The UC Capitals are back on the road this weekend, travelling up the Hume highway to face the Sydney Flames.
Saturday’s match will be the fourth and final time both sides will meet this season, with Sydney having won two of the three matchups so far, including a 91-61 blowout on December 27.
Like almost every single Canberra-Sydney matchup these last two seasons, the stakes are huge. For the Caps, it’s a chance to get back to .500 and maintain the squad’s position in the race for the 4th spot. With the Southside Flyers coming in hot in recent weeks, the battle for the last finals spot has never been tighter.
For the Flames, back-to-back wins against the Caps and the Bendigo Spirit have kept their slim finals hopes alive. They now sit solo 6th with a 5-12 record and are looking to use that momentum for a strong push to round out the season.
Both teams are coming into this game with a lot of roster movements in recent weeks. For the Caps, Jade Melbourne remains out as she recovers from hand surgery. The player who replaced Jade, Tahlia Tupaea, unfortunately is also still under concussion protocols after copping a wayward elbow during the December 27 games.
Sara Blicavs was meant to return to the roster this weekend, but she took on a last minute and lucrative offer to play in China for the remainder of the season. Fortunately, we were able to secure the signature of emerging New Zealand international Emme Shearer, who will be available to make her WNBL debut this weekend.
There’s big news coming out of Sydney this week too, with stars Unique Thompson and Loz Nicholson both being ruled out. Unique will miss this weekend due to a family matter, while Loz suffered a quad injury against Bendigo that will keep her out for the season.
Keys to the game
Keep the momentum, start the game strong: Against the Lynx, the Caps were locked in from the jump. Perhaps fueled by everyone writing the team off, the squad produced one of their best first quarters of the season. The defense was locked in, holding Perth to 14 points. Against the Flames, the Caps need the same intensity and edge. In the game two weeks, ago the team came out flat and it dictated the rest of the game. We can’t afford that kind of start again – the Caps are 6-0 this season when leading after the first quarter, and 1-8 when trailing.
Everyone needs to chip in: Losing Jade and Sara sucks and leaves some sizeable shoes to fill. But as Goz said, there’s more than enough talent in the squad to make the finals, but it will take everyone. That was very apparent against the Lynx, where all 8 players suited up scored, including 4 in double figures. But it wasn’t just scoring – Kadi Sissoko had 11 boards, Mon Bobongie provide quality minutes, Nicole Munger was relentless defensively to name a few. The Caps need that kind of varied contribution to start another streak tomorrow.
Handle the physicality, control the boards: The Flames are one of, if not the grittiest most physical team in the league. They’ll pick up full court, and they aren’t afraid to get into their opponents faces. They’ll also crash the offensive boards hard. The Caps need to wear the physicality and play through it, and limit Sydney from gaining multiple possessions at a time.
Key matchup
Nyadiew Puoch v Shaniece Swain: With both teams missing so much of their scoring and playmaking, both of these young stars will look to continue to step up and shoulder a lot of the load. Nards has come along nicely in the past month, averaging 12.7 points in the last 6 games (up from 7.8 in the first 9 games) while using her length and athleticism to be disruptive defensively. Swainy is one of the league’s most explosive scorers who can get a 30-ball on any given day. She also always seems to get up for games against the Caps. This matchup will be fun.
Game notes
- Coach Paul Goriss will be coaching his 150th regular season game.
- Emme Shearer will make her WNBL debut.
