Round 5 WNBL Review | Thebigtip

It was another extraordinary round in the WNBL and my tipping again resembled a train wreck as tipping upsets just doesn’t seem to work and in future I should tip based on ladder positions. All games were decided quite comfortably so it wasn’t a round for thrillers but otherwise we still have Sydney and Townsville unbeaten while West Coast and AIS are winless.

AIS VS LOGAN

The opening match of the round expected a blowout however for a quarter; the game was actually tight with Logan leading by just 4 points at quarter-time. Unfortunately from there, the game predictably blew out as Logan took advantage of the youthful AIS to record a very comfortable 30 point win. Renae Camino was top scorer with 20 points for Logan with Cayla Francis getting yet another double-double (18 points and 11 rebounds). As for the AIS Olivia Thomspon top scored with 18 points. The main difference between the two sides was experience, not to mention Logan dominating the key statistical areas and also shooting 52% from the field. Logan improves their season record to 3-3 while the AIS slip to 0-6.

3 – Renae Camino (Logan)
2 – Cayla Francis (Logan)
1 – Sara Blicavs (AIS)

AIS 57 (Olivia Thompson 18, Sara Blicavs 16, Casey Samuels 10)
Logan 87 (Renae Camino 20, Cayla Francis 18, Emma Randall 13, Sarah Graham 13)

WEST COAST VS TOWNSVILLE

A 24-12 third quarter has set the foundation for Townsville’s 24 point win over an insipid West Coast. The first half saw Townsville come out on fire to lead by 10 at quarter-time before seeing West Coast reduce the margin to 8 at half-time. Unfortunately that was where the game ended as a contest as a 24-12 third quarter and 24-20 fourth quarter saw Townsville comfortably home against the leakiest defense in the WNBL. West Coast actually had more shots than Townsville (76-71) but only shot at 36% from the field compared to 49% and Townsville sunk 100% from the free throw line to 85% but the rebounds was the killer with Townsville getting 45 to West Coast’s 29. Jess Foley was extraordinary for Townsville with 25 points and 11 rebounds while Rohanee Cox got 24 points and 11 rebounds for West Coast. Townsville maintain their unbeaten run at 6-0 while West Coast continue their winless run at 0-6.

3 – Rohanee Cox (West Coast)
2 – Jess Foley (Townsville)
1 – Vivian Frieson (Townsville)

West Coast 74 (Rohanee Cox 24, Nikita-Lee Martin 10, Ebony Antonio 9)
Townsville 98 (Jess Foley 25, Shanavia Dowdell 21, Nicole Romeo 12, Vivian Frieson 12)

CANBERRA VS DANDENONG

A 24-14 opening quarter has laid the foundation for a comfortable 12 point win to Dandenong against Canberra at AIS Arena. After that burst, Canberra actually managed to halve the defecit in the second quarter but as so often happens, when you are forced to come from behind, you eventually run out of energy and ideas. Canberra actually had 8 more shots than Dandenong but shot at 37.5% compared to 46.9% from the field and Dandenong’s ability to get to the foul line was also vital (taking 29 shots to 18 from the foul line). The biggest difference was in the assists as Dandenong had 25 assists to 8 and showing a willingness to make the extra pass to get the open shot. Kathleen McLeod top scored with 25 points for Dandenong while Marianna Tolo had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Canberra as too much was left to too few for the Capitals. Dandenong improve their record to 4-2 while Canberra slip to 1-6 and you get the sense that their finals hopes are almost bordering terminal at this early stage.

