The final round of 2011 saw the Canberra Capitals and Townsville Fire finish Round 11 on a high, while the Thunder, Rangers and Boomers will be looking for redemption when 2012 action begins.
The Capitals recorded wins over the AIS and Bulleen, while the Fire defeated Logan and Sydney Uni on the road this weekend.
Bendigo finished their year on a positive note against the Rangers, while the Lightning rolled on overcoming the Waves with ease.
Here’s a closer look at how the weekend panned out:
Capitals battle back to beat AIS
The Canberra Capitals turned a five-point three quarter-time deficit into an 87-69 victory against the AIS in Canberra on Wednesday night.
Trailing 58-53 heading into the final term, the Capitals outscored the youngsters from the AIS 34-11, overrunning them to comfortably record their fifth win of the season.
Centre Marianna Tolo led the way for the victors, connecting on nine of her 13 field goal attempts to finish with 21 points, while captain Jess Bibby added 17 points and point guard Nicole Hunt scored 15 points to go along with ten assists.
Casey Samuels led the way for the AIS with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Carley Mijovic added 14 points and Sara Blicavs scored seven points, to go along with nine rebounds and four assists.
Boomers claim season-sweep over Rangers
The Bulleen Boomers have claimed a season-sweep of cross-town rival the Dandenong Rangers with an 86-76 victory at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Friday night.
Liz Cambage led the victorious Boomers with 23 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks, while Alice Kunek added 20 points and eight rebounds, and Samantha Richards 18 points and five assists.
Dandenong were led by Steph Cumming with 18 points, along with import centre Krista Phillips 15 points and veteran Alison Downie’s 13 points.
Townsville defeat Logan in battle of the Queensland sides
A 26 point halftime lead helped ensure the Townsville Fire held on for a 69-61 victory against the Logan Thunder in Logan on Friday night.
A Cayla Francis basket made the scores 59-60 midway through the final term, but that was as close as the Thunder came to taking a lead, with Townsville closing the game out strongly to win by eight points.
Micaela Cocks and Shanavia Dowdell each scored 15 points for the victorious visitors, with Dowdell also adding ten rebounds.
Cayla Francis led all scorers in the contest with 20 points, to go along with 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, while Renae Camino was the only other Thunder player to register double figures with 15 points.
Townsville Fire burn the Flames in Sydney
The Townsville Fire have rounded out 2011 with their second road-victory in as many nights, accounting for the Sydney Uni Flames, 85-79 in Sydney on Saturday night.
Despite trailing by 12 points after one quarter, the Fire were able to rebound and register their tenth win of the year.
Shanavia Dowdell led the victorious Fire with 26 points, connecting on an outstanding 10 of her 11 field goal attempts, to go along with 13 rebounds, while Jess Foley added 17 points and captain Rachael Flanagan finished with 14 points.
Sydney Uni were led by 34 points, on 15 made field goals, from import Amy Denson, while Lauren King and Alicia Poto each finished with 15 points.
Bendigo Spirit shoot down the Rangers
The Bendigo Spirit connected on 16 three-point baskets on their way to a near-perfect offensive performance against the Dandenong Rangers, defeating their visiting Victorian rivals, 92-63 on Saturday night in Bendigo.
Tess Madgen top-scored for the victors with 28 points, connecting on 60 per cent of her field goal attempts, including four from long range.
But it was guard Kelly Wilson, connecting on an amazing seven of eight three-point attempts, that stole the show, and finished with 25 points.
It was a quiet night for the Rangers offensively, unable to recover from a match against the Bulleen Boomers 24 hours earlier.
Krista Phillips top-scored with 12 points, to go along with nine rebounds, while Kathleen MacLeod added ten points, six rebounds and five assists.
Adelaide Lightning strike down the Waves
A 21-9 second term scoring output by the Adelaide Lightning has helped them set up a 78-57 victory against the West Coast Waves at the WA Basketball centre on Saturday night.
The ladder-leading Lightning were led by Suzy Batkovic, who had 15 points and ten rebounds at halftime, before finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds for the contest.
Abby Bishop and Angela Marino also finished with 15 points apiece for the victors, who took their season record to 11-2.
The Waves were led on the scoreboard by 12 points from captain Melissa Marsh, while Rohanee Cox contributed a double-double of 11 points, ten rebounds, to go along with five assists and three steals.
Capitals keep finals hopes alive with win over Boomers
The Canberra Capitals have kept their slim finals hopes alive with a come-from-behind victory against the Bulleen Boomers, 85-78 in Canberra on Sunday.
Marianna Tolo led the way for the victorious Capitals with 22 points, ten rebounds and five blocks, while Brigitte Ardossi added a double-double of her own with 18 points and ten rebounds.
Bulleen were led by Liz Cambage’s 21 points, nine rebounds and six blocks, while Sam Richards added 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Rachel Jarry also added a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Boomers, who finished their weekend with a record of 1-1.
Trailing by 11 points at the half, 32-43, the Capitals rallied back to take a 58-56 lead heading into the final term.
With scores level at 58 apiece early in the final term, the Capitals, led by Marianna Tolo and Brigitte Ardossi, went on a 14-1 run to brings scores to 72-59, at set up their upset victory.
At a glance:
Canberra Capitals 87 (Marianna Tolo 21, Jess Bibby 17, Nicole Hunt 15) defeated AIS 69 (Casey Samuels 19, Carley Mijovic 14, Sara Blicavs 7)
Bulleen Boomers 86 (Liz Cambage 23, Alice Kunek 20, Samantha Richards 18) defeated Dandenong Rangers 76 (Steph Cumming 18, Krista Phillips 15, Alison Downie 13)
Townsville Fire 69 (Shanavia Dowdell 15, Micaela Cocks 15, Jess Foley 14) defeated Logan Thunder 61 (Cayla Francis 20, Renae Camino 15, Emma Randall 7)
Townsville Fire 85 (Shanavia Dowdell 26, Jess Foley 17, Rachael Flanagan 14) defeated Sydney Uni Flames 79 (Amy Denson 34, Lauren King 15, Alicia Poto 15)
Bendigo Spirit 92 (Tess Madgen 28, Kelly Wilson 25, Deanna Smith 14) defeated Dandenong Rangers 63 (Krista Phillips 12, Kathleen MacLeod 10)
Adelaide Lightning 78 (Suzy Batkovic 20, Abby Bishop 15, Angela Marino 15) defeated West Coast Waves 57 (Melissa Marsh 12, Rohanee Cox 11, Nikita-Lee Martin 9)
Canberra Capitals 85 (Marianna Tolo 22, Brigitte Ardossi 18, Nicole Hunt 14) defeated Bulleen Boomers 78 (Liz Cambage 21, Sam Richards 21, Rachel Jarry 18)
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