The UC Capitals and Melbourne Boomers will have it all to play for in Game 3 on Wednesday (26 February) at AIS Arena to capture a spot in the WNBL finals. Photo: Supplied.
The UC Capitals will have it all to play for in a mouthwatering Game 3 of the WNBL semi-finals after the Canberrans were outdone 88-76 by the Melbourne Boomers last night (23 February).
Guard Lindsay Allen was in fine form for the Boomers, finishing with 25 points on 10/14 from the field and playing nearly 36 of a possible 40 minutes out on the floor.
Eziyoda Magbegor and Madeleine Garrick both finished with 17 points to provide a solid supporting cast for Allen.
For the Caps, Marianna Tolo and Kelsey Griffin topped the scoring for Paul Goriss’ team with 17 each, but the visitors were playing catch up for the majority of the night.
Melbourne were efficient all night as their squad combined to shoot 50 per cent from the field, while the Caps could only manage 42 per cent.
The second quarter proved to be a pivotal period of the match as the Boomers outscored the away team by 10 points to build an overall lead of 15 by the half-time break.
From that moment onwards the Capitals were unable to bring the scoreline back to single digits and the Caps struggled to find any real rhythm on the offensive end.
We’ve been forced to Game 3 – Wednesday February 26, 7:30PM tip-off at AIS Arena.
Pre-sale begins 10AM tomorrow followed by general public sales at 4PM. Get ready, Canberra. #GoBIG #WNBL20 pic.twitter.com/ApTJbDozCr
— UC Capitals (@UCCapitals) February 23, 2020
The first quarter made for an exciting game as Allen scored nine of her 25 points in the first 10 minutes of play to put Melbourne up 23-18.
Instead of coming out of the blocks in the second quarter to gain control of proceedings, Canberra fell short. The hosts put on 10 field goals against the travellers’ five, meaning Guy Molloy’s team went into the half-time interval with a comfortable 15-point advantage.
The lead was a bridge too far for the Caps. League MVP Kia Nurse couldn’t get any kind of offensive flow and the 24-year-old couldn’t even score a point in the third period. The travellers were down by 14 heading into the fourth quarter.
Melbourne continued to make shots, but it was three-point field goals from Cayla George and Stella Beck within a minute that put the end to any thought of a comeback from the Caps.
The teams are back in Canberra on Wednesday, 26 February at 7:30 pm for Game 3 at AIS Arena. The winner will take on the Southside Flyers in the WNBL finals. Tickets for the general public go on sale at 4:00 pm this afternoon through Ticketek.
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