WNBL Review - Round 11

The Canberra Capitals are showing their fans that they have what it takes to be finals contenders in the 2005/06 Price Attack Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season, as they leapt over Bulleen Melbourne on the ladder this week with an emphatic win over the AIS and a close one over Townsville.

Canberra’s week started early, with their annual match up against the AIS at the National Schools Basketball Tournament in Albury on Thursday night.

Canberra lost Alana Beard last week, and were playing their first match in eight without the 23-year-old WNBA All-Star. Lauren Jackson is still injured and watched from the sideline as her team took an emphatic 72-46 win.

Jenny Whittle was best with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Kellie Abrams had 13 points to back her up.

For the students, Mikaela Dombkins had 11 points and two steals, while Abby Bishop had nine points and three assists.

The Capitals second match of the round saw them travel to Townsville to take on the Fire on Friday night.

The Capitals staved off a dogged Townsville comeback to post a nail-bitting 53-51 victory. The Fire were trailing 24-9 at the first break, before turning on a determined fight to the finish, winning the next three quarters before falling frustratingly short of the crucial win.

After a very quiet night against the AIS, Tully Bevilaqua came out firing in this match, posting an uncommon top score of 19 points for her team, including three three-pointers. Jenny Whittle had 13 points and eight rebounds.

Jennifer Crouse was again powerful under the basket with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, but it wasn’t enough to get her team their seventh win of the season.

Friday night’s ABC-TV Game of the Week saw Sydney Uni travel to Perth for a tough assignment against a rapidly improving team.

The Flames came out firing and got out to a 24-12 lead in the first quarter before running away with an 80-53 win.

Natalie Porter and Belinda Snell were determined to see their team on the right end of the scoreline, and went to work putting the ball through the hoop. Porter finished the match with 21 points, and Snell with 20.

Deanna Smith had 17 points for the Drug Free Lynx, and Katharine Hanks had nine, but there wasn’t enough support from their teammates to really challenge the 2005 grand finalists.

The Dandenong Rangers used an 18-2 run to secure the inaugural Michelle Timms’ Cup on Saturday night, defeating the Bulleen Melbourne Boomers 56-39.

A massive crowd was on hand to witness a match, that despite the disappointing scoreline, was a classic game of women’s basketball.

Asides from contesting the second game of the Michelle Timms’ Cup, Dandenong were playing for a bit of breathing space at the top of the table, while Bulleen Melbourne were looking to help Sharin Milner celebrate her 100th WNBL match in style.

Dandenong have now taken the best-of-three series for the 2005/06 season, and have won 12 of their last 13 encounters with their cross-town rivals.

Bulleen Melbourne slip from second place on the ladder with this loss and will need to defeat Canberra in the final round before Christmas to regain that spot.

Dandenong’s Jacinta Hamilton was best for her team with 16 points and nine rebounds. Emma Randall and Sam Richards had nine points apiece and Richards had nine rebounds.

Allison Tranquilli tried valiantly for her team, finishing with a team-high 11 points.

The final match of the round saw Sydney Uni return to Adelaide’s home court at Wayville, the place of their spiteful encounter only three rounds earlier.

The athletes let the basketball do the talking in this match, and in sweltering conditions, the visiting team ran out victors, 89-83.

Trish Fallon top scored with 24 points along with eight rebounds, and she was supported by Belinda Snell with 19 points and 10 rebounds, as well as Narelle Lindsay with 13 points.

The home side was led in scoring by Jenni Screen with 27, Laura Summerton 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Erin Phillips with 14 (7 rebounds, 8 assists).

Deanna Smith is back on top of the scoring table with 21.7 points per game, with Bulleen Melbourne’s Katrina Hibbert close behind on 20.9. Jacinta Hamilton is third on 18.7 points. Back from an illness which keep her off the court last week, Adelaide’s Laura Summerton is out in front of the rebounding tally with 10.2, followed closely by Hollie Grima with 9.4.

Townsville’s Jennifer Crouse is third on 9.0. Erin Phillips is still leading the assist tally with 5.1 per game, ahead of Belinda Snell and Emily McInerny on 4.2 and 4.1 per game.

Dandenong lead the League with 11 wins and two losses, and Canberra have moved ahead of Bulleen Melbourne to take second position with 11 wins and three losses. Adelaide round out the top four with eight wins and seven losses. Townsville are just holding onto fifth place from Sydney Uni who are behind only on points percentage and Perth are in seventh and the AIS eighth.

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