3 – Marianna Tolo (Canberra)
2 – Kathleen McLeod (Dandenong)
1 – Krista Phillips (Dandenong)

Canberra 74 (Marianna Tolo 21, Jessica Bibby 15, Natalie Porter 12)
Dandenong 86 (Kathleen McLeod 25, Krista Phillips 22, Stephanie Cumming 20)

SYDNEY VS AIS

A strange thing occurred at this game on Saturday night. After Sydney opened up strong to lead by 7 points at quarter-time, the AIS came back strong to level at half-time. While neutrals were undoubtedly hoping for an upset, Sydney coach Karen Dalton had some stern words with her team and they came out and dominated the second half to win by 23 points in what was a lot more lopsided margin than the game deserved. The key difference is that Sydney shot at 50% from the field to the AIS’ 39% and also had 25 assists to 11. Belinda Snell top scored with 23 points for Sydney while Carley Mijovic top scored for the AIS with 19. After a scare, Sydney improve their record to 6-0 while the AIS slip to 0-7

3 – Belinda Snell (Sydney)
2 – Katie-Rae Ebzery (Sydney)
1 – Carley Mijovic (AIS)

Sydney 84 (Belinda Snell 23, Katie-Rae Ebzery 19, Amy Denson 16)
AIS 61 (Carley Mijovic 21, Sara Blicavs 14, Rosie Fadljevic 11)

BENDIGO VS ADELAIDE

A brilliant second quarter defensive display and consistent shooting have allowed Adelaide to upset a Krist Harrower less Bendigo by 9 points in a game that really was all over at half-time. After leading by 4 points at quarter-time, Adelaide ripped the contest away with a 25-15 second quarter to lead by 14 at half-time. During this damning second quarter, Adelaide shot at 58.8% from the field to Bendigo’s 27.3%. After half-time, Bendigo outscored Adelaide in both the third and fourth quarters but the damage had already been done. Abby Bishop top scored for Adelaide with 20 points while Deanna Smith top scored in a virtual lone hand with 27 points for Bendigo. Adelaide improve their record to 5-1 while Bendigo slip to 2-4 however it could be argued that the loss of Kristi Harrower did indeed prove to be the difference in this game, not to mention Adelaide’s dominant front court.

3 – Deanna Smith (Bendigo)
2 – Suzy Batkovic (Adelaide)
1 – Abby Bishop (Adelaide)

Bendigo 72 (Deanna Smith 27, Gabrielle Richards 11, Kelly Wilson 11)
Adelaide 81 (Abby Bishop 20, Suzy Batkovic 17, Angela Marino 16)

BULLEEN VS ADELAIDE

For the first time this season we’ve truly seen the defending champions at their best as an extraordinary defensive effort in the first three quarters secured a comfortable 16 point win over Adelaide. Bulleen’s defense was so brilliant that they restricted Adelaide to just 33 points in the first three quarters before they eased off and allowed Adelaide to score extra points in the fourth quarter for respectability. Elizabeth Cambage top scored for Bulleen with 16 points however Suzy Batkovic was game leading scorer with 22 points although quite a lot of those came in the fourth quarter when the game was over. Bulleen improve their record to 4-1 while Adelaide slip to 5-2

3 – Suzy Batkovic (Adelaide)
2 – Elizabeth Cambage (Bulleen)
1 – Rachel Jarry (Bulleen)

Bulleen 77 (Elizabeth Cambage 16, Rachel Jarry 15, Alice Kunek 12, Sam Richards 12)
Adelaide 61 (Suzy Batkovic 22, Angela Marino 11, Abby Bishop 9)

So with the end of the round comes the ladder which is as follows;

Sydney 6-0
Townsville 6-0
Bulleen 4-1
Adelaide 5-2
Dandenong 4-2
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Logan 3-3
Bendigo 2-4
Canberra 1-6
West Coast 0-6
AIS 0-7

Also the Player of the Year award has seen an opening up in the margin between first and second however with all teams not having played an equal number of games, it’s difficult to say how accurate this is

20 – Suzy Batkovic (Adelaide)
14 – Belinda Snell (Sydney)
13 – Shanavia Dowdell (Townsville)
12 – Cayla Francis (Logan)
9 – Kathleen McLeod (Dandenong)
9 – Marianna Tolo (Canberra)

So at the end of Round 5, we’ve learnt that my tipping of WNBL Games stinks (having only got 3 this week), that West Coast have the leakiest defence by far in the competition (conceded 91.83 points per game to the AIS 83.57 points per game) and that the WNBL is gearing up for the big top of the table showdown next week between Townsville and Sydney

Stay tuned for my Round 6 Preview.