Round 10 WNBL Preview | Thebigtip

This week is a special preview with it appearing a couple of days earlier than usual. This is due to the frustrating occurrence of a Wednesday night game this week and while I could just ignore the game and preview as normal, it would be very unprofessional. We have a Victorian derby and some massive matches which will directly impact on the battle for the top 5 and the big match of the round is 3rd vs 5th (more on that later)

 Wednesday night: Bendigo vs Bulleen @ Bendigo Stadium
 Bendigo picked up their routine win over the AIS last week to level the win/loss record while Bulleen went down to Sydney by 2 points in what was acclaimed as one of the “greatest WNBL games of all time.”

 Key Matchup: Gabrielle Richards vs Alice Kunek
 Richards has lifted her game this season for Bendigo and has acquired more consistency this year averaging 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Meanwhile for Bulleen, Alice Kunek has gone from a bit-part player to a player who is important to the Bulleen structure. While she’s only averaging 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, she also averages almost 30 minutes a game. This will probably be the closest matchup on court and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes

 The Final Word
 This schedule clearly favors Bulleen here as they’ve had 2 extra days of rest in the lead up to this game but having said all that, Bendigo were the first team to defeat the defending champions in an extraordinary shootout back in Round 2. We are on Bendigo’s court for this game but I think with concerns about Harrower’s Achilles, Bulleen guard Samantha Richards is likely to have a field day which will give Bulleen plenty of looks at the basket. If they shoot well, they win it’s that plain and simple as while Bendigo will try hard, they don’t have the same talent as Bulleen

 Bulleen by 13 points

 Friday night: West Coast vs Logan @ WA Basketball Centre
 West Coast are firmly stuck on the bottom of the ladder and the question is; Where’s their next win going to come from? As for Logan, they suffered a 9 point loss in the QLD Derby last Friday night and will need to bounce back especially with Adelaide on Saturday night and a chance to go back into the 5 if Dandenong lose to Townsville.

 Key Matchup: Rohanee Cox vs Cayla Francis
 Easily the best matchup of what could potentially be a mediocre game. Cox is averaging 15.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while Francis averages 16.2 points and 10.8 rebounds. Last time the 2 teams played it was a remarkably even duel as Logan took a long time to wear down the Waves but these 2 turned on quite a battle. I expect something similar this time

 The Final Word
 These two teams only played a fortnight ago and it was a thrilling contest with Logan coming from 13 down with 5 mins left to overrun the Waves by 3 points in a classic. At West Coast’s home, there’s no knowing what’s going to happen but having said that, they have been quite woeful at times. Last week they were awful in losing to Canberra and really, they just can’t play 4 quarters and only play good once the game’s all but over. If they can play like they did against Logan, they may very well pinch a win but Logan have to split this weekend or risk falling off the pace and there’s no way they’ll want to lose this game

Logan by 10 points

 Saturday afternoon: Canberra vs Sydney @ AIS Arena (Live on ABC1 @ 1pm)
 Sydney are coming off a difficult road trip where they almost threw away a 27 point lead against Bulleen but hung on to win by 2 points and then losing to Dandenong while Canberra won against West Coast but then lost to Adelaide after leading all game.

 Key Matchup:  Brigette Ardossi vs Belinda Snell or Amy Denson
 This promises to be a very interesting matchup. Unsure yet as to which Sydney girl Brigette Ardossi will take but still, it promises to be interesting. Ardossi averaged 15.5 points last weekend for Canberra and she’ll either play against the best Sydney player (Snell) or a player who’s coming back into form after a couple of off games (Denson) and she’ll have a hard task stopping either of those players

 The Final Word
 Canberra are no slouches despite sitting at 4-8 and they’ve managed to cause Adelaide some grief when they’ve played them however this is their first meeting of the season against Sydney. Coach Carrie Graf will have Canberra up for this one but how do you stop a team with a quartet of attacking options in Snell, Denson, Ebzery and Poto? That is the biggest challenge that Canberra will face and if they can do the job on a couple, they may cause the upset. Having said that, Sydney will be looking to bounce back from their loss against Dandenong and I just feel that they have too many options to trouble Canberra

 Sydney by 12 points

 Saturday night: Adelaide vs Logan @ Adelaide Arena
 Adelaide continue marching on this season currently sitting at 9-2 while Logan are sitting precariously at 5-4 and needing to win this one to potentially sweep the weekend (after their game on Friday night) and keep pace with Dandenong and Townsville.

