The Sydney Flames have claimed their first win at new home court QuayCentre and heaped more misery on the UC Capitals, consigning them to a ninth-straight defeat to start the WNBL season.
The Capitals were beaten 87-72 having lost by an average margin of 22.75 points across their first eight games. But they stuck with the Flames on Friday and took the lead for the first time in the final four minutes of the second quarter.
A first-round pick in the most recent WNBA draft, Rae Burrell kept Canberra’s surge alive with 14 of her side’s 20 third-quarter points, looking especially ominous from beyond the arc.
It took until the final term for another Capitals player to make it into double figures.
Flames guard Shyla Heal stuck it to Burrell (27 points) and had surpassed 20 points for the game by the final change herself as only three points separated the two sides.
But Burrell’s influence waned in the fourth quarter and the Flames took her substitution out of the game as an invitation to go on with the contest.
When she rejoined in the last two-and-a-half minutes, captain Keely Froling (26 points) and Heal (22 points) were in the middle of orchestrating a 12-point run that sealed victory for the Flames in the second game at their new digs.
“Burrell is a great player so we really had to step it up,” said Flames coach Shane Heal.
“The game plan was to shut (Capitals guard) Jade Melbourne down and she had two points.
“(The Capitals) have been fighting against everyone and they made massive shots in the third quarter. We really had to dig in to get the win.”
Opals star Cayla George (30 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) recorded the WNBL’s first triple-double in ten years as the reigning-champion Melbourne Boomers fought back to sink the Adelaide Lightning 106-100 in an overtime thriller.
After seven rounds, George leads the league in rebounds and minutes per game and is ranked in the top ten for points, assists, blocks and steals.
Mia Murray led the Boomers with 34 points and her three-pointer in the final minute sent the game into OT, where Olivia Nelson-Ododa pitched in seven of the Boomers’ 15 points.
George and Adelaide’s Steph Talbot (22 points, 12 rebounds), Australia’s best player at the recent World Cup, each finished with a staggering 45 minutes of game time.
Lauren Jackson’s return to the WNBL continues to pay dividends for the Southside Flyers, who handed the Bendigo Spirit their first loss of the season 96-67 and consolidated fourth spot.
For the third time this season, Jackson (20 points, 13 rebounds) racked up 20-plus points as the Flyers prevented Bendigo from leading at any point.
In the first game of the round, the Perth Lynx consigned the Capitals to their eighth straight loss 97-83.
Jade Melbourne amassed a career-high 24 points as the Capitals toiled away without Shaneice Swain (personal reasons) and Emilee Whittle-Harmon, who injured her knee in the warm-up.
Lynx captain Sami Whitcomb led the way with 26 points and a game-high seven assists.
