Category: WNBL

The Merv Harris Medallist we are hoping sees some court action tonight in the Lightning "Young Talent Time" session - Photo by WNBL 

Adelaide Lightning vs. Perth Lynx
When: 7:00pm (AEDT), Thursday 30 January
Where: Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
Broadcast: Foxtel/Kayo

Last times they’ve met:

6/12/2019: Adelaide Lightning 79 (Turner 24, Nicholson 21, Seekamp 14) defeated Perth Lynx 69 (Ebzery 18, Atkins 15, McGee-Stafford 14) at Titanium Security Arena

STRIKE BACK INTO HISTORY

1996 Preliminary Final: Lightning wash away Breakers to setup top of table Grand Final rematch

After a Karen Dalton led Sydney Flames snuck over the top of the Lightning in their semi-final by a lay-up, the girls responded swiftly ruthlessly sweeping aside a Perth Breakers side boasting Gina Stevens and Tully Bevilaqua.

Led by the WNBL’s second leading points per game for the season superstar Rachael Sporn, forward stealing master Carla Boyd and assist King Michelle Brogan, the Lightning were never headed despite a brave Breakers having overcome the Brisbane Blazers in their elimination match and then upsetting third placed Bulleen Boomers. The match would of course lead to the famous three-peat of championships that the Lightning went through in the mid 90s and a dominant era of Women’s national basketball in the City of Churches.

Key Match-Ups 

Nicole Seekamp vs. Alison Schwagmeyer-Belger (Editor Note: Schwagmeyer-Belger has been ruled out of season as of today, keep an eye out for Kate Ebzery instead)

With finals just around the corner it looks like the entree will be served ready to go by the Lightning skipper Seekamp. She averages 10 assists this season per game against the Lynx and with the opportunity for some young talent time to see the court tonight, she’ll be all about setting up her team mates for success so everyone is well fed for the finals ahead in two weeks.

The Lynx need leadership in their lineup and with two games left, the reliable Schwagmeyer-Belger provides exactly what the Lynx need in this area. She’ll be looking to keep the ball out of the hands of Seekamp and quietly accumulate some key stats as noted by her three double figure scores to open the 2020 part of the season.

Brianna Turner vs. Nadeen Payne

“Ms Double Double” Turner has very much enjoyed playing the Lynx this WNBL season averaging a double double (points and rebounds) against this particular opponent. Her ability to turn defence into offence evident once again in the last few Lightning games including the last one against the Lynx as she assisted in creating 19 fast break points to open the game right up.

With McGee-Stafford gone, its up to Nadeen to bring the Payne to the Lightning front court if the Lynx are going to stop the one-two-three roll out of Turner, Westbeld and Talbot. Payne has been in good form recently with 12.2 ppg and 5 rpg since the start of 2020.

Jasmin Fejo vs. Nes’eya Williams

With very close back-to-back games for both sides and the Lightning securing fourth spot, we may see some extra court time from the pine tonight and here’s hoping that one of the most talented guards in the Basketball SA Premier League gets some time on court tonight and a spot in the squad for the Merv Harris Medallist “Jaz” Fejo. Fejo is explosive in the open court highlighted by her 40 point game against the South Adelaide Panthers last season and in a nice bit of sentimentality is well known to Lynx coach Andy Stewart with her sister Tahlia having played for the Lynx a few seasons back. It’s a good night to roll out the Fejo train on the national stage in front of a supportive home crowd, here’s hoping…

In opposition to this no doubt the match-up for Fejo would be her friend from the Lynx in Williams. Nes’eya has been an upcoming talent under coach Stewart for the past few years and has been logging more than 8 minutes per game since the start of 2020. She also has explosive pace off the dribble and great positioning in hustling on the glass. A match-up between these two if it eventuates will be “deadly” to watch for both young Indigenous talents.

The Last Play

With two games in the weekend, I just get the feeling that Lightning coach Chris Lucas will be wanting to give his starters a reasonable run and regardless of game situation fine tune his bench contribution to be prepared for the WNBL finals. This means we are likely to see some of the Lightning development players in more minutes tonight and an exciting look into the future as to what the Lightning Academy has produced. That is more than enough reasons to attend tonight’s game if you are thinking about it. The likelihood of this increases with the final game of the WNBL season against a likely finals opponent in the Canberra Capitals on Saturday interstate.

Lynx coach Stewart will also be looking to give his team plenty of court time in these final two fixtures after securing a fifth placed finish this season and two games and percentage clear of the sixth place Sydney Uni Flames. Its now about building for the future for Stewart as he casts an eye across to the 2020/2021 season priming the Lynx to claw their way back to post-season in the following season.

I think this game will be much closer because of the above factors, but if you’re a Lightning or basketball fan, watching some the Lightning’s “Young Talent Time” really will give us a look into the future of a franchise that is growing once again and looking like the real dark horse of the WNBL post-season.

