Saturday, January 21, 2012

Thunder storms the Capitals in WNBL finals charge

Updated January 20, 2012 22:40:17

The Logan Thunder eased to a 13-point win over the Canberra Capitals at AIS Arena on Friday night to kick-start their charge into the WNBL finals spots.

The Thunder's 72-59 win moved them into fourth spot and are breathing down the neck of third-placed Townsville which has played four games more.

Cayla Francis turned in a commanding double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Kristen Veal sunk 15 points for the Thunder.

Sarah Graham also chipped in with seven assists and 12 points.

Carly Wilson and Brigette Ardossi top-scored for Canberra with 15 points while Jessica Bibby chipped in with 12.

Canberra's struggles continue with the Capitals stuck in eighth spot.

The Townsville Fire moved up into third place with a 70-57 win over the Sydney University Flames as Shanavia Dowdell dominated affairs with a polished all-round display in Townsville.

Dowdell fired an awesome double-double featuring 18 points and 16 rebounds, and was supported ably by Jessica Foley's 22-point top score.

The Flames' loss means they sit outside the finals spots in sixth.

At the top of the table, the Adelaide Lightning kept setting the pace with a 70-54 blitzing of the Bendigo Spirit at Adelaide Arena.

Suzy Batkovic topped the scoring charts with 24 points and eight rebounds as Adelaide shot 75 per cent from beyond the arc to work its way to a 49-36 half-time lead.

The points dried up in the last two quarters with Bendigo edging the third period 9-6, before the hosts edged the fourth by six points to close out the game.

Deanna Smith (20 points, nine rebounds) and Kristi Harrower (18 points) carried the vast bulk of the scoring responsibilities for Bendigo, but found no other helping hands available to reel the Lightning in.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, canberra-2600, act, logan-city-dc-4114, qld, australia

First posted January 20, 2012 22:02:23


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