WNBL 2023-24: Lauren Jackson returns as Melbourne Boomers win 77-70 over Southside Flyers
After more than 270 days, Lauren Jackson finally made her WNBL return. But it was a Boomers MVP candidate who dominated the cross-town battle.
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Exactly 273 days, two major surgeries, a hell of a lot of blood sweat and tears and a decision that reverberated across the Australian basketball community, Lauren Jackson was finally back.
In an unfamiliar bench role, it took a tick over five minutes for the country’s most-decorated basketballer to check into Southside Flyers’ season-opening WNBL grudge match with Melbourne Boomers — to a raucous cheer from the 3198 fans who packed Wantirna’s State Basketball Centre on Saturday night.
As a legend returned and new Flyers captain Bec Cole ignited with 25 points, new arrivals to the Boomers put their own early stamps on the WNBL, LA Sparks WNBA star Jordin Canada with a near-triple-double (15 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds) and Kiwi teammate Tera Reed draining 18 in a rollicking battle that eventually went the way of the visitors, 77-70.
With the Achilles rupture Jackson suffered on April 4 a distant memory on the back of a dedicated rehab, strength and conditioning program, LJ declared she was fitter than any period in the last five years.
It was noticeable from the moment she stepped on the floor.
Free of injury, the Opals icon cut a svelte figure on the court, moving better than she did in any game last season and, while they rightfully call her the GOAT, the way she ran the floor was more reminiscent of a wild brumby.
It didn’t take long for her first bucket, backing down Boomers’ brute Penina Davidson, turning and rising for a nothing-but-net turnaround jumper — classic LJ.
It was just a four-and-a-half-minute first stint that blew the cobwebs out, part of a four-point night, but it was all anyone needed to see to show that, at 42, the legend still has plenty to give.
GRUDGE MATCH
Jackson’s return was the spectacle but an enthralling battle broke out and it was a mighty impressive one.
On Wednesday night, Adelaide Lightning learned the hard way you have to put the Boomers away if they give you a chance, squandering a 20-6 start.
But the Flyers didn’t get the memo. Southside started red hot, piling on the first nine points of the contest and led 12-2 — eight of those coming from the hot hand of Cole.
But Canada looked a class above everyone else on the court, turning the game on its head with her elite scoring and passing as she spearheaded a 24-8 second-quarter domination that rocked shell-shocked Southside.
Down 20 early in the third, the girls in aqua didn’t give up, getting as close as three late in the game, but the Boomers won the free throw battle to escape with a seven-point win.
Captain Cole was unconscious for most of the night, putting the Flyers on her back with five treys, while Russell, back with the club after a 2019 stint, had 15 points and nine rebounds.
KIWI CAUSES TERA TO FLYERS
With the Boomers missing keys Kristy Wallace (knee), Aimee Rocci (concussion) and Mon Conti (AFLW), Kiwi recruit Reed has been leant on as a starter by coach Chris Lucas.
The Tall Ferns wing’s deadeye shooting and nose for a rebound have been game-changing for Melbourne and she fed off Canada’s energy with 18 points on a perfect 3-3 shooting from deep, backing up her 10-point, 10-rebound debut against Adelaide.
Height was supposed to be a problem for the Boomers all season — Davidson, at 190cm, is their tallest player, while the Flyers rolled out combinations of 198cm import Mercedes Russell, and 196cm pair Jackson and Carly Ernst. But, after winning the rebound count against Adelaide by double digits, the Boomers smacked the Flyers 55-38 on the glass with 188cm frontline pair Naz Hillmon (14 points) and captain Keely Froling each tearing down 11 caroms.
‘WHY NOT?’: OPALS STARS BACK JACKSON FOR PARIS
—Rebecca Williams
Opals stars Tess Madgen and Cayla George have backed a potential Olympic play for basketball legend and “warrior woman” Lauren Jackson as they seek to ignite their own Paris campaigns with a fresh start at the Sydney Flames.
In two of the big WNBL off-season moves, Opals captain Madgen and newly-crowned WNBA championship winner George made the switch to the Flames to reunite with an old mentor after bidding farewell to the Melbourne Boomers.
Madgen and George will join forces again with their former coach Guy Molloy, with whom they won the WNBL title at the Boomers in 2022, in Sydney.