Lightning by 8pts

It took till three quarter time for the Lightning to shake the embers off the Fire with Adelaide doing it by committee for the night - Photo by WNBL

THE WRAP Q BY Q

Captain Nicole Seekamp lead the way early in the match with a steal off the Fire’s defensive rebound to setup Lauren Nicholson for a deuce but the Fire were lit up early on. On the back of Tess Madgen who had not averaged more than 5ppg against the Lightning this season, she dropped 12pts in the first quarter to spark her team into action. Lightning import Brianna Turner was controlling air traffic through the paint once again with the highlight of her defensive end of the floor a massive block which literally started a fast break finish as she spiked the ball to Nicholson then flicked it wide to Seekamp who then found Turner for the floater finish in a spectacular end to end play. Through Madgen and Darcee Garbin the Fire tied things away 22-22 a piece after one.

In the second quarter the Fire hit the front through Garbin but that is the last time they’d hold the lead in the match as off the pine Chelsea Brook peeled off back to back triples for a 10-4 run. Nothing was going right for the Fire defensively with Bridget Carleton even blocking Turner who still turned it into points off the block collect. Garbin gave the Fire some hope with a couple of crucial buckets to bring it back to 40-33 at half-time. The Fire had shot 35 percent from the 3pt line and Madgen had dropped, but you wondered if the 7th placed team could sustain it for a full game.

The Lightning opened the third with a 11-2 run on the back of some pocket twos off a 2-3 zone which Seekamp really enjoyed but a Julie Vanloo “rainbow” 3 pointer and then a “Rondo” fake bucket capped off a 7-0 run to the Fire with Chris Lucas burning timeout. Talbot a thorn in the Fire’s side this WNBL season went to work on the block with Turner to finish the quarter with a 10-5 run capped by a Nicholson sweet left head fake then finish with her non preferred right to setup a solid 61-47 at three quarter time.

The fourth quarter saw Seekamp and Natalie Hurst breaking down defence through dribble and import Kathryn Westbeld continue an accumulating night points wise. Madgen hit back with another big bucket but with only three points in the second half was largely ineffectual as the Lightning tightened their defence on her denying her space and getting over the top off the off-balls screens that were being run for her the first half. A huge skip pass from Seekamp to Talbot with the dribble and finish was one of the nails in the coffin and despite some late fireworks to Vanloo and Talbot launching triples, this one was done with the Lightning holding their opponents to 27 points in the second half and cruising to a 87-60 victory to book their place in the post season.

COACH SPEAK (Written from WNBL Website)

Lightning coach Chris Lucas admitted it was a bit of grind for the night but was pleased with the defensive effort after quarter time “It wasn’t pretty but we got the result and held them to 60 points. I think that’s a pretty good defensive effort after they scored 185 points last weekend in their two games” Lucas said.

Fire coach Shannon Seebohm while disappointed with the result was also pleased with the effort from his girls in the first quarters to keep them in the game, “It’s certainly better than the first quarters we’ve had against them the last two times we played,” Seebohm explained.“That was our goal obviously, to ensure we were in the game at quarter time.”

DO THE STATS LIE?

The Lightning had 6 players score eight points or more but had less impact from the bench with only 10 points for the match (8 of which to Chelsea Brook). The flow after half-time in the Lightning offence was evident as they produced 10 fast-break points and dominated the rebounding with 6 second chance points, 40 points in the paint and won the rebounds 46-38.

The Fire thanks to Madgen shot 35 percent from the perimeter to stay in the game but only had 20 points in the paint, 2 second chance points and 0 fast-break points so once those perimeter shots dried up scoring became a huge headache. The Fire only won two of the 15 statistical categories which were steals and free throw percentage but only went there for 7/8 from the charity stripe (Lightning had 13/17 attempts). The Fire did not lead in the game after the 8:29 mark in the second quarter.

WHEN THE NEXT STRIKE COMES

The Lightning now prepare for their final games of the regular season with match-ups against the Southside Flyers (1st), home against the Perth Lynx (5th) and finish against the Canberra Capitals (3rd) on the road. While third is still open if results go their way, it is most likely they will be on the road for their semi-final series against either the Flyers or the Melbourne Boomers. The Lightning can now set themselves for the post-season now four games clear of the Lynx and prepare to bring the rain for the WNBL finals.

