WITH no basketball on for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we look at the brighter side of the sport that brought plenty of memories throughout the 2019/20 Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season. Over the next couple of weeks we will countdown Draft Central‘s Top 10 memorable moments from the season. Some are individual events, others are season views, and even a couple are decisions that panned out for the better. Today we continue with number three, when Nicole Seekamp picked up a WNBL record of 20 assists.

#3 Nicole Seekamp’s 20-assist game

The Adelaide Lightning captain had one of the most memorable games on record when Adelaide hosted Southside Flyers early in the new year. The Lightning welcomed the top-of-the-table Flyers to Titanium Security Arena on January 5, with the mid-table logjam very much alive and the home team needing a win to provide some security on their finals aspirations. With import, Kathryn Westbeld providing some crucial support to the experienced Lauren Nicholson and Brianna Turner, and Stephanie Talbot in ripping form, Seekamp was leading a strong core five who were the underdogs for the season.

They showed just what they could do on their home court on that particular afternoon, coming from a point down at quarter time to tighten the screws and pile on 35 points to 22 in the second term and race away to a 12-point lead at the main break. Southside hit back to cut it to 11 at the final break, but both teams scored 18 in the final stanza for the Lightning to get up, 104-93. Three of her teammates scored more than 20 points, with Turner (25 and nine rebounds), Nicholson (24, five rebounds and four assists) and Westbeld (22 and five rebounds), but it was Seekamp who caught all the attention. She only put up the 10 points, but had a remarkable 20 assists – of her team’s total 37 – to guide the Lightning’s offence.

To put the performance in perspective, Turner only had six less assists than the entire Southside team, and along with Talbot (seven points, eight assists and seven rebounds), worked the ball forward with precision and skill. The win was a confidence booster for Seekamp and the Lightning, and whilst their season would ultimately end at the same venue against the same opponent later in the season, the captain’s effort on that afternoon would not be forgotten. Seekamp played all 22 games, averaging 11 points, eight assists, four rebounds and one steal per game in season 2019/20.

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Top 10 WNBL 2019/20 moments countdown so far:

#10 – Ezi Magbegor wins second Rookie of the Year award
#9 – Bendigo Spirit breaks road drought
#8 – Mercedes Russell stars in debut season
#7 – Southside’s flying first season
#6 – Back-to-back overtime victories shape finals series
#5 – Southside Flyers’ road win against UC Capitals
#4 – Kia Nurse wins MVP after sensational season
#3 – Nicole Seekamp’s 20-assist game