29 Jul WNWBL Round 4 Wrap
The Sydney Blues may have dropped their first game this season but the side continues to go from strength to strength, their two wins on the weekend over the Victoria Wonders was enough to secure them top spot with one round to go.
Sydney finished with wins of 51-35, 61-36 before Victoria nabbed a 53-42 win on Sunday.
The home side got the jump on the Wonders early on Friday, with a 21-8 opening quarter as the Wonders opted to start Shelley Matheson off the bench.
The Wonders looked better in the second quarter but still trailed by 10 going into half time and couldn’t reel in the Blues lead in the second half.
The defensive pressure Sydney applied did not let up all game, resulting in 11 steals, and forcing Victoria into 26 turnovers. But Victoria hung tough throughout and managed to break down the Blues’ full court press on multiple occasions late in the game.
Georgia Munro-Cook had 18 for the game and Mari Amimoto 17. The Wonders were paced by Leanne Del Toso and Laura Davoli but their combined 23 points was short of the 32.7 points per game they averaged together in the first three rounds.
In Perth the Sydney Uni Lions picked up two wins while the Wheelcats clawed one back on Sunday.
Game 1 was the Rose Hollerman show as she amassed a whopping 42 points and 14 rebounds.
Hollerman shot 71% from the field and also had 6 steals and 5 assists.
“It’s hard to plan day by day on what kind of a shooting day you’re going to have. We were just focused on finding good looks for the team, and it ended up just happening,” said Hollerman.
Game 2 was much closer but the Lions still took the win 46-42 with Hollerman scoring a triple double (17 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) and Hannah Dodd with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Tayln Reedy rose to the occasion in the absence of Didem Yildirim playing all but a minute and half across the three games after averaging just 8 minutes per game in the opening three rounds.
Reedy averaged 6 points and 3.7 boards for the weekend.
But perhaps the biggest talking point of the matchup was the return of Amber Merritt. The two time Paralympian had 12 points and 5 rebounds in the second game, providing a boost to the Wheelcats’ depth.
The Wheelcats earned a hard fought 48-40 win on Sunday and will meet the Wonders in the final round of the regular season. Sydney Uni is at home to the Gold Coast.
“I really enjoy the Sydney Uni Lions. It’s a group of individuals who understand the importance of team sports. They made me feel welcomed right away, and it’s been really enjoyable to watch the friendships they have with one another,” added Hollerman.
“I’ve been really impressed with the Australian league. It’s amazing to have a women’s league with this type of setup and competition. I’ve been most impressed by the young up and coming girls we’ve played against. It’s exceeded my expectations, and I can’t wait for the next round.”
The Gold Coast will be buoyed by securing their first wins in the WNWBL with three victories over the Adelaide Thunder.
Both teams went into the round search for their first win of the season and it was Annabelle Lindsay who grabbed it by both hands starting in Game 1 with 47 points and 16 rebounds and a 72-32 victory. She went even better in Game 3 with 48 points and 19 rebounds as the Rollers picked up a 72-24 win.
The feature game on Saturday night saw Adelaide put together their best resistance with the two sides neck and neck midway through the second before a 10-2 run by the
Gold Coast gave the visiting team some breathing space going into half time.
Gold Coast lifted even further after the break, winning the third quarter 26-4 on the way to a 60-36 win.
Lindsay finished with 41.3 points and 15.7 rebounds per game, well supported by Ashlee Grice who averaged 12.7 points, 10,7 rebounds and 7.3 assists.
For Adelaide, Katelin Gunn averaged 10 points per game while Isobella Nitschke had 8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.