UC Capitals go down to in form Boomers

With the roar of Jade Melbourne’s family and friends behind them, the UC Capitals took to Gippsland Indoor Sports Stadium for Round 10 of the Cygnett WNBL.

With another player added to the injury list for the UC Capitals in Lizzy Tonks, the Caps took to the court without the impact bench player as well as Alex Bunton, Britt Smart, Emilee Whittle-Harmon, Gemma Potter.

Young stars in Jade Melbourne, Shaneice Swain, Bec Pizzey, Rae Burrell and Nicole Munger took to the court against a star studded Melbourne outfit with George, Wallace, Davidson, Goodchild and Murray starting for the Boomers.

Q1

Bec Pizzey opened the scoreboard for the UC Capitals with a three pointer, following a few off-centre shots by those sides. Kristy Wallace responded quickly to get the Boomers a five point lead early in the piece. Burrell dropped a few smooth threes to keep the Caps in it, while Munger came up with a stinging steal to sprint up the other end and score a two pointer. Development player Chloe Tugliach was given more minutes, given the tough job of guarding Opal Cayla George who, once warmed up, was hard to stop.

Caps 15- Boomers 29

Q2

Jade Melbourne stopped the momentum of the home side with a clutch bucket, before Pizzey offered up a great block to keep the Boomers on their toes. Cayla George had already recorded a double double three minutes into the second, and was hard to maintain. The Caps stayed composed though to try and close the margin as it reached a 14 point differential, closing it down to six thanks to a 3 pointer by Burrell.

Caps 34 – Boomers 42

Q3

The UC Capitals got straight to work in the third, with Pizzey quick to score two points through Swain. Some long range attempts fell short but the Caps maintained their heads. Both sides continued to trade blows, the Boomes drowning Jade in purple every time she went to the paint. Burrell shot some more great balls and was able to draw some easy fouls from Melbourne’s bench players. The scoreboard ran away from the Caps as the minutes ticked down and the Boomers started to explode

44 – 46

Q4

With ten minutes of basketball left and with the lead blown out by 20, the Caps had their work cut out for them. Again Cayla George just couldn’t miss before she was fouled out for the night and watched the remainder of the game on the sideline. Burrell fought her way under the rim to try and lift the away team while development player Abby Solway got some minutes in the final quarter, providing her with some invaluable experience.

With five minutes left and the Boomers 23 points ahead, a time out was called and Munger came out with her never say die attitude. Both sides gave their bench players some good minutes and the Caps did well to contain the top side to 78 points.

Caps 57- Boomers 78

The Caps head to Bendigo for their next game, up against the Southside Flyers on Thursday January 19.