Round 7 Preview: UC Capitals return to historic home stadium
The UC Capitals are making their return to Tuggeranong Southern Cross Stadium in Canberra’s south for their match up against the Melbourne Boomers.
It’s been almost seven years since the Caps played at the venue, with their last tip off being a two-point loss against Adelaide Lightning on the 16 February 2017.
Head coach, Kristen Veal, played many of her games in Caps colours out at Tuggeranong and says it’s a special opportunity for the club to go back.
“I’m super excited, every time I walk back in there it holds a lot of memories. It’s really important for this generation of Caps players, community, fans, and staff to remember so much happened there in the old days.
“There was so much success, so many great players, so many fans and people in the community that were a part of that. For them to come back and be in that environment and feel that – it’s exciting for all of us,” she said.
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The Caps will be looking to steal a win back after they heartbreakingly lost in overtime to the Boomers back in round 4 in Traralgon.
Alex Fowler and Alex Sharp both had huge contributions against the Boomers, with Sharp putting up a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Fowler a menace on both ends of the floor with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Off the back of her Opals squad selection, Jade Melbourne will also look for a repeat of her stats from her round 4 hometown appearance where she dropped 24 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists.
This will be the first time the co-captain has played an official match at Tuggeranong stadium and is looking forward to the atmosphere it will bring.
“Being a smaller stadium, it provides that hostile environment, we’re going to fill out that stadium so it’s going to be loud so it’s going to set up for a great event.
“If we win in Tuggeranong, we’re going to have to move every game there,” Melbourne joked.
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The Boomers currently sit in second position on the WNBL ladder, having only dropped one game so far this season; a 17-point loss to the Perth Lynx.
However, they soon learnt from their defeat and are now coming into their game against the Caps off the back of a 31-point win over the Lynx.
American import, Jordin Canada, has proven to be a key threat in Melbourne’s attack and currently leads the team with an average of 16.3 points per game.
The Caps are coming off what was a tough round 6 fixture with two games in three days, the focus of which being a hard-fought, two-point loss to the Sydney Flames.
Despite the challenges faced in the previous round, Veal says the team has had time to reflect but will keep their memory of those games short as they focus on the next match up.
“Sydney was probably close to our best game. There was probably some uncontrollables that worked against us a little bit so we just need those to drop and we be a bit better so we can absorb some of those,” she said.
Alex Bunton will miss the game against the Boomers as she spends the next few weeks recovering from a strained quad.
The last time the Boomers played at Tuggeranong stadium was in 2016 when the Caps came up with a 24-point win and the Caps are hopeful they can deliver a similar blow seven years on.