THE WRAP – ROUND 15

February 27, 2023 | WNBL news

Another week, another round of first-class women’s basketball in the Cygnett WNBL. Here’s everything that went down in Round 15.

SOUTHSIDE DOMINATE RIVALS

Southside lock in a top 2 finish thanks to a dominant win over their cross-town rivals. This is the fourth regular season clean sweep the Flyers have gotten over the Boomers in the past eight seasons.

Southside put on a defensive masterclass to quell the Boomers’ offensive ability. Kayla Thornton put on a show at both ends of the court, finishing on 20 points and nine rebounds. Sara Blicavs secured a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Cayla George was top-scorer for the Boomers with 15 points.

FLAMES SHINE IN INAUGURAL PINK GAME

The Flames’ inaugural Pink Game on Friday night proved to be a huge success with $20,000 raised for the McGrath Foundation. $550 was donated for every three scored by Sydney, with the team nailing 11 for the game.

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Sydney got off to a blistering start in the first half thanks to Tiana Mangakahia, who impressed defensively with five steals for the game along with 27 points.

The Lightning put on a gutsy second half performance to claw back a lead in the third term, led by Jacinta Monroe, who finished on a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds.

But skipper, Keely Froling stood up and put the Flames on her back, scoring a massive 30 points in what was the Flames highest score of the season.

BOOMERS SURVIVE TOUGH BATTLE WITH UC CAPITALS

Melbourne were looking to bounce back from their loss against Southside. But the Boomers struggled to build up a lead on the UC Capitals in the first quarter and quickly fell behind with Jade Melbourne and Shaneice Swain putting up dominant performances.

It looked as if Canberra was on track to upset the Championship contenders by the end of the first half. But Melbourne’s sharp shooters had other plans, with Tiffany Mitchell scoring 33 points and Mia Murray racking up 21 points.

With just five points separating the two teams at three-quarter time, the game was anyone’s to win – but it was Melbourne’s superior defence that won out in the end.

Mitchell, Swain and Sherrie Calleia all scored career-high WNBL points with 33, 25 and 19 points respectively.

PERTH BUMP BENDIGO FROM TOP FOUR

It was high-stakes in the Saturday night matchup between Perth and Bendigo with a Finals berth on the line.

The Lynx came to win, leading at every quarter to put them in prime position to reach the Finals with the regular season wrapping up at the end of next round.

All three top-scorers represented the Lynx, with Amy Atwell’s 19 points, Sami Whitcomb with 18 and Robbi Ryan with 17. Anneli Maley was the Spirit’s top scorer with 16 points on the board.

FIRE PREVAILS IN HEART-STOPPING GAME

Keely Froling and the Flames got off to a hot 7-0 start in the fiery matchup against Townsville. After trailing by five at the main break, the Fire chipped away on the scoreboard to take their first lead of the game at the six-minute mark of the third.

From there, it was a tightly contested game with both sides going basket for basket. The game was settled by Tianna Hawkins in the final second, with a clutch hook shot to clinch the one-point victory.