight game throughout, but the Lynx were able to finish off well and complete an 83-71 point win.

Courtney Williams dominated for the Lynx with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. Alice Kunek was also good for Perth with 14 points and 5 rebounds.

Asia Taylor was Sydney’s standout performer, scoring 31 points and 9 rebounds as she continues to rack up big numbers.