Round 6 WNBL Review | Thebigtip

Round 6 was a collector’s item for the WNBL. The two winless teams played each other while the two undefeated sides also squared off. The matches in between were for the most part classics and we even had an overtime thriller down at Bulleen. Even more astonishing, I managed to tip all 6 winners for the round which shows that I can get really lucky on tipping

With all that in mind, let’s have a look at the results

AIS vs WEST COAST
This game actually promised to be close as it was the two winless teams squaring off and it definitely looked that way as the AIS stormed out to an early 10 point lead before being reeled in to lead 20-16 at quarter-time. Sadly that was where the game came to an end as a contest as once West Coast hit the front, that was the end of it. A 23-8 second quarter killed the game and despite the AIS holding their own in the 3^rd, the Waves ran away with it in the last quarter to win very comfortably. The Waves enjoyed 14 more shots, 8 more assists, 4 more steals and 16 more rebounds and this superiority reflected in the final score. Samantha Norwood and Rohanee Cox top scored for West Coast with 17 points while Darcee Garbin led the AIS with 16. The Waves jump to 1-6 while the AIS slip to 0-8.

3 – Rohanee Cox (West Coast)
2 – Samantha Norwood (West Coast)
1 – Sara Blicavs (AIS)

AIS 55 (Darcee Garbin 16, Casey Samuels 14, Sara Blicavs 9)
West Coast 77 (Rohanee Cox 17, Samantha Norwood 17, Melissa Marsh 13)

BENDIGO vs CANBERRA
Despite early mail suggesting she would not play, Kristi Harrower suited up and came off the bench to lead Bendigo to a vital 4 point win over Canberra. The first half was one way traffic as Canberra simply couldn’t find a way to score against a stifling Bendigo defense and went into half-time trailing by 14. The third quarter was astonishing as Canberra went on a 25-13 tear to close the margin to just 2 points and set the game up for a grandstand finish. Bendigo; despite having an ugly offense for most of the night, managed to do enough to emerge with a season-defining 4 point win. Bendigo had 19 more shots, 12 less turnovers and in probably the game decider, double the number of offensive rebounds (18 to 9) than Canberra. Deanna Smith top-scored for Bendigo with 19 points while Nicole Hunt and Natalie Porter both had 15 for Canberra. Canberra slip to a 1-7 record while Bendigo improve to 3-4 for the season.

3 – Marianna Tolo (Canberra)
2 – Deanna Smith (Bendigo)
1 – Natalie Porter (Canberra)

Bendigo 63 (Deanna Smith 19, Kristi Harrower 12, Kelly Wilson 9)
Canberra 59 (Nicole Hunt 15, Natalie Porter 15, Marianna Tolo 9)

ADELAIDE vs DANDENONG
For three and a half quarters this was heading towards a pretty comfortable Adelaide win as they extended the lead at every change and with 6 minutes left, held a very comfortable 10 point lead. Dandenong however showed some heart that not many have seen as they chipped away at the margin and with just over a minute left, had leveled the scoring at 74-74. Adelaide had enough composure to hang on for the win by 2 points as a desperate Jenna O’Hea match winning attempt missed. As with the Bendigo vs Canberra game, the main difference here was offensive rebounds as Adelaide had 19 while Dandenong had just 6. Suzy Batkovic had a field day scoring 38 points for Adelaide as she was aided by Dandenong big Krista Phillips fouling out while Jenna O’Hea kept Dandenong going with 17 points. Adelaide improves to 6-2 while Dandenong slip to 4-3 with a daunting matchup the next day against Bulleen.

3 – Suzy Batkovic (Adelaide)
2 – Jenna O’Hea (Dandenong)
1 – Abby Bishop (Adelaide)

Adelaide 78 (Suzy Batkovic 38, Angela Marino 10, Abby Bishop 8, Jo Hill 8)
Dandenong 76 (Jenna O’Hea 17, Kathleen McLeod 15, Alison Downie 13)

TOWNSVILLE vs SYDNEY
This match promised to be a ripper and it delivered in every way as Sydney came from 13 points behind in the second quarter to record a memorable 7 point win over Townsville. When Townsville got out to that margin, it looked all over but Sydney chipped away to reduce the margin to 6 at half-time before taking complete control of the game with a 27-17 third quarter before marginally extending their lead in the fourth. The key difference in this game would have to be the second half shooting performance of both sides. Sydney shot 50% from the field in the second half and their lift in defensive intensity restricted Townsville to 33% from the field. Belinda Snell top scored with 23 points for Sydney while Shanavia Dowdell and Micaela Cocks both had 21 for Townsville. Sydney are now the only unbeaten team at 7-0 while Townsville’s loss slips them to 2^nd at 6-1.

