GEELONG United made it two from two against Adelaide Lightning in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) yesterday, with the league’s newest side overcoming the last placed South Australian team by 10 points. A big name making her debut in the match was talented guard Monique Conti now her AFLW commitments – including yet another club best and fairest – are behind her.

The Richmond star headed down the coast for her basketball when Melbourne Boomers were replaced by Geelong United this season, with the number 14 stepping out on the court for the first time yesterday. She played 27 minutes and finished with four points, a team-high four assists and two rebounds in a low-scoring 69-59 victory at Geelong Arena.

Adelaide actually started the game strongly with a 19-14 first term, before United got cooking in the second quarter. They piled on 18 points to seven – turning a five-point quarter time deficit into a six-point half-time lead – in the next quarter, and went on with it winning the three other quarters to secure the 10-point win.

It was a well-balanced performance from the home side, with eight players scoring, headlined by Haley Jones‘ 13 points, as well as six rebounds and two assists. Keely Froling (12 points, eight rebounds), Hannah Hank (nine points, seven rebounds) and Elissa Brett (seven points, seven rebounds) all caused some serious headaches for the Lightning around the basket, while Gemma Potter hit double digits with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Geelong’s second chance baskets were key, pulling in 14 offensive rebounds to nine, to put up 15 points to seven in the tight contest. They also earned 24 points off the bench to the Lightning’s five, with depth becoming an evident difference between the sides. United’s ability to score in the paint (38 points to 28) and have less fouls (12-18) were other key facts.

In a match where no one player dominated the stats sheet, the Lightning duo of Isobel Borlase and Isabelle Bourne both had a match-high 14 points, while combining for nine rebounds. The two bigs who have put up some huge rebound numbers this year in Brianna Turner and Stephanie Talbot also impressed, with the former recording the sole double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while the latter had seven points, six rebounds and seven assists.

However aside from Brooke Basham‘s five points off the bench in 16 and a half minutes, the Lightning relied a lot on the starting five, with Japreece Dean (nine points, six assists and four rebounds) the key distributor on offence with Talbot, as the pair had 13 of the side’s 17 assists.

AROUND THE COURTS

Adelaide had snapped its slow start to the season two days earlier with a comprehensive win on the road over Southside Flyers. The Lightning won every quarter, held by a 28-17 start and then an impressive 23-11 third term to post a 97-71 victory at the State Basketball Centre.

Despite the Flyers’ Dallas Loughridge putting up a match-high 23 points in defeat, the. Lightning had six players managed double-figure points with Bourne (21 points, four rebounds) standing tall, while Basham (17 points), Dean (16 points, five steals, three assists and three rebounds) and Borlase (12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals) were great defensively.

Turner (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Talbot (11 points, eight rebounds) were enormous off the boards and negated the impact of Naz Hillmon‘s massive double-double of 11 points and 15 rebounds on the night in the 26-point victory.

On Saturday, Sydney Flames handed Perth Lynx their second loss of the weekend after an impressive previous weekend. A Cayla George masterclass for the Flames was the difference between the sides in the 86-75 triumph, with the Opal lknocking down 28 points and pulling in 14 rebounds, well supported by Shaneice Swain (20 points, seven rebounds).

Emma Clarke (13 points, eight rebounds) and Carla Pitman (13 points, five rebounds) were also strong for the home team in the 11-point victory, while the Lynx tried hard off the boards with Miela Sowah (13 points, four rebounds) top-scoring. Alex Wilson (12 points, seven rebounds), Steph Gorman (12 points, five rebounds) and double-double star Anneli Maley (11 points, 10 rebounds) were other standouts.