THE dominance of the Perth Lynx continued over the past weekend, as they extended their lead on top of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) ladder. In this week’s number crunching piece, we look at the versatility of their star, Asia Taylor and her ability to impact the box score in more ways than one. We also focus on the inconsistent play of the Flames and the importance of the double-double performances Kelsey Griffin has put together for the Capitals.

Flames inconsistent form continues

The Sydney Uni Flames’ horror beginning to the season continued in Round 5 as they dropped to 0-8 on the season and remain the only winless team in the competition. Within their eight losses, an interesting trend has emerged regarding weekends where the Flames play two games. With their 17-point blowout loss to the Boomers in their first game of the weekend, followed by their narrow two point loss to the Spirit, the Flames continued their trend of playing one poor game followed by a narrow loss in the second game of the weekend. Similarly in Round 4, the Flames lost to the Lynx by 16 points in their first of two games before fighting to the death with the Capitals before losing by only five points. This was also preceded by a 14-point loss to the Boomers in Round 2 before they put in a strong performance against the Rangers later in the round. The Flames have shown an ability to compete with some of the best teams, however consistency remains a concern.

Kelsey Griffin’s double-double dominance

Kelsey Griffin of the UC Capitals produced a monster performance in Round 5 with 30 points and 18 rebounds, recording her fifth double-double from six games. Her dominance on the offensive and defensive glass has been a huge key for the Capitals and has helped guide them to a strong record of four wins and two losses from their opening six games, good enough to land them in third place. Her consistently strong performances on the offensive and defensive end have seen her average 19 points and almost 12 rebounds a game, in a hugely impressive beginning to the season.

Asia Taylor the stat sheet stuffer

The Perth Lynx sit comfortably on top of the ladder after five rounds, having won six of their first seven encounters, including six consecutive games. A huge catalyst of their success has been the continued emergence of Asia Taylor, who leads Perth in almost every major statistical category. Taylor averages a team-high 18 points, eight rebounds and almost two steals per game, highlighting her impact on the defensive end as well as her explosive offence. Taylor also sits second on the team in assists, slightly behind Katie Ebzery, who is also off to an impressive start.

Defence one game, offence the next for Melbourne Boomers

The Melbourne Boomers have climbed their way up to fourth on the WNBL ladder with five wins from their eight games. After having dropped their first two games, the Boomers have been impressive, showcasing a number of paths to victory in their recent hot stretch. In their last five games, the Boomers have shown their explosiveness on offence in two encounters in particularly, scoring 101 points against the Rangers and 96 points against the Flames. On the other hand, they have been largely contained on offence with just 78 points against the Fire and 58 points against the Spirit (their lone loss of the stretch). The Boomers’ versatility on both sides of the ball should hold them in good stead moving forward as they move their way up the table.