Turnovers cost Geelong United dearly in 25-point loss to Perth Lynx
With trips to Sydney and Canberra to follow, Geelong United will need to address a form slide on the road after a 25-point loss to Perth on its home deck.
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There were no early Christmas presents for Geelong United as they suffered their third-worst defeat of the WNBL season so far in a Round 8 contest riddled by costly turnovers in Perth.
The visitors had drawn within four points of the Lynx on Monday night with just over a minute of play to run at HBF Stadium.
However, the home team would land a three-point play via Ally Wilson in the dying seconds, and United never really recovered from there, going down 96-71.
Perth would maintain a healthy buffer for the remainder of the match — whenever it looked like Geelong might stage a revival, the Lynx would restore or extend its lead.
By the end of the game, Geelong had conceded its biggest score of the season — another Amy Atwell threeball (her fourth) with seconds remaining pushed her team’s tally beyond the 95 points Bendigo Spirit scored back in Round 2.
Apart from defensive structure, United will need to address a concerning pattern of form interstate in 2025, after being belted by 35 points in Sydney by the Flames and with trips to Townsville and Canberra to follow over the next two weeks.
Atwell, with a game-high 19 points, was one of six Perth players to reach double digits on the night while Jaz Shelley was kept scoreless (a team-high five assists though) and Sarah Elsworthy and Dani Raber, who was injected late in the game, produced four team between them.
However, skipper Keely Froling was her reliable self with 17 points and six boards, Haley Jones had her moments with 16 points while Elissa Brett caught fire from outside the perimeter to net 16 points in her best offensive output in a Geelong singlet.
You get the feeling defence will once again be a focus for Chris Lucas, as it was after that mauling from Sydney in Round 5, with United to prepare for Townsville on their home court on December 29.
Down by 16 points at the final break, Geelong could not produce the trademark response and conceded its largest final quarter score for the year as Perth piled on 30 points.
Apart from the 31 points the Spirit scored in the opening term of that Round 2 match, it was the largest team total conceded in a term all year.
Earlier, United went into the Round 8 game without Mon Conti, who had brought fresh energy and attitude to the team since wrapping up her AFLW season with Richmond.
Jones gave the visitors a spark early with a rare triple, a three-point play and then a steal, as Geelong appeared up for the fight.
However, turnovers would ultimately cost the visitors, with the Lynx scoring 11 points from turnovers for the quarter, 23 for the half and 35 by the final bell.
Their previous worst was 29 against the Spirit.
While Brett’s efficient shooting from downtown kept the margin relatively small, those late points at the end of the second stung.
On a brighter note, Geelong got game time into new recruit Alex Sharp, playing against her old team, while Taylor Mole, who has battled a lower back concern for months, played her first minutes with the team.
Originally published as Turnovers cost Geelong United dearly in 25-point loss to Perth Lynx
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