WNBL Round 6 Preview

Sydney Uni vs Canberra: Sydney Uni Sports & Aquatic Centre, Friday 8pm

Broadcast LIVE on ABC2, replayed on regular ABC-TV at 4pm on Saturday and again on ABC2 at 12:30pm on Sunday.

The league’s best attacking team takes on the league’s best defensive unit - Sydney Uni (4-2) averages 84 points per game while Canberra (6-0) concedes a mere 61 points per game.

Sydney Uni has six players – Porter, Fallon, Veal, Poto, Musselwhite and Dombkins – averaging over 10 points per game, but the defensive Canberra trio of captain Kellie Abrams, Opal Tully Bevilaqua and tall timber Tracey Beatty will be more than capable of coping with the Flames’ fire power as they sit first in steals and second in defensive rebounds in the League.

Jess Bibby (19 ppg), Kellie Abrams (14 ppg) and Tracey Beatty (13 ppg) continue to post good numbers for the Capitals, who have beaten the Flames only once in their last six clashes, that being a 90-71 win in December 2005.

Sydney Uni has lost their last two home games by three and two point margins. Both Nat Porter (swollen jaw) and Jackie Stiles (chest) are in doubt for the clash. Carrie Graf celebrated her 200th game as a coach in the WNBL against last weekend.

Perth vs Adelaide: Perry Lakes Stadium, Friday 8pm

This will be the first game of a Round 6 Lightning-Lynx double header. Overall, the Lightning hold a solid 29-9 head-to-head lead and a 15-3 lead in games played in Perth, but the Lynx have not beaten Adelaide in Perth since 1999.

Adelaide are beginning to look good, with WNBA recruit Kristen Rasmussen finding her feet and Opal Erin Philips raising her game, while Tracey Gahan, Sam Woosnam, Jess Foley and Lauren King are all contributing.

For Perth, Carly Wilson (18.7 ppg) and Christine Boyd (11.0 ppg) are the only two players averaging in double figures and head coach Paul O’Brien needs the rest of his squad to step up and take some of the heat if the Lynx are to post a victory.

Adelaide is the best rebounding team in the competition, leading both the offensive (17 per game) and defensive categories (31 per game), while Perth are ranked seventh in rebounding, averaging 10 less than Adelaide’s 48 per game.

The Lynx will need to pressure the Lightning at both ends of the court, making the most of their attacking opportunities. Perth average 65 points per game and will need a score larger than that to cope with the attacking firepower of Adelaide.

Erin Philips needs 14 points to register 1000 with Adelaide. This will be Lynx guard Angela Marino's 50th career game and her first against her father Vince's club.

Bulleen Melbourne vs Townsville: Veneto Club, Saturday 7:30pm

After traveling to Sydney and Canberra last round, the Fire now embark on a tough Victorian double header road trip. First up are the Boomers, who hold a narrow 8-to-7 head-to-head lead against the Fire.

In the last six meetings Townsville have beaten the Boomers only once and haven’t recorded a win in Bulleen since December 2003.

Boomer forward Hollie Grima and Townsville gun Renae Camino, who both average 19 points per game, will be the focal points of their respective team’s offence.

Both teams have adopted a free-flowing style of play this season and with the likes of Townsville’s Renae Camino (19 ppg), Rohanee Cox (16 ppg) and Kelly Wilson (12 ppg) and Bulleen’s Hollie Grima (19 ppg), Sharin Milner (15 ppg), Deanne Butler (12 ppg) and Desiree Glaubitz (11 ppg), a high scoring affair will surely ensue.

Claudia Brassard needs two points for 1000 with Townsville.

Perth vs Adelaide: Tip Top Stadium Geraldton, Saturday, 7:30pm

Game Two of the Lynx-Lightning double header takes the WNBL regional, to Tip Top Stadium in Geraldton - the second time in successive years the Lynx have "gone bush" with a scheduled game for competition points, after last season's 103-51 loss to the Dandenong Rangers in Eaton.

The outcome of Friday night’s game may have an impact on the result here; with both teams given the opportunity to have a solid look at their opposition, any discovered weaknesses will be targeted.

Despite it being only Adelaide’s second away game of the season it is Perth’s third game in the last two rounds and the fitness levels of both teams may come to the fore in the latter stages of this game.

Both teams will conduct coaching clinics on the morning of the game.

Dandenong vs Townsville: Dandenong Basketball Stadium, Sunday 12pm

The Fire defeated Dandenong 86-69 in Townsville in Round Three. Will the same thing happen again?

Due to a swathe of injuries to key position players, Dandenong have required Jenna O’Hea and Caitlin Ryan to step up – and they have, providing outstanding and consistent performances in Dandenong’s three wins and several narrow losses.

O’Hea leads the League in scoring with 21.9 points per game and was awarded Player of the Week for Round 5, while Ryan has scored 132 points at 14.7 per game, 30 rebounds, 27 assist, 8 steals and 3 blocked shots.

Townsville showed they can win on the road when they defeated Sydney Uni at Sydney last week, but after sticking with Canberra for the first three quarters the following night they faded in the final term. Fitness may be an issue late in the game for the Fire.

Dandenong are ranked last in the league for rebounding (37 per game) and with Townsville boasting three players, Rohanee Cox (3.9 per game), Jennifer Crouse (3.0 per game) and Renae Camino (2.7 per game), in the Top 10 for offensive boards, it looms as a long night under the glass for the Rangers.

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