ROUND 7 saw the Lynx continue to dominate, the Flames drop to a new low and the Boomers become prone to close margins. We also took a look at whether the home court advantage is really an advantage for Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) teams.

The perfect 10: Lynx make huge statement against struggling Flames

After a great season in 2017/18 where they finished 14-7, the Sydney Uni Flames find themselves win-less from their first 10 games of the 2018/19 season, with Asia Taylor proving to be a huge loss for the side. The Flames have had several opportunities to register their first victory, having been involved in several close match-ups, but they just haven’t made the big plays when it’s mattered most. Their performances hit a new low this week, with the side falling by the largest margin of the season in a 46-point loss to the league-leading Perth, which illustrates just how far off the mark the Flames are.

Two points, two Games

Fans of the Melbourne Boomers endured a stressful weekend as their side was involved in two nail-biting finishes in their games against the Capitals and the Lightning. In their first encounter of the week, the Boomers fell to the Capitals 72-70 in a battle of two of the best sides in the competition. The tough loss inspired the team to ensure they would not endure another tight loss in their encounter with the Adelaide Lightning, this time winning the game by two points. The score of 84-82 also directly mirrors that of Melbourne’s National Basketball League (NBL) side, Melbourne United, who also won their match-up 84-82 against the Sydney Kings.

Close games

The defending champions, Townsville Fire haven’t had the season many of us expected until this point, but that could easily change if a few results start going their way. Boomers fans experienced a nervous weekend, but for Fire fans they’ve experienced a nervous season, with every game being closely contested. After their first nine games, the Fire have yet to have a game finish with a margin over 10 points. The close finishes signal that despite their record sitting at 4-5, the Fire can match it with just about anyone in the competition. If the Fire are able to turn some of these close losses into wins, they will put themselves right back in the conversation for the championship which they hoisted last season.

Home court advantage?

Home court advantage has traditionally been of high importance all over the world in basketball, but so far in the 2018/19 WNBL season, there has been anything but an advantage of playing at home. The Perth Lynx sit on top of the table with seven wins and two losses, however this record could be even better if they had performed as well at home as they have on the road. The Lynx are just 3-2 at home, opposed to their 4-0 record on the road. Similarly, the Melbourne Boomers sit at 8-4, however are just 3-3 at home with a 5-1 mark away from Melbourne. Overall, four of seven teams have better records on the road than at home. Not included is the UC Capitals, who have just one loss at home and one loss on the road.