Round 13 preview: UC Capitals prepare for an away double-header
The UC Capitals are gearing up for their biggest round of the season as they play three games in six days, the first two coming on the road against the Bendigo Spirit and Adelaide Lightning.
Players across the league will be supporting the Cygnett WNBL’s Fighting Period Poverty Round by wearing warm up t-shirts and socks to raise awareness for the cause.
Caps guard, Shakera Reilly, says despite the challenges they faced in the last round the Caps are focused on finishing their season strong.
“This group’s amazing, we overcome all our situations in a positive way, we’ve been meeting to discuss what we want out of the games which has kept things positive and kept us together,” she said.
This will be the Caps second time travelling to Bendigo in less than two weeks and are ready for the rematch after going down by 22-points in their first meeting of the season.
Jade Melbourne lead her team in the matchup with 15 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds, followed by Alex Fowler with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Former Cap, Kelsey Griffin, was the dominate force for the Spirit as she posted 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist in front of her home crowd.
Bendigo finished off the previous round with an upset over the Perth Lynx, knocking them out of a top four position. American import, Mehryn Kraker, put up a season high performance of 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
This will be Shak’s first time going up against the Spirit and is expecting a tough matchup amongst their tight string of games.
“We know it’s going to be full on but we’re just taking it on the chin and it’s just day by day at this point. Watching the last game, they’re a bigger team, bigger bodies so we’ve got to find a way to work around that,” she said.
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Following their match with Bendigo, the Caps have two days off which they’ll use to travel to Adelaide where they will go again against the Lightning.
This will be the third meeting against the South Australians, with the series currently sitting at one win each as Adelaide took the win in Round 1 before the Caps levelled in Round 8.
Melbourne posted a season high performance of 31 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, and Alex Sharp recorded an impressive double-double of 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists the last time these two teams met, and both will hope to continue in similar form.
Like Bendigo, Adelaide are also coming off the last round on a high after they shocked ladder leaders Townsville Fire with a 15-point victory.
Canberra native, Isabelle Bourne, top scored with 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, while veteran guard, Lauren Mansfield, followed with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Despite the win, Lightning suffered a blow when young gun, Isobel Borlase, had to leave the court due to an ankle injury of unknown severity.
With the Caps and Lightning separated by just one win on the Cygnett WNBL ladder, both teams will be looking to kickstart the final leg of the season with a bang.
“We’re not looking at it as we’re out of the competition, we want to just keep building to see what we can get out of the games ahead,” Shak said.
Make sure you tune in and cheer the Caps against Bendigo on Thursday at 6pm, and Adelaide on Sunday at 3pm both streamed via 9Now.