GRAND FINAL PREVIEW: GAME 2
By Liam Ellison.
Adelaide Lightning (13-8) vs UC Capitals (16-5)
When: 6.30pm (ACDT), Wednesday 13 February
Where: Titanium Security Arena
Broadcast: Fox Sports Channel 505
GAME ONE STORY:
It only took ten minutes for the UC Capitals to tear the game wide open in Game 1 on Saturday night. Their three-point shooting prowess proved too much for the Lynx in the Semi-Finals and even with Canberra only hitting nine three’s on Saturday, it took a 30-13 second period to swing the game in the Caps’ favour.
Trailing by seven to start the second period, the home side fought their way back to take the lead from the Lightning before back-to-back triple’s from Kia Nurse and Kelly Wilson nearly lifted the roof off the AIS Arena as all of a sudden, they owned a ten-point edge at the main break.
From there, the Capitals remained in control before four final quarter triples saw them run out comfortable 88-67 winners.
For Adelaide, Lauren Nicholson (21 points) was fantastic while Nia Coffey had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
ADJUSTMENTS:
Heading home to Adelaide, the Lightning will be confident they can even the series as they have won both home games against the Caps during the regular season.
However, with the Capitals ability to blow open a contest in such a short space of time, Adelaide will need to clamp down defensively to stop their three-point barrage while the pick-and-roll game between Leilani Mitchell, Kelly Wilson and Marianna Tolo also caused concern in Game 1.
As the Lightning look to turn the series, they will need Kayla Alexander to avoid foul trouble as she is the only player with the size to contain Tolo while Coffey will also play an integral role in the rebound battle which Adelaide lost 41-50 last Saturday night.
THE STATS:
-One more win for the UC Capitals would mean they finish the 2018/19 season on a 13-game winning streak.
-Since November 16th, the Adelaide Lightning have lost just one game at home (Melbourne in Round 14).
–Kia Nurse is averaging six three’s and 27 points per game in the finals.
-The UC Capitals haven’t scored below 80 points in a game since November 23rd
-The UC Capitals have shot the three-ball at a 47% clip throughout the finals.
OVERALL:
The UC Capitals offensive firepower makes them extremely hard to stop and their starting five all pose problems for Adelaide in trying to limit their output at that end of the floor.
Alexander looks like a solid match-up for Tolo though and Nicholson has proven herself as one of the best defenders in the league this season while Nicole Seekamp’s form was down in Game 1 and she is likely to bounce back at home where the Lightning have proven to be a force.
If Coffey is then able to match Griffin, Adelaide have a real chance to force Game 3 but if it the game turns into another shoot-out, the Caps will take advantage with their efforts from three-point range proving unstoppable so far in the post-season.
Proving themselves against the odds throughout 2018/19, this game looms as the perfect chance for Adelaide to once again show their resolve.