Boom win over the Caps
The Deakin Melbourne Boomers added a scalp to their collection when they accounted for the red-hot UC Capitals, 73-67, in Townsville on Tuesday night.
Following a 17-point defeat a fortnight ago, the Boomers turned the tables on the reigning dual champs and ended the Caps’ seven-game Chemist Warehouse WNBL winning streak.
The Boomers led from the outset and were paced by guard Maddie Garrick (19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist) in her standout game of #WNBL20.
Ezi Magbegor registered an 18 point, 13 rebound double-double, Tess Madgen (14 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) produced a solid all-round game with co-captain Cayla George adding 10 points of her own.
Magbegor said after a break in the schedule the win was a great way to kick start a gruelling five games in eight days for the Boomers.
“It’s not every day that teams get a seven-day break and I think we definitely used that to our advantage. We came in knowing Canberra had one on us earlier in the season, so we just came out and played our game and it’s great to get the win,’’ she said.
“We are obviously rested after the week off and going into this last little stretch of the season we want to be aggressive and obviously we needed to win this game. Whenever we play Canberra it’s always competitive and the energy is always there, I’m just grateful I was able to help my team today.”
Kelsey Griffin (16 points, 6 rebounds) top scored for the Capitals and said her team’s performance “was a reflection of how we practised”.
“We were a bit erratic and didn’t really get through our offenses and we played at a really high tempo. I don’t know if that’s necessarily to our strength, so it’ll be good to watch the film, look at what Melbourne made us do. They made us uncomfortable and get out of our plays, so we need to be able to control that especially if we want to go deep into finals,’’ she said.
“It’s always a great battle against Melbourne and they’re a team that really prides themselves on defence, as do we, so we know it’s always going to be a physical battle. It’s become a really great rivalry over the years, and we enjoy playing them because of that because it’s high quality basketball.”
The Boomers now travel to Cairns ahead of a Thursday-night clash with the Brydens Sydney Uni Flames while the Caps take face the Adelaide Lightning on Friday night.
Megan Hustwaite is a freelance journalist for WNBL.com.au
Deakin Melbourne Boomers 73 (Garrick 19, Magbegor 18, Madgen 14)
UC Capitals 67 (Griffin 16, Rocci 11, Smart 10)