ADELAIDE LIGHTNING 77 (TALBOT 16, TURNER 15, NICHOLSON 14, SEEKAMP 12, WESTBELD 10) DEFEATED TOWNSVILLE FIRE 60 (MADGEN 19, GARBIN 16, VANLOO 10)

Suzy Batkovic was one of the most dominate players as the League MVP in 2012-2013 - Photo by Alchetron

Adelaide Lightning vs. Townsville Fire
When: 7:00pm (AEDT), Friday 17 January
Where: Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
Broadcast: Foxtel/Kayo

Last times they’ve met:

3/01/2020: Townsville Fire 61 (Garbin 21, Bishop 15) defeated by Adelaide Lightning 87 (Turner 17, Nicholson 13, Westbeld, Talbot, Brook 12) at Townsville Stadium

STRIKE BACK INTO HISTORY 

2012/2013 Semi-Final: Flanagan fires up Townsville for famous victory

General basketball and non-basketball fans might not know that Townsville and Adelaide have had a storied history with many players and coaching staff involved with both clubs at different times. This time around current head coach Chris Lucas was at the helm of a fourth place finishing Fire with a very evenly balanced team statistically taking on a Lightning side featuring league MVP Suzy Batkovic and rookie of the year Stephanie Talbot under Peter Buckle.

This one turned out to be a bit of an epic, despite the Lightning going into the match on a seven game winning streak. The Fire were led by their Captain Rachael Flanagan who scored 8 of Townville’s first 10 points and held a 14-11 lead over the home side at quarter time then half time at 30- 27. Former Adelaide Lightning player Jess Foley stepped up to the plate to put the Lightning under some serious heat leading the Fire to a 3 point lead at the final break. The final quarter saw the contest rise to another level resulting in Fire’s Jessica Adair and Lightning’s Batkovic fouling out late in the game. Flanagan was taken from the court after a nasty head clash with Lightning tenacious guard Angela Marino, but the Fire held their cool. The Fire eventually extinguishing the Lightning to advance to the preliminary final against the Dandenong Rangers.

Key Match-Ups 

Stephanie Talbot vs. Tess Madgen

Talbot has a great record against the Fire this season averaging 15 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Her extra length troubles the Fire’s perimeter defence and the kick-outs she is getting from the break down dribbling of Captain Nicole Seekamp will need to be kept an eye on.

Madgen has really struggled against the Lightning this season averaging 5 ppg, but against all other teams she averages 12.3 ppg and 3.8 apg. That means she is a key distributor of the ball to her team-mates so expect a lot of off-ball screens to get the former Opal open early to negate the influence of Talbot and co at the defensive end of the floor.

Brianna Turner vs. Darcee Garbin

Turner has been a barometer for the Lightning this season with her contributions vital to the success of the team, although against the Capitals a few weeks back the Lightning showed some promising signs grabbing victory without a full contribution from her. She’s been very influential against the Fire averaging 18 ppg and 8 rpg which will need to be quelled if the Fire are even to be in the contest.

Garbin has been the most successful Fire player against the Lightning this season averaging 17 ppg and 8.5 rpg. Her presence in the paint has been one of the focal points against the Lightning so no doubt the likes of Madgen and Captain Micaela Cocks will be looking for her to get busy early to cause Turner problems at the defensive end of the floor.

Chelsea Brook vs. Kate Gaze

The impact of the Norwood Flames SA Premier League player of the bench has been felt the most by the Fire in their clashes this season. Brook averages 11 ppg against them this season and again the height and depth of the Lightning bench clearly runs deeper this season than the Fire. The alarming statistic that highlights the potential for Brook’s effectiveness in this match-up is the Lightning last time they met had 27-7 points from their bench against the Fire.

If anybody is going to spark the Fire from the pine, it’s going to be Kate Gaze. Gaze has some basketball pedigree clearly but not as you know it, Her father Mark represented Australia in basketball at the 1982 FIBA World Championship and played 182 National Basketball League games from 1983–1991. Her mother Michelle O’Connor was a WNBL champion with the Sydney Flames (now Sydney Uni Flames), and her grandfather Tony Gaze was a former Australian Opals coach. This is not the main reason why she is a focus player for this preview though, as recent form has Gaze clocking a 12 point outing against the Canberra Capitals and a lift in minutes since Abby Bishop departed the club. Beware the name and the stats that support her lift in the Fire ranks.

The Last Play

Mark my words this a danger game for the Lightning as they still need to win one out of their last four to seal their finals appearance and with games to follow against the Southside Flyers and Canberra Capitals away from home then a potentially desperate Andy Stewart led Perth Lynx, this one is a must for the Lightning to win. Shannon Seebohm’s side is out of the finals race but can finish the season strong with a few upset wins to change the formation of the top four. They will be looking to come into the Arena and burn the Lightning’s chances of maybe not making the top four but certainly where they finish.

Looking at both teams however, the Lightning as evident by their previous games against the Fire just have too many weapons offensively and defensively, so I expect the Fire to be around till about halfway through the third quarter then push the lead out through Turner, Westbeld and Talbot as the bigs on the rebounds and that might be too much for Garbin to shoulder alone for the Fire. A victory for Lightning this Friday night should guarantee a top four finish and be nice preparation for upcoming “finals” like fixtures against their next opponents.

Lightning by 15pts