Bulleen coach Tom Maher praised the mental toughness of his team after it survived two final-quarter comebacks from WNBL minor premier Adelaide to win the major semi-final on Saturday.
The defending champions will host a third straight grand final after Liz Cambage lifted the Boomers to a thrilling 73-71 win at Adelaide Arena.
Centre Cambage hit a close-range shot with two seconds remaining to ensure Bulleen, who finished second on the ladder, host the March 11 decider.
Cambage hit a game-high 29 points, 10 of them in the final quarter.
The visitors led for virtually the entire game, bar a brief period in the final quarter in which Abby Bishop scored the first eight points of the term to lift the Lightning to a 58-55 advantage
Bishop scored a team-high 23, including Adelaide's first 13 points of the last quarter.
Her front-court partner Suzy Batkovic was out of sorts, making just 7-of-25 from the field to finish with 15 points, well down on her season average.
Bulleen grabbed the initiative immediately by scoring the first six points against a nervous, tight-looking Adelaide.
The Boomers led by six, eight and five points at the end of each of the first three quarters.
They hit just one of 12 three-point attempts and missed the leadership of injured point guard Sam Richards, who Maher expected to be fit for the grand final.
He said Cambage was "OK" after she spent some time off the court early in the third quarter with an ankle issue.
She scored eight quick points in a 16-3 run that gave Bulleen a 71-61 lead with just over four minutes left.
Adelaide then scored 10 straight points and kept Bulleen scoreless for four minutes to lock the scores up at 71-71.
The Lightning had a chance to hit the front with just over 20 seconds left, but New Zealand international Antonia Edmondson missed two free throws before Cambage had the final say.
"I think what won us the game was that we had such a great first half," Maher said.
"That caused them enough grief and used up enough of their energy and put us in a position where we could withstand the run.
"I couldn't believe how well our girls showed that they could handle the adversity of it all.
"I was impressed by their mental character, it was really tough.
"They could have fallen over and fallen in a heap but they didn't."
Cambage apart, Bulleen's only other double-digit scorer was Rachel Jarry, who tallied 15 points and t10 rebounds.
Adelaide will host the preliminary final next Sunday against the winner of Sunday's minor semi-final in which Dandenong hosts Townsville.
AAP
Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, bulleen-3105, vic, australia First posted February 25, 2012 18:04:39
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