Thunder fall painfully short of finals

Updated February 18, 2012 23:21:19

Logan trounced the second-placed Boomers 90-65 in Bulleen in its final WNBL regular season encounter on Saturday night.

But it was not enough for the visiting Thunder to rise into the top half of the competition, having lost to the Spirit in Bendigo on Friday night.

Sara Graham and Renae Camino scored 17 apiece and Cayla Francis added 16 for Logan, which finished 12-10 and needed two wins on its Victorian road trip to see finals action.

The Boomers got 19 points from Rachel Jarry at the Veneto Club, but their finals place has been long since assured.

Bendigo could have advanced if Canberra had upset Townsville on Saturday night in far north Queensland, but the Fire were comfortable winners 106-94 over the Capitals at home.

And Dandenong locked up third place on the ladder as it crushed the league-leading Lightning 82-51 in Saturday's early game.

But despite the thrashing, the Lightning will still host Bulleen in the major semi-final next Saturday.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, logan-city-dc-4114, bulleen-3105

First posted February 18, 2012 23:21:19

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Spirit make short work of Waves

Updated October 22, 2011 23:42:14

A fantastic start helped the Spirit to a convincing 91-52 victory over the West Coast Waves in their WNBL clash in Bendigo on Saturday night.

The hosts jumped out to a 29-8 first-quarter lead and stretched their advantage to 54-20 at half-time to all but end the contest.

The Spirit's Deanna Smith racked up a game-high 22 points as well as 11 rebounds, with team-mates Chelsea Aubry (19) and Tess Madgen (14) also contributing.

Melissa Marsh top-scored for the visiting Waves with 14 points.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, bendigo-3550, vic, australia, north-perth-6006, perth-6000, wa

First posted October 22, 2011 23:00:25

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Pioneers fall short of narrow victory

The Pioneers were forced to surrender in the final minutes of a tough encounter with the Bendigo Braves on Saturday night at the Icehouse.

The scores were locked with three minutes to go, but a foul shot broke the deadlock for the Braves, with the visitors going on to win by five points.

Pioneers coach Andrew Summerville said the result was disappointing, particularly given that his players had dominated the game against the top side all night.

"Our guys did what they could and I think they deserved the game but it proves that we're close enough, we've just got to get over the line," he said.

Summerville said he was proud of his team holding a tight final score 71 - 76 against the winning side.

"Bendigo are a good side and your never going to keep them down, they're not top of the table for no reason," he said after the game.

Objecting to a close call by the referee, Summerville said the game was taken out of their hands.

"We were in front and it's always disappointing when that happens," he said.

Despite the final result for the Pioneers, some joy was in the room with a half-time centre court marriage proposal.

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