UC Capitals make it three straight, defeating Adelaide in a retro classic at the AIS
The UC Capitals have made it three for three in 2025, beating the Adelaide Lightning 91-76 in a Retro style classic. The AIS crowd was pumping, the throwback yellows were popping, and the return of an all-time great gave the Capitals an extra boost in an excellent display at home. Here is how it played out.
First quarter
With the news of Abby Bishop’s return only being announced the day before, the AIS crowd was buzzing pregame. When she was called out last at the player intros, the crowd erupted into some of its loudest cheers all season long. The Retro Capitals used the energy and came out swinging, opening with a Jade-Charli pick and roll. Crisp offensive execution and defensive rotations had the home team running and gunning early, with everyone chipping in. A Chantel Horvat layup opened up a 14-4 lead and had the visitors looking for time just 3:30 into the game. The Lightning settled down a bit off the timeout, but they could not stop the Caps momentum. Horvat, Collier and Nards Puoch continued to do damage offensively for the Caps and at 2:43 left, Abby Bishop got off the bench to see her first action back in a Caps uniform in nearly a decade. And as if it was a Hollywood script, Bisho would hit a turnaround jumper at the buzzer off a Katie Deeble assist for her first basket of the contest.
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UC Capitals 28, Adelaide Lightning 14
Second quarter
The Caps looked to keep their momentum through the start of the second quarter but Adelaide’s defense finally became stingy and forced a few Caps turnovers and tough shots. Brianna Turner and Issy Bourne started to get going as Adelaide opened the quarter with a 12-1 run to cut the lead to 3. The Lightning had multiple chances to tie the game or even take the lead but they failed to capitalise on the Caps mistakes. Finally, a Nicole Munger steal sparked a 7-0 Caps run, capped by Munger draining a long 3 from the left wing to force a timeout. Adelaide scored the next 6 points, but Nards Puoch continued her stellar form, getting to the basket and finishing through contact to give the Caps an eight-point lead at the half.
HALFTIME UC Capitals 43, Adelaide Lightning 35
Nyadiew Puoch 13pts, 3reb
Charli Collier 10pts, 4reb
Chantel Horvat 9pts
Third quarter
Steph Talbot opened up scoring in the third with a jumper, but the Caps quickly responded with a Nards three-pointer and Jade getting to the cup with a couple of her trademark finishes. A Nards And-1 pushed the lead out to 16, and while Issy Bourne responded with a layup, Jade hit a pullup three-pointer to cap an 13-4 run for the Caps, and give the home side complete control of the game. Horvat and Collier got in on the action as Nards continued to get to the basket as the Caps opened a 64-43 lead with 2:45 left in the quarter. The Lightning would trim the margin a bit, and a Japreece Dean 3 at the end of the quarter had the visitors only down 13 heading into the 4th.
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UC Capitals 66, Adelaide Lightning 53
Fourth quarter
Haylee Andrews and Georgia Pineau would score the first four points of the quarter to pull the Lightning within 9, 66-57 with 7:30 still to go. But the Caps defense clamped down the visitors over the next 3 minutes, as Chantel Horvat and Charli Collier each hit 3s to highlight a 9-0 run to put the Caps back up 75-57. Issy Borlase did her best to keep Adelaide in the game, but Munger and Horvat had an answer every time. A three-pointer by Nards with just over 3 minutes left essentially iced the game, capping off a career night for the young star, who finished with a WNBL career-high 27 points on 11/20 shooting as new Atlanta Dream Head Coach Karl Smesko watched courtside.
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FINAL UC Capitals 91, Adelaide Lightning 76
UC Capitals
Nyadiew puoch 27pts, 5rebs, 2 stls (11/20 FG, 2/6 3PTM)
Charli Collier 19pts, 10rebs, 3 stls
Jade Melbourne 11pts, 4rebs, 12asts, 3stls
Adelaide Lightning
Brianna Turner 6pts, 16rebs, 5asts, 3stls, 2blks
Japreece Dean 17pts, 5rebs, 5asts
Issy Borlase 14pts, 2rebs, 1asts, 4stls
NEXT GAME: UC Capitals v Townsville Fire, 8PM AEDT Saturday 18 January, Townsville Entertainment Centre