WNBL Round Up – Week 2

After an anti-climatic opening weekend which saw two games postponed, there were three encounters that took place in Week 2 of the WNBL season.

The closest game of the weekend saw Manchester defeat Barking Abbey 59-56 in overtime on Saturday as new Mystics Australian signing Amy Browne poured in 18 points.

Jade Lucas, Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee, and Hannah Shaw also hit double figures for coach Rob Fairley while Barking Abbey were led by veteran Roz Mason, who had game highs in scoring (23 points) and rebounds (12).

“I’m really happy with the way we started to play down the stretch,” Manchester’s Shaw said. “We made smart decisions and continued to execute. We out-worked Barking on the boards and showed real grit going into OT.”

“I’m disappointed to get beaten,” said BA Head Coach Mark Clark. “Manchester played hard and made good decisions in OT. We missed a lot of good looks and got out worked on the boards in the extra period.”

Box score.

Elsewhere, Helen Naylor started where she left off last season, scoring 27 points, as Sheffield Hatters defeated Team Northumbria 73-65 on the road.

Hatters made a decisive run in the third quarter, outscoring the hosts 23-14, to seal their first win of the season.

Team Northumbria were led by Bulgarian Diana Voynova’s 21 points.

Sevenoaks Suns were defeated heavily at home by Nottingham Wildcats, 98-45, on Saturday as the East Midlands club dominated from the second quarter onwards.

Suns trailed 20-15 at the end of ten minutes but by the half Nottingham led 52-31 and at the end of three, the score was 77-33 – Suns only scored a single basket in the third.

New American Adrian Ritchie scored 23 for Nottingham while Sevenoaks were led by sixteen year old Amelia Stevens, who had 12.

Image Credit: Dave Moore