Boomers edge Flames in a thriller

Updated October 19, 2012 23:46:51

Bulleen picked up its first win of the WNBL season with an exciting 81-79 triumph over Sydney Uni on Friday night.

A crucial steal by Rachel Jarry in the dying stages secured the victory for the visiting Boomers, as the Flames missed out on their first win of the new campaign.

Tess Madgen dominated with 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Bulleen, while Lauren King finished with 23 points for the hosts.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, sydney-2000, nsw, australia, bulleen-3105, vic

First posted October 19, 2012 23:06:13

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Fire too hot for Flames

Updated February 23, 2012 08:30:11

The Townsville Fire doused the Sydney Flames' final hopes with a nail-biting 85-78 win in the first WNBL elimination final at Townsville RSL Stadium.

The home side shot out to an early lead as the Flames struggled to find their feet.

American import Shanavia Dowdell (14) and captain Rachael Flanagan (17) led by example, sinking big baskets under pressure to take a eight point lead into the first break.

The visitors had an injury scare early in the second quarter with point guard Alicia Poto (11) forced off the court after a collision under the basket.

Poto returned to the floor late in the quarter but failed to stamp her authority on the game allowing the Fire to take a 53-47 lead into the main break.

The Flames started the second-half strongly to bring the scores back to level early in the third quarter.

Both sides struggled to take control of the game as points became hard to come by.

Fire guard Casey Lockwood (9) was handy from downtown, sinking a valuable basket from outside the arc to leave her side two points up at the end of the third quarter.

The point scoring tug of war continued in the final quarter with both sides failing to hit consecutive baskets.

Flanagan steadied the ship with a handy basket late in the quarter providing the boost needed for the home side to run away seven point winners at the end of the final quarter.

The Fire will now be preparing for a second-round playoff showdown with Dandenong on Sunday.

Jessica Foley was rock solid throughout the game, finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds for the home team.

She said the contest was one of the toughest of the year.

"It's really exciting to see all the girls firing again," she said.

"We went through a bit of a rough patch after Christmas because a few things weren't going our way but that all seems to be behind us now.

"We have really found our swagger again over the past few weeks so hopefully we can keep that up."

AAP

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport

First posted February 22, 2012 22:53:00

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Flames book WNBL finals berth

Updated February 18, 2012 00:32:26

The Sydney University Flames have booked their place in the WNBL finals with a hard-fought 79 - 67 win over the West Coast Waves in Sydney on Friday night.

Belinda Snell led the way for the Flames with 19 points and eight points, and she was ably assisted by Lauren King, who scored 11 of her 15 points in the final quarter.

Not even a stellar performance from West Coast's Rohanee Cox, who contributed 20 points and seven rebounds on her return to the competition, was enough for the Waves to claim the points.

Meanwhile, Bendigo Spirit saw off Logan Thunder 71-58 at Bendigo Stadium in the night's other match, as Tess Magden top scored with 23 points.

The Thunder never looked troubled in the mid-table showdown, but they need cellar dwellers AIS to upset Townsville Fire tomorrow night if they are to have any chance of making the finals.

Tags: sport, basketball, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted February 18, 2012 00:32:26

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Flames too hot for Caps

Updated January 26, 2012 23:42:55

Sydney Uni Flames scored a comfortable 97-68 win over Canberra Capitals in their WNBL encounter.

The Flames built their dominance in the opening two quarters to lead 51-40 at half-time, before finishing strongly after the break to account for the Capitals.

Belinda Snell impressed for the Flames with a 23-point haul, while Ellyce Ironmonger was productive with an 18-point haul.

Jess Bibby led the scoring for the visitors with 19 points.

Tags: basketball, sport, wnbl, sydney-2000, canberra-2600

First posted January 26, 2012 23:42:55

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Thunder hold off Flames

Updated January 22, 2012 23:56:10

The Thunder held on for a thrilling 71-69 victory over the Sydney Uni Flames at the Logan Metro Stadium on Sunday.

With the scores locked at 65-65 it took a huge defensive effort from the hosts to keep the Flames at bay and pick up a 10th win for the season.

Import Cory Montgomery finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for Logan while Cayla Francis and Renae Camino added 15 and 13 points respectively.

Belinda Snell led all scorers with 27 and Belinda Snell recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough for the Flames who have won just one of their last six matches.

In Perth, the Waves picked up just their second win of the season with a 64-62 upset over Bendigo.

Spirit veteran Kristi Harrower missed two free-throws at the death that would have sent the match into overtime.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, logan-central-4114, qld, australia, sydney-2000, nsw, perth-6000, wa, bendigo-3550, vic

First posted January 22, 2012 23:56:10

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Fire prove too good for Flames

Updated December 18, 2011 01:01:46

Townsville made it two road wins in two nights with an 85-79 victory over the Flames in Sydney on Saturday night.

The Fire started slow out of the blocks and conceded a 12-point lead in the first quarter.

But the visitors fought back on the back of Shanavia Dowdell (26 points, 10/11, 13 rebounds) while Jess Foley added 17 points along with captain Rachael Flanagan's 14.

Townsville is now 10-5 with the Flames back to 9-4.

Sydney import Amy Denson led all scorers with 34 points.

In Bendigo, the Spirit made short work of Dandenong with a 92-63 victory.

Guard Kelly Wilson stole the show with seven three-pointers as Bendigo moved to 7-6 and now just a win behind the Rangers at 8-6.

Tess Madgen top scored with 28 points on 12 of 20 shooting for the Spirit.

In the late game in Perth, Adelaide cruised past the Waves 78-57.

Suzy Batkovic-Brown put up 20 points for the Lightning and had help courtesy of 15 points from both Abby Bishop and Angela Marino.

Tags: sport, basketball, wnbl, sydney-2000, townsville-4810, nsw, bendigo-3550, australia, wa, qld, sa, adelaide-5000, dandenong-3175, vic, perth-6000

First posted December 18, 2011 01:01:46

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Flames bring down Boomers

Updated December 03, 2011 08:23:05

Belinda Snell scored a game-high 30 points to lead Sydney University past defending WNBL champion Bulleen 90-88 on Friday night.

But it was Katie-Rae Ebzery (16) who made the difference, draining a field goal with seven seconds on the clock to break an 88-88 deadlock for good at the Veneto Club in Bulleen.

Sydney Uni built a 15-point lead over the Boomers in the first quarter before letting its advantage slip to seven at half-time.

The Flames pushed their lead back out to 14 with a quarter to go but Bulleen came home with a wet sail, outscoring the visitors by 12 in the final period to bring it down to the wire.

In Friday evening's Queensland derby, the Fire got past Logan Thunder 69-60 in Townsville thanks to Shanavia Dowdell's 20-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Rachael Flanagan added 19 for the home side, which was outscored 37-30 in the second half but managed to survive thanks to a woeful four-point opening quarter by Logan.

Cayla Francis top-scored with 12 for the visitors and had 13 rebounds while Kristen Veal had 11.

Meanwhile, the Canberra Capitals beat the West Coast Waves 89-72 in the late game in Perth.

Brigitte Ardossi top scored with 19 points to help Canberra to its fourth win of the season, while Carly Wilson and Jess Bibby featured with 15 and 13 points respectively.

West Coast point guard Jasmine Hooper and centre Samantha Norwood shared the hosts' top score with 15 points.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, bulleen-3105, vic, townsville-4810, logan-city-dc-4114, qld, the-university-of-sydney-2006, nsw, australia

First posted December 02, 2011 23:36:10

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