Round 2 Preview: Flames vs UC Capitals
Preview via wnbl.com.au
Coach Paul Goriss says the UC Capitals aren’t surprised by the impact of their rookie Jade Melbourne, who will look to continue her Chemist Warehouse WNBL education on Saturday after finishing her high school exams.
Heading into the clash with Brydens Sydney Uni Flames in Cairns tonight, Canberra have reeled off three straight wins, after suffering an opening game overtime loss to Adelaide Lightning.
The strong start to a quest for a third straight title has comes despite fitness issues to a number of players.
The injuries have opened up opportunities for younger players, especially Australian junior representative Melbourne, who only signed for the Caps earlier this month.
“I expected great things from Jade because I’ve seen her at the Centre of Excellence training and we’ve had some scrimmage games against the Centre of Excellence, so I knew fully well what she could do as a player,” Goriss said.
“I think that probably she’s surprised people around the country or in the WNBL because they don’t know of her.
“She is a great player now, but she’s only going to continue to improve and get better and better in each game that we play, but also really excited about her future and what she can do in Australian basketball as well as for herself.”
Happy with his team’s defence, Goriss is looking for their offence to lift now that all his players are available.
Sydney (1-3) have lost to three strong clubs in Melbourne, Jayco Southside Flyers and JCU Townsville Fire, with their sole victory coming over the Villawood Properties Bendigo Spirit.
“Having played some of the top teams and we come up against the back-to-back champions, it gives us an opportunity to really test where we are five games in,” Flames’ Head Coach Katrina Hibbert said.
“We’ve reset our goals, we’re 0-0 in Cairns, a new city, new opportunities.
“We’ve had some video review to show areas where we can continue to improve, in particular defensive consistency and disruptiveness and intensity for 40 minutes.”
Broadcast Details
Brydens Sydney Uni Flames vs UC Capitals
Saturday 21 November 2020
8:30pm AEST / 9:30pm AEDT
Live on Kayo