WNBL Review - Round 12

The Dandenong Rangers will head into the Christmas break with a slight lead and a significant advantage over the second-placed Canberra Capitals after they defeated the Caps in the final round of the year.

In the ABC-TV Game of the Week, the Rangers played the Capitals at the Dandenong Stadium, and gave them an unwelcome Christmas gift - a 14-point thumping, 82-68.

Jacinta Hamilton and Carly Wilson led the way for the top of the table Rangers, with Hamilton finishing the match with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Wilson shooting the lights out with 22 points on 11/14 from the field.

Canberra have got their work cut out for them if they want to play a home semi final, with their top scorers, Jenny Whittle and Kellie Abrams, collecting only 14 and 13 points respectively.

Canberra moved on from that disappointment to take on Bulleen Melbourne on Saturday night at Knox Stadium. In front of a huge crowd, the Victorians had something to prove after being passed by the Caps on the leader board the week before.

It wasn’t to be for the Melbourne team however. They started terribly, and despite grappling their way back in the third and fourth terms, it wasn’t enough, and they went down 77-65.

Whittle and Abrams were again at the top of the tree for the Capitals, scoring 22 and 21 points. Whittle also had 10 rebounds, and was assisted under the basket by Tracey Beatty who had 12 boards.

Katrina Hibbert was kept to only 13 points, but Sharin Milner was on fire and went home with 20 under her belt, shooting at 62%.

Friday night saw the Townsville Fire take on the Perth Lynx at Perry Lakes in what was a close and exciting match. Heartbreakingly, in what is becoming an all too often occurrence for Perth, they went down by only three points to their northern visitors, 75-72.

Rohanee Cox showed what she had learned at the Opals camp earlier that week, putting 19 points on the board, pulling in 13 rebounds, blocking two shots and racking up one steal and one assist.

Her teammate Lauren King was Townsville’s top scorer with 20 points. Jennifer Crouse continued her top form with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Deanna Smith was the match top scorer with 23 points, and she also dished out four assists to her teammates.

Saturday night’s match between the improving Sydney Uni Flames and the AIS was an opportunity for the Flames to build the momentum in their group, which saw them win both matches in Round 11.

The Flames travelled down the Hume Highway to Canberra, and, in front of a small but enthusiastic crowd, defeated the students, 89-63.

Natalie Porter was forced to sit out the match after rolling her ankle in warm ups and the AIS were able to stay with the 2005 grand finalists in the opening minutes.

However, over-eager defence saw the AIS in foul trouble early with eight fouls for the quarter and Sydney was able to take the advantage from the stripe. The usual sharp shooting from Sydney’s Belinda Snell (20 points) saw her with nine points at the first break and the Flames up, 27-16.

Sydney Uni continued with some good scoring in the second term (27 points), but the AIS were able to add 21 to their total as well. Sydney Uni continued to creep ahead throughout the second half, running out 26-point winners.

Snell was Sydney Uni’s top scorer, with Narelle Lindsay adding 17 points.

Abby Bishop had 18 points for the AIS, and Mikaela Dombkins had 10 points and four assists. 15-year-old Katie Ebzery had five points, five rebounds, eight assists and only two turnovers in her 27 minutes.

The final match of year was another Sunday afternoon showdown at home for the Adelaide Fellas. This time it was Townsville’s turn to face the South Australians, and again the heat, and Adelaide’s home crowd proved too much for the visitors.

After being down at the first break, and half time, the Fellas came back to win the match 74-62.

Townsville seemed to lose momentum in the third and fourth quarters, and put on only 22 points in the second half.

Erin Phillips and Tami Willey led the charge for Adelaide with 16 points apiece. Phillips also had nine rebounds, and Willey had two blocked shots. Laura Summerton had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Kelly Wilson was best for Townsville with 18 points and five rebounds, while Jennifer Crouse had nine points and 11 rebounds.

Deanna Smith’s lead on the scoring table has crept ahead to 21.8 points per game, with Bulleen Melbourne’s Katrina Hibbert dropping to 20.3. Jacinta Hamilton is still in third with 19.2 points. Adelaide’s Laura Summerton is out in front of the rebounding tally with 10.1, followed closely by Hollie Grima with 9.7.

Townsville’s Jennifer Crouse is third on 9.2. Erin Phillips is still leading the assist tally with 5.1 per game, ahead of Belinda Snell on 4.1 and Emily McInerny on 3.9 per game.

At the end of the year, and ahead of two weeks break for the Christmas New Year period, Dandenong lead the League with 12 wins and two losses. Canberra sit in second position with 12 wins and four losses, ahead of Bulleen Melbourne who have 10 wins and five losses. Adelaide round out the top four with nine wins and seven losses.

Sydney Uni move into outright fifth with seven wins and eight losses, ahead of Townsville with seven wins and nine losses. Perth are in seventh and the AIS eighth.

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