Rd 14 – Adelaide Lightning vs Melbourne Boomers

With an electrifying crowd at the Adelaide 36ers Arena, the Boomers and Lightning were in for a tough battle. Creating some huge stat lines and impressive game play, both teams displayed some impressive looking basketball.

FIRST HALF

Beginning with a bang, Boomers starting point guard, Monique Conti, finished off multiple tough plays and brought the energy on the defensive end to get her team up and running. Contributing 7-points in the first 3-minutes of the game, Conti’s efforts stood out early in the game. With Boomers offences stemming from the paint, Keely Froling and Naz Hillmon began the game strong. Creating a variety of scoring options using pick and roll, the Boomers were never far behind the Lightning.

Matching the Boomers intensity from the centre tap, the Lightning performed with patience and used numerous offensive actions to attack the paint. Working hard at both ends of the floor was Brianna Turner. Gathering rebound after rebound and creating much needed scores for the Lightning, the Boomers couldn’t find a way to stop her. As always, the Lightning’s defensive intensity was hard to miss. Star player Steph Talbot was one of the main factors to Lightning’s tough defence. Creating multiple stops for her team, the Lightning went into the halftime break with a 9-point lead.

SECOND HALF

Coming out of the break, the Boomers worked on keeping their patience in offence and created good looks at the basket. Continuing to be strong in the paint, Keely Froling and Naz Hillmon worked effectively to gather rebounds and put crucial points on the board. Froling having 16-points and 7-rebounds and Nax Hillmon collecting a double double of 18-points and 15-rebounds, these two were hard to stop. With star import Jordin Canada back on the court, her effect on the offensive end stood out. Finishing the game with 11-points and 9-assists, Canada had a huge effect on the game, closing the gap.

Even with these huge efforts from the Boomers, the Lightning fought till the very end. Sustaining her efforts from earlier in the game, Brianna Turner was something else. With a double-double of 17-points and 17-rebounds to her name, Turner was the turning point in the final term. Following suit, Steph Talbot worked hard as always and put up double-double alongside Turner. Finishing with 11-points and 13-rebound, the two led the Lightning to victory. As well as Talbot and Turner, Isobel Borlase and Lauren Mansfield were important pieces to this win. Borlase with 14-points and Mansfield with 6-assists and 6-points, the Lightning secured a 9-point win over the Boomers.

PRESS CONFERENCE

ADELAIDE LIGHTNING

Talking to Nat Hurst and Steph Talbot after their win at home, the thoughts on the game were very positive. With a good three weeks to train during the FIBA break, Nat explains she was very happy with their progress and felt confident stepping onto the court tonight.

“I was really impressed with the way the girls handled the runs the Boomers threw at us and how the team was able to stay level headed while on court”.

MELBOURNE BOOMERS

Speaking to Chris Lucas after the game, he explains during the three week FIBA break, he was happy with the Boomers and their work ethic during this period. Chris stated that there were some tired bodies after long travels from the Opals trip to Brazil and injuries that had had a major effect on tonight’s performance.

“Unfortunately the ball just wouldn’t drop for us tonight and with some tired bodies and crucial injuries, tonight just wasn’t our night”.