Adelaide Lightning shocks Southside Flyers to loom as the WNBL’s most unlikely post-season threat
Adelaide Lightning put on a show for its home crowd on Sunday afternoon, downing the highly-favoured Southside Flyers on the back of captain Nicole Seekamp’s 20 assists.
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There is a reason why the Perth/Adelaide road-trip is called the WNBL’s “Doomsday Double” and that’s before the Lightning play like they did against the Southside Flyers.
The Flyers have been all dominant this WNBL season, and a win at Adelaide Arena would have all-but locked in top spot.
But it was the fourth-placed Lightning who showed why they loom as a big post-season threat - even if coach Chris Lucas claims his side is not thinking about that at all - in what was a thrilling, high-scoring clash.
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Led by an incredible 20-assist effort by captain Nicole Seekamp, to go with 10-points, a second-quarter blitz by the Lightning - in which they established a 12-point lead - set up Adelaide’s most impressive win of the season as they ran away 104 to 93 winners.
It was the Lightning’s fourth win from four from a gruelling period over the New Year’s break and Lucas said the win over the team he still believed was the one to beat in the WNBL showed his side was starting to click.
“The first half, there was some of the best women’s basketball you will see,” he said.
“This team is building, I’m extremely proud of the way they walked into the building - I asked for that and I thought they did a really good job of that.
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“The signs were there in the first quarter-and-a-half against Townsville, I just had a feeling that this group was starting to click.
“Kathryn (Westbeld) is starting to settle into her role, playing her alongside Steph (Talbot) we can switch defensively.”
Not surprisingly, Lucas had nothing but praise for his point-guard.
“It’s crazy (20 assists)... I asked ‘Noodle’ (Seekamp) to adjust her game a couple of weeks ago and she has done that, she still takes risks but that’s the way we play,” he said.
“But that’s the lowest turnover count we’ve had in weeks... and to have 20 assists is unheard of.”
While it was Seekamp dishing the dimes, the Lightning’s scoring was shared by Lauren Nicholson (24 points) and US imports Brianna Turner (25 points, nine rebounds) and Kathryn Westbeld (22 points, five rebounds).
Westbeld has had a hot and cold start to her career as a Lightning player since being drafted to replace Crystal Langhorne, but was impressive against the Flyers not only with her ability to attack the paint but also to shoot from three-point range.
Nicholson drained some big threes at massive moments for the Lightning, arguably none bigger than in the third when she pushed Adelaide’s lead back to eight after Southside had come back from a 14-point deficit.
Meanwhile, Turner’s battle with Flyers tall Mercedes Russell (28 points, 10 rebounds) was a thrilling match in itself, with Turner more than making up for her lack in size.
But while Russell was dominant at times, the intensity of the Lightning was too much and showed the Flyers that while they are leading the WNBL, they might not have it all their own way come finals time.