Caps travel to Bendigo to face red hot Spirit
Back to our winning ways.
The UC Capitals aim to keep their winning streak alive as they continue their travels south to take on the Bendigo Spirit at Red Energy Arena on Saturday 30 November at 7.30pm.
The Capitals, following their loss to the Southside Flyers in Round 3, have flipped a switch. After a huge win in front of the Canberra faithful against the Townsville Fire and a standout defensive effort against Geelong United two days later, it seems that Coach Paul Goriss culture shift is slowly coming to fruition.
UC entered Geelong Arena on the front foot, capitalising on momentum that had been injected into the team to beat Geelong United 73-60. The match was tightly contested, with both teams throwing themselves up and down the court to gain the upper hand, but the difference was the one percenters which the Caps capitalised on.
Jade Melbourne continued to cement herself as one of the league’s brightest stars and with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in Geelong, she capped off her stellar round with a selection in the WNBL Team of the Week. Teammate Chantel Horvat was no different, grabbing 13 massive rebounds to complement her 7 points and 2 assists to give UC that intermediate support in-game.
Charli Collier also looked in her element around the rim throughout the game, putting up 14 points and 7 rebounds, as she steadily finds her consistency as the season progresses. And with Nyadiew Puoch following suite with 13 points,3 rebounds and 3 assists the Capitals are hitting nice groove as they head into a few road games in the upcoming weeks.
Bendigo on the other hand found their place as the heavy favorites through the first month. The Spirit are undefeated heading into Saturday’s matchup, and with their 79-71 win over the Southside Flyers it has given them a league leading points differential of +89, well above the rest of the league. Despite being down 17 points against the Flyers, Bendigo used their powerhouses Sami Whitcomb (11pts,7reb,1ast) and Veronica Burton (20pts, 8reb, 7ast) to push their team into gear. Through the first five rounds, Whitcomb is leading the WNBL with 24ppg and is looking like the league’s MVP so far.
The Caps however are not coming into this blind, taking on the Spirit in Round 2 and despite losing 99-76, it has given the Capitals some things to work on heading into this weekend’s clash. WNBL leader in Offensive rebounds (3.8) Marinna Tolo will need to be managed around the rim and three-point sniper Casey Samuels also gave the Capitals headaches during that clash, leaving the Caps with a good outline on where to contain the Spirit.
While the Spirit have looked to be in peak form from the get-go, the Caps have slowly found their footing in the past few weeks. An upset against the title favourites in Bendio would do wonders for the Caps confidence heading into a road heavy December schedule.
The University of Canberra Capitals take on the Bendigo Spirit at Red Bank Arena in Bendigo Saturday the 30 of November. Tip-off is at 7.30pm and fans can purchase tickets here.