The experienced pair’s move ahead of next year’s Paris campaign comes as Jackson, 42, prepares to make her WNBL return from serious injury for the Southside Flyers.
With an eye already firmly on the Olympics, Madgen said she would “definitely” welcome Jackson back for the Opals if the Aussie basketball great decided to make a push for Paris next year.
While Jackson has said the Games are not part of her plans at the moment, Madgen declared the four-time Olympian’s leadership and “fierceness” would be invaluable.
“If her body is fit and healthy then she proved what she could do at the World Cup last year,” Madgen said.
“Having her around the team, her leadership, her expertise, her tenacity, fierceness, competitive nature, just really elevates that in everyone else.
“To captain alongside someone like that definitely made my job so much easier, so selfishly of course I would love to see her back in there.
“I know she has worked really hard, I know she is in the best shape she has ever looked, which is a huge kudos to her and what she has been able to achieve, it is actually incredible.
“If we could have another 30-point performance in a gold medal match at the Olympics, that would be fantastic.”
Jackson turned back the clock to star with a 30-point performance in the bronze-medal play-off for the Opals at last year’s FIBA women’s World Cup in Sydney before she was struck by dual serious injuries to her foot and Achilles.
Fresh from her championship win in the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces, George also delivered her pitch for a Jackson Games tilt.
“LJ has been working so hard, if she is good enough to make it and she is fit enough and her body is OK then why not?,” George said.
“She is an absolute legend and she would always says she is playing on borrowed time and then she got those major injuries and everyone thought she done and here she is again.
“She is an absolute warrior woman. So to play alongside someone like her, even if she does not play a big role like she used to in her prime, just to have her on the bench and her wisdom … she came in against Canada in our bronze medal game and had 30 points, so a bit of vintage LJ came out.
“So even if we could get a handful of vintage moments that is still more than we could ever ask for.”
Madgen’s upcoming debut for the Flames comes after her own injury interrupted campaign last season in the WNBL when she was restricted to just the one game due to knee injury.
She recovered to play a crucial role in the Opals’ Asia Cup campaign in June and July in Sydney when the team claimed bronze.
Ahead of an Olympic year, Madgen said the chance to play under Molloy again was a significant reason behind her move as the coach brought out the “best” in her as a player.
“I definitely needed a new environment to keep growing as a player. I wouldn’t keep playing if I didn’t think I could get better,” Madgen said of her move.
“I obviously loved being coached by Guy, so as soon as there was word Guy could be the coach in Sydney …. I couldn’t really wait to get there and be coached by him.
“He is definitely the coach that brings out the best in me and being an Olympic year next year, I want to do everything that I can to put my best foot forward for selection for that.
“I definitely thought I would retire as a Boomer, but I just felt like I needed change, it was the right time. I’m solely focused on basketball, I was doing a lot of other things in Melbourne to supplement my income. But now I’m very grateful for the Flames to let me just be a full-time professional basketballer.”
George said playing for Molloy again to keep her game sharp was a major factor for her change, while also wanting to maintain her on-court connections with long-time teammate Madgen ahead of the Games.
“I am a young springbok at 34 and I will continue to keep learning and Guy definitely keeps me accountable and allows me to add things to my game and he pushes me to be a better leader and a better player as well, so that’s definitely a huge reason why I wanted to go to Sydney,” George said.
“And Tess, I have played with her for over 20 years, so I played with her since the under-14s in the Eastern Mavericks back in Mount Barker, so we have got a lot of history. I just really like how she goes about her business and she gets the best out of me and I think I do the same for her.
“Coming off the back of our World Cup last year, things are looking really positive … we are due for an Olympic medal, the last two Olympics we have missed out but we have been medalling in between times so I think definitely we are on the right track to be back on the podium come Paris.”
LIGHTNING’S FATAL MISTAKE AS BOOMERS RIDE PENINA POWER
Michael Randall
When you have a chance to put the Melbourne Boomers away, don’t blow it.
Adelaide Lightning learned the hard way, streaking out to a 20-6 lead on the opening night of the 2023-24 WNBL season before the depleted visitors gobbled them up in a thrilling 68-60 victory.
With Opal Kristy Wallace (knee) and recruits Aimee Rocci (concussion) and Mon Conti (AFLW) out, the Boomers only suited nine players, including development player Lilly Rotunno and injury replacement Sherrie Calleia, coach Chris Lucas was proud as punch of his team’s ability to fight back from a 14-point deficit and take out the win in enemy territory.
