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

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Lightning strike in Bendigo

Updated February 04, 2012 23:24:21

WNBL leader Adelaide took care of the Spirit in overtime thanks to veteran centre Suzy Batkovic with a 97-87 win in Bendigo on Saturday night.

Returning from a back injury, Batkovic finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to help push the Lightning over the edge.

The visitors dominated the extra period, outscoring Bendigo 15-5 after Batkovic's field goal tied things up at 82-82 with 13 seconds left in regulation time.

Angela Marino added 21 points and Jo Hill had 20 for the Lightning, while Kristi Harrower was the best of the Spirit with 28, four rebounds and eight assists.

In Saturday night's other clash, perennial struggler AIS pulled off a 78-63 win over West Coast in Alice Springs.

Sara Blicavs had a game-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists, countering Waves forward Rohanee Cox's influence down low.

Cox had 14 points and 10 boards in the loss, while Melissa Marsh led West Coast with 18 points.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, bendigo-3550, vic, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted February 04, 2012 22:58:32

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Lightning strike win over Fire

Updated January 08, 2012 08:29:58

The Lightning posted an 80-68 victory over Townsville Fire in their WNBL clash at Adelaide Arena.

Suzy Batkovic-Brown led the scoring for the home side with a game-high 34 points, while Abby Bishop chipped in with a valuable 19 points.

Mia Newley was productive for the Fire with 12 points.

In other results, Sydney University Flames defeated AIS 62-53 in Canberra, Logan triumphed 76-71 at home over Dandenong and Bendigo Spirit thrashed West Coast Waves 82-48 at WA Basketball Centre.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, adelaide-5000

First posted January 08, 2012 00:01:04

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Lightning strike against hapless Caps

Updated December 04, 2011 17:48:39

WNBL leader Adelaide came from behind to record an 84-75 win over the struggling Capitals in the South Australian capital on Sunday.

Canberra started strong and enjoyed a seven-point advantage at half-time but that was all but erased in the third quarter.

With just a one-point buffer going into the final term the Capitals went just 4-for-14 for eight points as the Lightning blew past them to take the contest comfortably.

Veteran Adelaide centre Suzy Batkovic led all scorers with 25 points while Abby Bishop had an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double and Amy Lewis added 13.

Jessica Bibby was the stand-out for Canberra with 21 points while four other Capitals registered double-figure hauls, but poor shooting in the fourth quarter was too much to overcome.

In Sunday's other clash, Bendigo walked all over AIS 71-30 in Canberra.

Deanna Smith (19), Tess Madgen (18) and Gabrielle Richards (11) led the charge for the Spirit against the perennial strugglers.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, adelaide-5000, canberra-2600

First posted December 04, 2011 17:48:39

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