THE WRAP – ROUND 13

February 6, 2023 | WNBL news

It was a record breaking round with plenty of action across all five games this week! With just three more rounds of the regular season, the race to the post-season has never been tighter!

Townsville secure crucial wins

Townsville stepped up to the plate to deliver a huge win over their WA rivals on Wednesday night. The two teams battled to hold on to their winning-streaks, with Townsville coming out on top with a 10-point win away from home.

Karlie Samuelson delivered a clutch performance, finishing the game with a massive 26 points!

In the rematch on Saturday night, the Fire backed it up again! In their seventh win in a row, Townsville held off Perth by just four points, securing their top four position.

Courtney Woods stood up in the absence of Lauren Nicholson this round, finishing on 20 and 22 points respectively. While Tianna Hawkins was immense, finishing her 26-point game on Saturday night with a clutch three to put the Fire in front in the dying moments of the game.

Melbourne leads UC Capitals to second win

The Capitals bounced back after being down by two points at the first-quarter break to winning by seven points in a thrilling overtime duel!

Jade Melbourne was fired up in front of a passionate home-crowd, the young gun claiming 21 of the Capitals’ 97 points, with next top scorers Brittany Smart and Rae Burrell getting 18 points each.

Steph Talbot was incredible for the Lightning, top scoring for the night with a huge 33 points and 17 rebounds. Izzy Borlase continued her incredible break-out season, finishing on 21 points.

Flames upset Flyers in a John Cain Arena Showdown

In front of a record-breaking crowd, Southside Flyers and Sydney Flames both came to play on the big stage, going basket for basket most of the game.

It was young guns, Tiana Mangakahia and Maddi Rocci who showed us what they were made of. The point guards were locked in a physical battle most of the game with Mangakahia sinking the game winning free throw in the dying seconds of the game to take the one-point victory.

It was Australian basketball legend, Shelley Gorman’s first win as the Flames’ Head Coach, in what was a thrilling matchup for a historic moment for women’s basketball in Australia.

Boomers go BOOM

The Melbourne Boomers ran up their largest points tally of the season with a 43-point victory over the Bendigo Spirit in the WNBL’s Sunday afternoon clash at the Boom Box.

Led by captain, Cayla George – the Boomers led every quarter at their home court, scoring an impressive 115 points to the Spirit’s 72.

The tally just barely misses out on being the highest score this season – currently 118 points held by the Southside Flyers in their Round 9 win against the Spirit. This is the fourth time the Boomers have scored over 100 points this season.

The top-scorers for the afternoon all represented the Boomers, with George shooting 27 points, Kristy Wallace on 20 and Miela Goodchild claiming 18. Abigail Wehrung was the top-scorer for the Spirit, notching up 17 points.

Ally Wilson was solid in what was her 200^th game, a milestone she celebrated by scoring 12 points – the second-highest tally on the team.

Standings after Round 13

The race to the Cygnett WNBL 2022/23 Finals could not be tighter! Just one win separates the top four.