3 – Belinda Snell (Sydney)
2 – Alicia Poto (Sydney)
1 – Jess Foley (Townsville)

Townsville 77 (Shanavia Dowdell 21, Micaela Cocks 21, Jess Foley 14)
Sydney 84 (Belinda Snell 23, Alicia Poto 17, Amy Denson 15)

CANBERRA vs WEST COAST
Canberra have snapped their 3 game losing run and delivered West Coast a harsh reality lesson with an astonishing 35 point win. Canberra set up the win with a blistering 26-14 opening quarter and despite West Coast lifting their competitiveness in the second quarter, a second half fadeout saw Canberra win every quarter and make West Coast’s defense look crap. The stats from this match are pretty damning if you’re a West Coast fan. Canberra shot 50.7% from the field to West Coast’s 34.8%. Canberra shot at 52.2% from beyond the arc to West Coast’s 21.4%. Canberra had 27 assists to West Coast’s 9 and in the last damning statistic of them all; Canberra had 44 rebounds to West Coast’s 24. It was as comprehensive a victory as you’re likely to see this season. Jessica Bibby and Marianna Tolo both had 21 points for Canberra while Nikita-Lee Martin and Rohanee Cox both had 18 for West Coast. Canberra improve their record to a still average 2-7 while West Coast slump to 1-7.

3 – Marianna Tolo (Canberra)
2 – Jessica Bibby (Canberra)
1 – Rohanee Cox (West Coast)

Canberra 100 (Marianna Tolo 21, Jessica Bibby 21, Carly Wilson 18)
West Coast 65 (Rohanee Cox 18, Nikita-Lee Martin 18, Melissa Marsh 7)

BULLEEN vs DANDENONG
Wow! That’s about the only word that could be used to describe this extraordinary match as Bulleen claimed the Michelle Timms Cup with their 13^th straight win over Dandenong this time in overtime by 6 points. Dandenong led by 4 points at quarter-time before Bulleen squared it up at half-time.  Alice Kunek managed to give Bulleen a two point lead at three-quarter time before Dandenong showed more heart and came home hard, hitting the front late in the last quarter before Bulleen managed to tie it up from the foul line and send it into overtime. Sadly overtime was where the fatigue kicked in for Dandenong as they felt the pinch of that tough game against Bulleen the day before. Looking at the stats, there was a clear difference between these two teams and it all stems from that one crucial word; COMPOSURE. Bulleen may have had more turnovers (19-8) but they shot far better from the field (46.1% to 34.7%), far better from beyond the arc (33.3% to 27.6%) and far better from the foul line (83.3% to 61.9%). They also had 6 more rebounds but in overtime, Dandenong had 5 offensive rebounds but couldn’t take their chances. Samantha Richards and Elizabeth Cambage top scored for Bulleen with 22 points while Jenna O’Hea was the game leading scorer with 27 points for Dandenong. Bulleen improve their record to 5-1 while Dandenong slip into vulnerable territory at 4-4.

3 – Elizabeth Cambage (Bulleen)
2 – Jenna O’Hea (Dandenong)
1 – Johannah Leedham (Bulleen)

Bulleen 93 (Elizabeth Cambage 22, Samantha Richards 22, Johannah Leedham 19)
Dandenong 87 (Jenna O’Hea 27, Kathleen McLeod 21, Krista Phillips 16)

After all that, the ladder stands as follows

Sydney 7-0
Townsville 6-1
Bulleen 5-1
Adelaide 6-2
Dandenong 4-4
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Logan 3-3
Bendigo 3-4
Canberra 2-7
West Coast 1-7
AIS 0-8

The Player of the Year sees Suzy Batkovic continue to extend her lead but there’s no shortage of challengers

23 – Suzy Batkovic (Adelaide)
17 – Belinda Snell (Sydney)
15 – Marianna Tolo (Canberra)
13 – Shanavia Dowdell (Townsville)
12 – Cayla Francis (Logan)
12 – Rohanee Cox (West Coast)
11 – Elizabeth Cambage (Bulleen)

This week also sees a new addition to the Review with a new category and a category that could appear depending on how the weekend’s results go

The WNBL this season looks like being a battle of 4 teams with the top 4 potentially looking settled barring any collapses with Sydney, Townsville, Adelaide and Bulleen fighting it out for those top 4 spots

5^th spot at this early stage looks like a three way battle between Dandenong, Logan and Bendigo

If a match gets massive hype, more often than not it’ll deliver as Sydney vs Townsville did on Saturday night

Dandenong just cannot beat Bulleen, no matter the circumstances

West Coast’s defense really is woeful

This is a new category and the first team to be nominated will be the Dandenong Rangers. Probably one of the worst doubles you could ever cop having to come up against the tall timber of Adelaide (Batkovic and Bishop in particular) and then having to back up the next day against a team you haven’t beaten for a long time in Bulleen. Logic would dictate that there would be a flogging at some stage but to Dandenong’s credit they fought out both games extremely well (losing by 2 against Adelaide and 6 against Bulleen) and if they’d had a little more luck, could’ve found themselves with 2 wins as opposed to 2 losses. Sadly it doesn’t get any easier with Townsville on Friday night at home so their unlucky run may continue.

So ends an extensive Round 6 Review.