UC Capitals earn clutch win over Perth Lynx
The UC Capitals returned to their home court with a season high performance, defeating top two side the Perth Lynx in front of a sell-out Canberra crowd.
Starting five for the first time at home in the New Year was Jade Melbourne, Nicole Munger, Alex Sharp, Alex Fowler and Monica Okoye. Lining up for the Lynx was Stephanie Gorman, Alex Ciabattoni, Emily Potter, Anneli Maley and Amy Atwell.
Q1
The Caps came out strong with their defence, thwarting multiple of Perth’s first chances. It took over 60 seconds for the first bucket to drop which eventually came from Melbourne who powered to the basket, opening the scoring and bringing the crowd to life. Atwell opened Perth’s account with a jump shot not long after but was overshadowed by the Caps who brought it back up their end for a Fowler three-pointer. Canberra led by 9-points halfway through the quarter as they kept up their smothering defensive effort against the Lynx. Sharp and Melbourne continued to direct their team, resulting in multiple scoring opportunities for both themselves and their teammates. Perth powered through the remainder of the quarter, mostly through Atwell, who stole Perth the lead right on the buzzer with a trio of foul shots.
Caps 17 – Perth 19
Q2
Coming back from the break, Sharp worked hard to earn the Caps the lead as she dropped five points in 70 seconds. Perth stepped up their intensity and physicality in defence to play right up against Melbourne and Alex Bunton, while Atwell continued to have no trouble dropping three pointers down the other end. The Lynx took the margin out to five with five minutes remaining however, the scores were soon back to level after Okoye and Sharp hit a three-pointer each. The energy from the Caps camp brought the crowd to life as Gemma Potter came off the bench to add points to her name. Melbourne worked her way into to an open reverse layup which helped the Caps take the lead going into the main break.
Caps 37 – Perth 36
Top scorers were Sharp on 14 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, and Melbourne with 10 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, while for Perth it was Atwell with 18 points, 1 rebound.
Q3
Perth came back with renewed focus and went on a seven-point scoring run before the Caps got their first points through some Fowler free-throw,s over two minutes in. Bunton subbed back in to add to the Caps presence within the key, while Sharp continued her good shooting by revving the crowd up with a three-pointer. The physicality began to increase in the final minutes of the quarter, with both teams pushing for more points. Maley led the charge for Perth pulling in rebounds wherever she could but was soon silenced by the Canberra fans after Melbourne hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc. Atwell managed to get another trio of foul shots right on the buzzer to claw out a three-point lead.
Caps 56 – Perth 59
Q4
With one more quarter to play for the Caps came out firing and less than sixty seconds in had already levelled the scores. The match remained tight with the baskets falling to both teams evenly amongst some smothering defence. Caps head coach, Kristen Veal, called her team into a timeout as the minutes began to tick down which set the team up to come on and score back-to-back three-pointers through Potter and Okoye. Moments later, the Caps took the lead for the first time that quarter when Potter drained another three-pointer. Less than sixty seconds to go and there was just one-point in it before Melbourne came in with a clutch three-pointer of her own to pull it back out to four. Perth began the fouling game for the final thirty seconds in an attempt to pull the margin back but were unable to stop the Caps from earning their fourth win of the season.
Caps 81 – Perth 75
Our co-caps top scored with Sharp on 25 points, 19 rebounds, 3 assists and Melbourne on 24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists!
For the Lynx, Atwell lead with 29 points, 3 rebounds, and Maley with 12 points, 3 assists and 12 rebounds.