 Key Matchup: Abby Bishop vs Cayla Francis
 This promises to be a matchup of some significance. Abby Bishop averages 16.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while Cayla Francis averages 16.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Both girls have been remarkably consistent all season long and both are very capable of taking a game by the scruff of the neck although having said that, both play different roles. Bishop is second fiddle to Suzi Batkovic while Francis is the focal point in the Logan offense. If Bishop gets on top here, this could get very ugly for Logan.

The Final Word
 Yet again Adelaide have become the beneficiary of a bizarre draw being the second leg of the doomsday double for another team. Logan don’t have the extra day to back up after the match on Friday night against West Coast and while Logan coach Olaf Lange will have his girls up for this encounter, I suspect fatigue is going to play a huge part. What will also play a huge part is the form of Suzy Batkovic. She is far and away the best player in the WNBL and if Logan can’t keep her in check, it’s going to be a long night for them

Adelaide by 14 points

Saturday night: Bendigo vs AIS @ Bendigo Stadium
 Bendigo will be coming off a tough game against Bulleen on Wednesday night but this is the 2nd time in 2 weeks that these 2 teams have played against each other. Last time saw Bendigo embarrass the AIS by 41 points, what will this one hold?

Key Matchup: Sara Blicavs or Olivia Thompson vs Tess Madgen
 Yes I’ve gone the cheap option and chosen to pick out the same matchup as I did last week. Simple reason! Retribution will be on the mind of the AIS duo as Madgen played really well last week.  Blicavs and Thompson have both been brilliant for the AIS this season although both struggled badly last week (they weren’t the only ones) while Madgen is on her way to being a top player clearly benefiting from the tutelage of Kristi Harrower. It’s going to be a battle of the young guns and I certainly am very interested in the outcome of it

The Final Word
 Ouch! This yet again has the potential to get ugly. Last week the AIS were restricted to 30 points in what was one of the most embarrassing displays ever produced. Can Bendigo repeat the dose? They’re not going to restrict the AIS to 30 especially after they come off a really difficult game against Bulleen on Wednesday night. Will they win though? Without a doubt. This will be ugly but not as ugly as last week

 Bendigo by 30 points

Saturday night: Townsville vs Dandenong @ Townsville RSL Stadium
 Townsville are coming off a routine win in the QLD Derby last week while Dandenong became only the 3rd team this season to topple Sydney in what was a very impressive defensive performance.

Key Matchup: Shanavia Dowdell vs Alison Downie
 It’s really unusual to provide a matchup that really shouldn’t happen but due to the injury to Dandenong’s Krista Phillips, swingman Alison Downie has been forced to step up in recent weeks and she’s been absolutely fantastic. If she can play tight defense on Dowdell, things could get really interesting

The Final Word
 Last time these two teams played, the margin ended up closer than it should’ve as Dandenong performed one of their near disappearing acts but what got them into the big lead to begin with was forcing Shanavia Dowdell into foul trouble and playing tough, disciplined defense for the most part. If they can bring that sort of game to Townsville on Saturday, we could be in for a cracker. It’s 3rd vs 5th and this is potentially a season defining game for both clubs. The season split will be decided and come the end of the season, should they finish on the same win/loss record, the margin could decide which team finishes on top. As much as I’d love to tip Dandenong, I just think that their disappearing act could prove to be the difference.

Townsville by 6 points

Sunday afternoon: Bulleen vs AIS @ The Veneto Club
 Bulleen are coming off a loss to Sydney last week and a tough game against Bendigo on Wednesday night while the AIS are coming off a match on Saturday night against Bendigo.

Key Matchup: Alice Kunek vs Olivia Thompson
 We know the AIS don’t actually have anyone to stop Elizabeth Cambage so instead we’re going to focus on an entertaining matchup between Alice Kunek and Olivia Thompson. Kunek has been the beneficiary of increased minutes while Thompson has played well for the AIS this season. I think this matchup will be one of the better ones though I reckon Kunek will get the better of Thompson, if only because of Thomspon playing the previous night.

The Final Word
 I pity the AIS, I really do. This is one of the toughest weeks they could ever have coming up against Bendigo and then a Bulleen side seething from the loss to Sydney. This has all the makings of a horror show and for those travelling to The Veneto Club on Sunday expect this to be a massive blowout mainly due to the fact that the AIS will be coming off a game the previous night. Elizabeth Cambage will have a field afternoon and so will Bulleen and expect the AIS to get flogged and easily

Bulleen by 40 points

So ends the early edition of Round 10 preview of action in the WNBL