Game Preview: UC Capitals v Geelong United
Off the back of a spirited win yesterday in Adelaide to open 2025, the UC Capitals are back home tomorrow against Geelong, looking to make it 2 of 2 against the United and in Round 10.
The Caps finally snapped a five-game losing streak, avenging their 68-67 defeat to the Lightning with a huge 88-77 win in Adelaide last night. In that game, the Caps turned in their best shooting performance of the season, hitting 10/24 three pointers, six of which coming from Nicole Munger. They will look to carry over that momentum against Geelong, who have lost their last three games.
The first game between the Capitals and United was a low-scoring defensive struggle which the Caps won 73-60 in Geelong back in November. The Caps won that game by holding United to 31% shooting, including a stretch of over six minutes in the 4th quarter where they held the home team scoreless.
Jade Melbourne offset a 3/19 shooting game by hitting 9/10 fts, while Nyadiew Puoch (13/3/3) and Charli Collier (14/7) provided support. Geelong was led by Haley Jones (16/7/1) and former Cap Gemma Potter (14/1/2).
There will be two new faces lining up for Geelong this time around. Point guard Monique Conti has finally joined the United lineup after fulfilling AFLW commitments and has averaged just under 10 points in her four games. The other new face is more familiar to Caps fans – Alex Sharp is back in Australia and has decided to sign with Geelong for the rest of the season. Sharpy is still finding her feet with her new squad through two games so far, but as we all saw last season, we know how dangerous she can be on the court at any given moment.
Haley Jones (15.3ppg, 6.3rpg, 3.1apg) and Keely Froling (14.2ppg, 9.6rpg, 1.6apg) are still expected to carry the bulk of the load for the visiting United, who are looking to keep within striking distance of the fourth spot in the ladder.
For the Caps, Jade Melbourne (14.5ppg, 5.2rpg, 6.8apg) and Charli Collier (13.3ppg, 8.6rpg) will once again be the focal points of the offense. Jade finally snapped out of her slump against Adelaide, scoring 20 points and getting tough bucket after tough bucket to push the Caps ahead in the 4th quarter of that game. Game by game, Charli is looking more and more comfortable Down Under and is coming off back-to-back games scoring at least 20 points and grabbing at least 10 rebounds. More and more, we’re starting to see the WNBA talent shine through and she will look to continue her strong play against Geelong.
Statistically, the Caps and United are the two worst shooting teams in the competition. Geelong is dead last in three-point percentage at 26.2%, while the Caps aren’t much better at 27.5%. The Caps do a better job of converting inside the arc (44% vs 40%) and get to the free throw line more. Whoever can string together a solid offensive stretch late in the game may very well end up getting the victory in this matchup.
With the Caps riding high off an emotional win in Adelaide, they will look to come out the gates strong and deliver a win in front of the Canberra faithful. But they must be wary of a desperate and hungry Geelong side, who are also seeking a big win to stay in touch of the playoff race.
The UC Capitals face Geelong United at 12.30pm on Sunday 5 January at the AIS Arena. Use the code KIDS50 to get 50% off kids tickets at all of our home games in January.