Lightning strike twice in Queensland

Updated October 21, 2012 19:08:29

Adelaide Lightning completed their Queensland road double in the WNBL despite losing star centre Suzy Batkovic to injury.

Batkovic sat out Sunday's 80-65 win over Townsville after she slipped and hurt her ankle while dominating on Friday night against Logan.

The two wins gave the Lightning a 4-1 start over the opening three rounds, just behind Bendigo's perfect 5-0 run.

Jennifer Screen scored 23 points and coach Peter Buckle praised the second half from Angela Marino, who finished with 18 points.

Nadeen Payne had 11 rebounds, while Shanavia Dowdell top-scored for the Fire with 16.

The loss left Townsville with a 2-2 record and Logan are on 1-3.

"Everybody knows the Queensland road trip is very tough," Buckle said.

"Friday night's game was as physical and as tough as it could be.

"Then we backed it up on Sunday - that was an outstanding team performance."

Adelaide was also without London Olympian Laura Hodges (ankle) for the Queensland trip, but Buckle is hopeful she and Batkovic will return for Saturday night's away clash with West Coast.

Lightning forward Molly Lewis was another casualty from the weekend with a calf muscle injury.

Also on Sunday, reigning champion Dandenong was too strong for West Coast at home, winning 103-71.

Jenna O'Hea led the Rangers' scoring with 22, while Kathleen MacLeod (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Carley Mijovic (17 and 12) were also prominent.

Deanna Smith was the standout for the Waves, shooting 20 points as they lost their two road games over the weekend.

The Rangers have two wins from three games and West Coast is 1-3.

AAP

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

First posted October 21, 2012 19:08:29

View the original article here

Kings sweep Queensland road trip

Updated October 28, 2012 21:33:25

Sydney Kings overcame the loss of one co-captain and were sparked by another to notch a notable Queensland NBL road double.

A 92-87 win over Townsville (0-5) on Saturday was followed by a 71-69 victory at Cairns (2-3) on Sunday to lift Sydney (3-2) into the top four.

It is the first time the Kings have had a win-loss record above 50 per cent since winning their opening match on readmittance to the NBL for the 2010-11 season.

Co-captain Ben Madgen scored 23 points against Townsville, just behind the 25-point haul of Aaron Bruce.

He followed up with a team-leading 22 points against Cairns where Sydney came from eight points down in the last quarter.

Import Corin Henry produced a game-tilting steal and basket inside the last 20 seconds.

The Kings are currently without their other co-captain James Harvey, who is expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks with a broken arm.

"Pressure was mounted and you can either get it done or suck your thumb and now the challenge is to maintain the level we've set," Kings coach Shane Heal said.

Wollongong (4-0) maintained its perfect start to the season with a 77-63 away win over Adelaide (2-2).

Guard Adris Deleon scored 16 of his 23 points in the last quarter, as the Hawks rallied from a 12-point, first-quarter deficit.

"We thought we probably should have been 15 or even more down at half-time, but we found a way to hang around," Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod said.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, cairns-4870, qld, australia

First posted October 28, 2012 20:38:21

View the original article here