The Bulleen Boomers continued their march towards the playoffs with a 92-50 demolition of the Dandenong Rangers. Jayco Opal Liz Cambage led Bulleen with a career high 36 points which will give her a confidence boost ahead of her match up against Lauren Jackson on Saturday.
Jackson’s Capitals remained undefeated as they easily accounted for the Perth Lynx 90-59 on Friday night, and backed up against the Adelaide Lightning, 99-72, on the road on Sunday. Guards Natalie Hurst and Jess Bibby led the way for the defending champions while Jess Foley had a standout game for the Lightning with 24 points and 13 rebounds but Adelaide must now rely on other results if they still hope to contest this season’s finals series.
The Sydney Uni Flames claimed a four-point win over fellow finals-bound Townsville Fire, 77-73, but the win has come at a cost, with dual Olympian Suzy Batkovic-Brown under an injury cloud after going down with a knee injury in the third quarter.
On Saturday the Logan Thunder hosted the AIS as local player Cassie Smith had her best game in the WNBL to top-score with 18 as the Thunder downed the AIS, 68-55, at home. The Institute now has only one game remaining to avoid finishing the season without a win, a fate teams have managed to avoid since the 2005/06 season when the AIS went 0-21.
Kristi Harrower set a new season benchmark for the league when she scored 40 points to lead the Bendigo Spirit past the Perth Lynx on Sunday, 94-67. The win lifted the Spirit back into the top five, the Victorian side must now win one of their two games next week to secure their finals berth.
At a glance:
CANBERRA TRANSACT CAPITALS 90 (Lauren Jackson 27, Abby Bishop 12, Marianna Tolo 10, Jess Bibby 10) bt GO FOR 2 AND 5 PERTH LYNX 59 (Melissa Marsh 17, Kate Malpass 15, Rebecca Mercer 9) Full Match Report
TOWNSVILLE MCCAFE FIRE 73 (Rohanee Cox 26, Amy Lewis 18, Jo Hill 14) bt ACUVUE SYDNEY UNI FLAMES 77 (Suzy Baktovic-Brown 28, Deanna Smith 16, Natalie Porter 12) Full Match Report
GLOBAL METALS BULLEEN BOOMERS 92 (Liz Cambage 36, Jenna O’Hea 19, Hanna Zavecz 10) bt DANDENONG JAYCO RANGERS 50 (Megan Moody 12, Nicole Hunt 12, Stephanie Cumming 10) Full Match Report
BDS LOGAN THUNDER 68 (Cassie Smith 18, Natalie Purcell 16, Holly Smith 13) bt AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT 55 (Tayla Roberts 16, Tess Madgen 14, Gretel Tippett 8) Full Match Report
BENDIGO BANK SPIRIT 94 (Kristi Harrower 40, Jasmine Finnigan 26, Lauren King 12) bt GO FOR 2 AND 5 PERTH LYNX 67 (Rebecca Mercer 17, Ashley Gilmore 16, Melissa Marsh 8, Samantha Norwood 8) Full Match Report
CANBERRA TRANSACT CAPITALS 99 (Jess Bibby 19, Natalie Hurst 18, Lauren Jackson 16) bt ADELAIDE LINK LIGHTNING 72 (Jess Foley 24, Cayla Francis 14, Sam Woosnam 14) Full Match Report
Photo courtesy of Melissa Sudero
