MELBOURNE Boomers contained Townsville Fire en route to a 10-point win in the final Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) match of 2022. Celebrating New Year’s Eve up in North Queensland, the Boomers fought back from seven points down at quarter time to win the next three quarters by 17, and run out the game far stronger for an 86-76 victory.

In the match, the stats were fairly even across the board, with Cayla George causing plenty of headaches for the Townsville attack. Pulling down eight defensive rebounds to go with 16 points and five assists, George worked well with Olivia Nelson-Ododa (11 points, seven rebounds) and Penina Davidson (five points, seven rebounds and two blocks) off the boards. Kristy Wallace was crucial in setting up attacks with a match-high seven assists to go with 18 points and three rebounds, while Tiffany Mitchell piled on 22 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Cairns relied on three main scorers, as Mikaela Ruef picked up a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Coming close to a double-double, Tianna Hawkins (nine points, nine rebounds) was handy, supporting the likes of Steph Reid (21 points, four assists and two steals) and Lauren Nicholson (14 points) well. Melbourne Boomers will return to the court on Wednesday up against local rivals Southside Flyers, while Townsville Fire head to Adelaide to face the Lightning a day later.

Tipping off the round saw the Flyers win a controversial game over UC Capitals. Though the game itself was not controversial, the talking point pregame was the fact the Capitals left their clash strip behind and had to wear Knox Raiders gear to avoid a clash with the Flyers’ blue. The WNBL would fine the Capitals $1000 for the mistake, and the game was one to forget as well, with Southside piling on 76-54 to run out 22-point victors in a dominant performance.

The Flyers racked up 43 rebounds to 29, and had 13 more assists (21-8), while shooting at a far higher clip (48 to 31 per cent) for the match. Maddison Rocci (11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists) stood out, while Kayla Thornton (13 points, six rebounds and four assists) and Sara Blicavs (14 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists) were also busy. Shaneice Swain (22 points, four steals) was industrious off the bench.

Sydney Uni Flames also picked up another win over the Capitals, defeating their local rivals by 11 points in what was the second victory in a week. Shyla Heal was sensational from long range knocking down four of seven from beyond the arc on her way to 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Keely Froling was the star however, pulling in 13 rebounds – five offensive – and putting up 21 points. Swain top-scored for the visitors again with 22 points and five rebounds, shooting five of nine from long-range.

Adelaide Lightning also suffered back-to-back defeats, going down to Bendigo Spirit and Perth Lynx in the remaining two games. The Spirit won by 12 points thanks to a whopping 55 rebounds to 34, with Anneli Maley recording a mind-boggling 24 rebounds – nine offensive – to accompany 19 points, four steals and two assists. Kelsey Griffin (15 points, 11 rebounds) also managed a double-double, while Stephanie Talbot was clearly the best Lightning shooter with 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.

In the second loss, Talbot tried hard with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in an almost triple-double, while Jacinta Monroe (23 points, 10 rebounds) starred despite the Lightning going down to Perth by 10 points (72-82). Chloe Bibby (25 points, nine rebounds) was outstanding for the winners, as Lauren Scherf (11 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and three steals) did it all. Amy Atwell (14 points, eight rebounds) and Alex Sharp (10 points, six rebounds and four assists) were also impressive.