WNBL 2023-24: Melbourne Boomers Fight Back From Big Deficit To Snatch Victory From Adelaide Lightning In Season-Opener
The Melbourne Boomers sent only nine players with them to the first game of the new WNBL season, which was played in Adelaide. As Lightning raced out to a large lead, it appeared like everything was gone. Penina Davidson held alternative viewpoints.
Don't squander the opportunity to put the Melbourne Boomers out of their misery when you have it.
The Adelaide Lightning were forced to learn this lesson the hard way, as they raced out to a 20-6 lead on the first night of the 2023-24 WNBL season. However, the depleted visitors went on to win the game in a thrilling 68-60 triumph over them.
The Boomers only suited nine players, including development player Lilly Rotunno and injury replacement Sherrie Calleia. Despite missing Opal Kristy Wallace (knee) and recruits Aimee Rocci (concussion) and Mon Conti (AFLW), coach Chris Lucas was proud as punch of his team's ability to fight back from a 14-point deficit and take out the win in enemy territory.
On the ESPN broadcast, Lucas remarked, "Really pleased with our group but it wasn't pretty basketball and we know we're a long way off but we've got a lot of character in this group and they'll keep fighting."
The Lightning were able to get out to an early lead despite poor starts from star newcomers Sara Blicavs and Keely Froling as well as highly-rated acquisition Jordin Canada (0-6 in the first half). The advantage was taken full advantage of by Adelaide immigrants Jocelyn Willoughby (a team-high 14 points off the bench), Brianna Turner (15 rebounds, 8 assists), and Lauren Mansfield, who captained the squad and scored all 9 of her points in the first half.
After going into halftime trailing by nine points, the Boomers began to ramp up their defensive intensity, while Canada and the Blicavs (12 points) began to rediscover their rhythm.
However, the Lightning had no answer for Penina Davidson, who scored seven consecutive baskets for the Boomers during a 25-13 third quarter that changed the game's trajectory and gave the visitors a three-point advantage going into the final break.
"She really delivered tonight. This is easily her best performance in the three preseasons I've had her," remarked Lucas of his game-winning workhorse.
Izzy Borlase's tough finish with four minutes left in the game gave the Lightning their lead back. However, Blicavs, who had sat out most of the fourth quarter with four fouls, splashed a three, then Canada sliced and diced her way to the cup with an athletic finish, and the Boomers were on their way to victory.
Davidson ended the game with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds after coming off the bench, and fellow New Zealander and good friend Tera Reid also had a double-double in her first game with the Boomers, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Bring in (import) The majority of the damage that Naz Hillmon did with her team-high 14 points was done in the first half, which allowed Melbourne to stay in the game.
Canada, a standout player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, started her career in the WNBL with six points and eight assists. She appeared more at ease as the game progressed, dictating the game's late procedures with her deft handles and precision passing.
The Boomers dominated the Lightning on the offensive glass, outscoring them 21-10, which resulted in 17 second-chance points to just seven for the Lightning. This was the decisive factor in the game.
DEPLETED BOOMERS
Since Wallace suffered a knee injury during the month of September while competing in the WNBA and was required to have surgery, the Boomers will need to figure out a method to get through at least the next month without their star player.
In the game between the Indiana Fever and the Dallas Wings that took place on September 4, Wallace jumped for a free throw from the line, then quickly limped away after landing, and had to be assisted into the locker room because he was in agony.
Due to the fact that Wallace has twice torn her ACL in the same knee, the Boomers will approach her return with extreme caution. Wallace was named to the First Team of the All-WNBL Team and finished seventh in scoring while ranking fourth in assists. Last season, she averaged 15.8 points and 5.5 assists.
To put it another way, "Wally, we're just going to take our time until she's right. It's a big year for her," Lucas said Wally.
Due to the commitments she has with her other team, Richmond, which plays Collingwood in the season finale on Sunday, Conti, who is among the top-five prospects for the AFLW best and fairest award, won't be available for the Boomers until the following week.
Rocci has entered the league's protocols after suffering a concussion in a training accident earlier this week. She needs to go through a battery of tests before being declared ready to play again, so her return date remains uncertain.
NICE PASS FOR THREE
It's funny how basketball works. Isabelle Bourne, a young gun with lightning quickness, missed all three of her 3-point shots in the opening period. Early in the third quarter, she made her first three-point attempt, and she made it. The 22-year-old player got a hold of the ball on the right wing and attempted to lob it to Turner, who was racing for the basket. The ball, however, banked in for a three-pointer. The box score only shows that you obtained them; it doesn't specify how you got them.
COLOUR CLASH
The WNBL's inaugural round doubled as the Indigenous Round, marking the league's first-ever collaboration with the NBL to recognize Indigenous people. When it was realized that the Boomers' Indigenous jersey clashed with the Lightning's, a quick decision had to be made. Even though the game was on Wednesday, the uniforms didn't show up until Tuesday. The Boomers will play Southside this Saturday and again on December 3 while wearing Indigenous-themed uniforms.