WNBL Round 3 wrap-up
Wednesday 22 October 2003
News: No more bodysuits? Surprised they didn't do it a couple of years back. Then again, the WNBL only got a new CEO relatively recently.
This was the televised game and boy was it ugly. Both games were rather sporadic on offense but unlike Sydney, Dandenong played D and actually rebounded. They outrebounded Sydney 20-5 in the first half and that was the story of the game. No doubt Karen Dalton will make the team work hard at boxing out during practices this week especially with Adelaide coming up this weekend.
Jacinta Hamilton was the most impressive of the Rangers with her hard work in the paint. She had 13 points, a career high 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Caitlin Ryan knocked down some perimeter shots at opportune times and Sam Richards was impressive in the dying minutes of the game with her penetration and defense.
Dandenong (mainly Emily McInerney) did a great job on Belinda Snell by restricting her to 3/12 from the field with no three pointers (three attempts) and forcing her into 8 turnovers. Musselwhite was most impressive for the Flames with her aggressive offensive play. Tammy Hoare was another one who impressed but it was disappointing to see her underutilised during the game. She was having her way in the block but was often overlooked for a perimeter shot. Sydney do run an effective motion offense but I would like to see more aggressive offensive play with more penetration and plays run for post players. Players like Kelly Wilson, Narelle Lindsay, Michelle Musselwhite and Briana Hennessy are all good slashers but I don't think they slash enough at the moment (especially Wilson). Randall and Cotton are pretty much forced to create their own shot or get sloppy seconds off the offensive boards (Randall's shooting percentage in particular is atrocious but it's not entirely her fault). Karen Dalton is a good coach but I hope she can implement an offensive scheme which exploits the versatility of this team more as it's mostly jumpshots at the moment.
Will Perth ever win a game this season? Well definitely not until Bevilaqua and McClure get back. Rachel Sporn had 23 points and 10 boards off 10/16 shooting while Jenni Screen scored 18 off 8/10 shooting. Primary concern for Adelaide - ball handling. Their three primary guards had a combined 12 turnovers.
As for Perth, Kerie Hughes had 18 while Renee Matthews had 14 points off 6/8 shooting. I wonder what's the WNBL record of lowest amount of wins in a season...
A nice and tight game to finish the round. Though Bulleen did have a buzzer beating three to make the final margin 1, it was a tight game all the way. Sydney went on a 15-2 run in the early minutes of the game and led by 13 in the final quarter but Bulleen reeled them in each time. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't enough and they really do need these sorts of wins if they hope to make the playoffs this season.
Briana Hennessy made her first start for the Flames this season and went a scorching 7/8 from the field to finish with 18 points. Shelley Hammonds put in a better showing with 20 points and 7 rebounds while Belinda Snell had 16 points and 9 rebounds with her three point radar back on, going 4/8 from beyond the arc. I have to say I don't particularly like the Musselwhite at point experiment. She's much better off at being a primary scorer as opposed to trying to run the offense. She's also not that good a ball handler or decision maker with 5 turnovers against the Boomers.
For the Boomers, Katrina Hibbert had an outstanding game with a career high 29 points (11/18 FG, 4/6 three pointers) and 7 rebounds. Larissa Cavanagh scored 16 points in support. A disappointment so far for the Boomers has been centre Hollie Grima who's only averaging 8 points a game against teams not named Perth and has a shooting percentage in the mid-low 30s. She's still doing her job on the boards but I think coach Chambers isn't running enough plays for Hollie in the post which is a shame. It's true though that she is adjusting to a new team and a new system after three years at the AIS so I expect better things from her later on in the season.
Player of the week: Even though her team didn't win, Katrina Hibbert deserves player of the week with her outstanding performance against Sydney. Others worthy of mention are Rachel Sporn and Jacintha Hamilton for their hard work in the paint.
Next week: AIS vs Bulleen should be interesting with Grima facing her old club and former team-mate and new AIS post extraordinaire Gabrielle Richards. Bulleen should win though because of their superior backcourt play.
Perth vs Sydney. Will Snell get another triple double like she did against Perth in Perth last season? What should be the betting spread? Sydney by 20? 30?
Dandenong vs AIS. Richards and Cunningham against Hamilton and Douglas is a matchup worth watching but experience should win the day.
Townsville vs Canberra. Extra week of practice would have helped Townsville but LJ's on fire and Townsville haven't shown yet that they'll be able to respond (and the loss of Boyd certainly won't help)
Adelaide vs Sydney. Adelaide will seek to rule the paint while Sydney should press Adelaide to the max. Sydney's on the second leg of the Doomsday Double which should benefit Adelaide but I'll predict a tight Sydney win as Adelaide coughs up several million turnovers yet again.