How never-say-die Adelaide Lightning blocked out the noise, uncertainty and adversity and broke WNBL finals drought
It must have been fate because it wasn’t by design that the turning point in Adelaide’s season came before, not after, they were told that their team may not exist next year. Now they are hoping their Cinderella story can continue against Melbourne.
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It must have been fate because it wasn’t by design that the turning point in Adelaide Lightning’s season came before, not after, they were told that their team may not exist next year.
It was Sunday, November 25, and Adelaide was in Melbourne to play the Boomers at the State Basketball Centre.
Coach Chris Lucas was frustrated by his team’s inconsistency so before they played Melbourne he told them it was time they create their own identity and stand for something.
The alternative was to continue down the slippery slope that had them languishing in seventh spot on the ladder and three wins outside the top four.
“As a team we needed our own identity so in the rooms before that game, I asked for consistency in our performance,” Lucas said.
“Consistency in the way we play defence because we have defensive targets.
“I said that may not reflect in wins and losses but we have to be more consistent about how we go about things, and even though we lost that game to Melbourne by one possession, I thought we really took a big step.
“I’m very happy with the dynamics of the group, the way they play together, and the journey in front of them now is another challenge but that’s why we play sport.
“One thing about this group is they won’t lie down, they step up to the challenge and if they’re not playing at their best they seem to find a way.
“They definitely play for each other and that’s a really important factor.”
Three hours after Lucas challenged his team to lift, the players filed back into the rooms where the mood was sombre after they’d just lost to Melbourne on the buzzer.
Then came the news - which Lucas only learned of second hand via someone’s phone 40 minutes before tip-off.
Ben Kavenagh, the CEO of the club that owns them was standing in the rooms waiting to speak. He’d flown to Melbourne to deliver the news to the players in person but Lucas spoke first.
“When it (announcement of the team’s future) was brought to my attention in that game in Melbourne I wasn’t happy, I’m not going to hide that,” Lucas said.
“I addressed it in the changerooms before the CEO spoke to them and said ‘a couple of things happened today - firstly I thought we took a big step in our performance and secondly the club licence is going to be handed back and we didn’t need to talk about it again’.
“I wanted them to concentrate on business and enjoy what they do which is play basketball.”
The Lightning then faced a gruelling schedule that would either make them or break them with six games in 16 days.
They responded by winning five on the trot, including twice beating Canberra which finished this season on top of the ladder.
It was a stunning mid-season resurgence but Lucas is adamant the announcement about the team’s uncertain future had nothing to do with it.
“That was not the catalyst for us to go on a run,” he said.
“We haven’t talked about it internally at all to be quite honest with you.”
Adelaide started by beating Dandenong but lost point guard Aimie Clydesdale to concussion which was the latest setback after stints without centre Kayla Alexander and co-captain Stephanie Blicavs.
So on the day of their next game against Canberra on December 2, Lucas sent his players a group text message asking them to lift.
“I asked them to step up to another challenge that day against a high quality team,” he said.
“I can remember that day because it was after the Dandenong game when Aimie was taken out, she wasn’t playing that game, and the team really stepped up.
“People have had to adjust to roles that have taken them a number of weeks but they’ve stepped up which has been great.
“The one thing this team does very well is come ready to play.
“We went through some adversity with Kayla (Alexander) injured early, then we had Steph (Blicavs) out for three games and Aimie go down.
“Every club has gone through that (heavy scheduling) period and I was just really impressed with how we played through that.
“A lot of those wins were without Steph and Aimie and different people stepped up at different times.”
Adelaide continued its charge towards the finals and with overtime wins over Bendigo and Perth in the last two weeks, secured third spot on the ladder and booked a three-game semi-final series against Melbourne starting on Sunday.
They are 0-3 against the Boomers this season but fear no one and the depth of talent on their roster means anything in this Cinderella story is possible.
US import Nia Coffey has been one of the best players in the competition this season as a scoring, rebounding and shot blocking machine, while Canadian centre Alexander has gotten better every week with support from New Zealander Penina Davidson.
Lauren Nicholson has buried teams with her three-point shooting and co-captains Nicole Seekamp and Steph Blicavs - who replaced Abby Bishop who led the team that missed finals by one game last season - have flourished.
“Steph and Nicole bring different things to the group. We’ve got Noodles (Seekamp) playing the point guard position and she’s doing a great job with that,” Lucas said.
“They both lead in different ways and bring a different dynamic to the group.”
“It was always going to take time for us to gel this season but I think everyone is forgetting that for the first five games we didn’t have Kayla Alexander.
“She’d come off a knee injury coming to Australia, and there was no way I wanted to release Kayla through an injury because I thought she was a special athlete who could bring special things to our group.
“Penina Davidson did a great job for us especially early and Kayla has proven that it was worth being patient.”
Having repeatedly answered the challenges thrown to them by Lucas, the Lightning now stares down its next big test against a star-studded Melbourne for a spot in the grand final.
Lucas, who knows his team so well and how hard they’ve fought to get in this position, backed it off just a touch at training last week in a bid to freshen them up.
“They’ve gone through two months of mentally and physically putting themselves to the test so last week I backed off the training time,” he said.
“I joke to the girls and particularly Steph (Blicavs) that I’m in credit, and they always want to argue with that, but training time was pulled down and we freshened them up and it will be a similar approach to this week.
“Finals are a different ball game, we’ve just been through a journey together and achieved a goal of making finals, but now another journey starts and against a high-quality team in Melbourne.”
reece.homfray@news.com.au
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