THE 12th round of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL)’s 2021/22 season wrapped up on Sunday afternoon, after an entertaining batch of games took place over the weekend. The final match took place in the nation’s capital, with the UC Capitals hosting the Melbourne Boomers at the National Convention Centre in Canberra. It was slated to be a blockbuster clash, given the two sides were stationed in the top four, and have been performing at a high level of late. The match ended up living up to the hype, with fans treated to an absolute cracker of a contest. After some top-shelf basketball action, the Boomers were able to hold on for a two-point triumph, as the Capitals fell short stealing the win.

In this article, we take a look at some of the key statistical categories from the match, and how they may have influenced the result of this contest.

Team Stats

30/69 (43%)	FG	27/62 (43%)
22/42 (52%)	2P	18/37 (48%)
8/27 (29%)	3P	9/25 (36%)
8/13 (61%)	FT	15/16 (93%)
39	REB	37
18	AST	16
11	STL	4
2	BLK	2
13	TO	14

Much like the result of the match, many of the stats were tightly contested, with not much separating the two teams. One of the biggest areas of success for the victors was their shooting from inside the three-point line. They were able to sink over half of their field goal attempts from this range, with the Capitals’ defence unable to prevent wide-open looks. The biggest contributor in this category was Lindsay Allen (we’ll have more on her later), who nailed all seven of her attempts from this range in remarkable fashion.

The Boomers were also able to outperform their opponents when it came to the free throw line battle, with many of their points coming from here. They made their way to the charity stripe a total of 16 times, and did not waste their opportunities, making 15 of these attempts as they displayed some serious accuracy. On the other hand, the Capitals could only make six of their 13 free throws, which proved costly when the final buzzer sounded.

The Boomers did have a few areas of excellence themselves, despite the disappointing result. They won the rebounding battle, as they pulled down two more boards than their opponents, with a number of contributors on this front. They were also active on the defensive end of the court, stealing the ball from Melbourne’s grasp a total of 11 times, which boosted their scoring opportunities.

Top Points Scorers

There was no one better on the day than Allen, who was simply magnificent and produced a match-winning performance. She finished with a game-high 29 points (which was set up by her terrific work from inside the arc) and almost recorded a double-double as she dished out nine quality dimes too. She combined well with George, who did end up with a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds. For the Capitals, Griffin and Sykes fought hard all day, combining for 38 points (which was half of their side’s score) as they looked to drag their team over the line, but fell painfully short.