Perth Lynx coach Ryan Petrik has warned that a return to the glory days might not be far away for Adelaide Lightning, after the Lynx staged a fourth-quarter comeback to secure a hard-fought victory at the State Basketball Centre.
The entertaining contest ended in a 90–82 defeat for Adelaide, leaving the Lightning 0–3 after the opening two rounds of the season.
“I think they’re elite on paper,” Petrik said following the win.
“I really do rate Adelaide. They’ve got three WNBA players.”
The Lightning have faced arguably three of the competition’s strongest sides to open the season, taking on Sydney, reigning champions Townsville and last season’s grand finalists, Perth.
In their most complete performance of the season so far, Adelaide held the upper hand heading into the final quarter, taking a one-point lead into the final break.
Import Maddy Westbeld was a driving force through the opening three quarters, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Steph Talbot fell just short of a triple-double with 19 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.
Quickly establishing herself as one of the competition’s most dangerous three-point threats, Tayla Brazel connected on three of seven attempts from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points.
Zitina Aokuso was at her dominant best, recording 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Despite the final result, she was proud of her side’s resilience and ability to compete throughout the contest.
“We spoke about being resilient because the last two games we hadn’t been resilient for the whole four quarters.”
“I’m definitely proud of the girls for pushing for four quarters.”
For the Lynx, Teonni Key led the charge with 22 points, while returning MVP Anneli Maley added 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in her first WNBL appearance of the season.
While the Lightning remain winless after three games, there is growing optimism around the progress of this new-look Adelaide side following a challenging opening fortnight.
However, head coach Aja Parham-Ammar made it clear that competitive performances alone won't satisfy the group's ambitions.
“We expect to come out with W’s right now, and we’re not. So there’s frustration there.”
With encouraging signs emerging across the playing group, the focus now shifts to turning those performances into results.
The Lightning will be straight back to work in the film room and on court this week, preparing to face a young but highly competitive Southside Flyers side led by emerging stars Madi Ryan, Tess Heal and Hannah Hank on Sunday afternoon.
Tip-off is at 12:30pm ACDT, with the game available to stream live on 9Now and ESPN via Disney+.
Adelaide fans won't have to wait long to see the Lightning back on home court, with the team returning to the State Basketball Centre on Saturday 7 November to take on WNBL newcomers, the Tasmania Jewels.
Tip-off is at 2:30pm, with tickets available now through Ticketek.
Get behind the Lightning and be part of another exciting afternoon of basketball as the team looks to build momentum in front of its home crowd!