“Really pleased with our group but it wasn’t pretty basketball and we know we’re a long way off but we’ve got a lot of character in this group and they’ll keep fighting,” Lucas said on the ESPN broadcast.
Despite slow starts from star recruits Sara Blicavs and Keely Froling and highly-rated import Jordin Canada (0-6 in the first half) allowed the Lightning an early advantage. Adelaide imports Jocelyn Willoughby (a team-high 14 points off the bench), Brianna Turner (15 rebounds, 8 assists) and captain Lauren Mansfield (9 points, all in the first half) made the most of it.
Down nine at the long break, the Boomers dialled up the defence and Canada and Blicavs (12 points) began to find their groove.
But it was a powerful Penina Davidson kind of night, her strength overpowering the Lightning as she pounded in seven straight Boomers points as part of a 25-13 third quarter that flipped the script and gave the visitors a three-point lead at the last change.
“She was terrific tonight … I’ve had her for three pre-seasons and this is clearly her best,” Lucas said of his matchwinning workhorse.
With four minutes to go in the game, emerging Lightning star Izzy Borlase’s tough finish wrenched the lead back but Blicavs, who had sat most of the last quarter with four fouls, splashed a three, then Canada sliced and diced her way to the cup with an athletic finish and the Boomers were on their way.
Davidson finished with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench, while fellow Kiwi and good mate Tera Reid also had a double-double with 10-points and 10 boards in her Boomers debut.
Import Naz Hillmon kept Melbourne in the game early, doing most of her team-high 14-point damage in the first half.
Canada, the LA Sparks WNBA starlet, began her WNBL career with six points and eight dimes and looked more comfortable as the game went on, controlling proceedings late with her handles and pinpoint passing.
The Boomers smashed the Lightning on the offensive glass, 21-10, leading to 17 second-chance points to 7 — the key difference in the game.
DEPLETED BOOMERS
The Boomers will have to find a way to navigate at least the next month without Wallace, who injured her knee in September while playing in the WNBA and was forced to have surgery.
During Indiana Fever’s September 4 clash with Dallas Wings, Wallace rose for a free throw line jumper and immediately limped away on landing before being helped to the locker room in distress.
Wallace, an All WNBL First Teamer who averaged 15.8 points (seventh) and 5.5 assists (fourth) last season, has twice torn her ACL in the same knee and the Boomers will take an ultra-cautious approach to her return.
“Wally, we’re just going to take our time until she’s right, It’s a big year for her,” Lucas said.
Such is the reality of signing a dual-sport star, Conti, who is among the top-five chances for the AFLW best and fairest award, won’t be available for the Boomers until next week after she completes her duties with Richmond, which takes on Collingwood on Sunday in the last round of the season.
Rocci was concussed in a training mishap during the week and has entered the league’s protocols. Her return date is unclear as she will need to pass several checks to be passed fit to play.
Pass or shot? Either way, it's three points for the @AdelLightning!!!
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) November 1, 2023
Watch @WNBL Wednesday LIVE on ESPN! 📺 pic.twitter.com/JYrkZJQCyg
NICE PASS FOR THREE
Basketball’s a funny game. Lightning young gun Isabelle Bourne came up empty on all three of her three-point attempts in the first half. Her first make from deep came early in the third quarter — and she wasn't even trying. The 22-year-old caught the ball on the right wing and tried to throw a lob pass to Turner as she sprinted to the hoop. Instead, the ball banked in for three. It doesn’t say how you got them on the box score, just that you got them.
Colour clash tonight, but we've got plans! pic.twitter.com/1BuEjTlZUX
— Deakin Melbourne Boomers (@MelbBoomers) November 1, 2023
COLOUR CLASH
Round 1 doubled as Indigenous Round for the WNBL, which has, for the first time, partnered with the NBL in honouring First Nations people. But a late call had to be made on the Boomers’ Indigenous jersey after a colour clash with the Lightning’s kit was discovered. The uniforms only arrived on Tuesday, the day before the game. The Boomers will wear their Indigenous themed threads against Southside on Saturday and again on December 3.
Originally published as WNBL 2023-24: Lauren Jackson returns as Melbourne Boomers win 77-70 over Southside Flyers
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