Brisbane Lady Capitals: Round 9 v Logan
Brisbane, QLD. – The Brisbane Lady Capitals return to NAB Stadium this Friday night for round 9 of the QBL against the 3rd placed Logan Thunder.
The Lady Caps tipoff at 6.30pm at NAB Stadium.
TICKETS:
Tickets can be purchased in person at the door. Adults - $10.00; Children - $5.00; Capitals Junior players and staff – Free (with hard card). Wear your Caps Gear!
THE CAPITALS (10th, 3 – 6; 1 – 3 at home):
FG%: 38.7 | 3PT%: 31.8 | FT%: 65.4 | PPG: 72.0
Since the Lady Caps faced the red hot Rockhampton Rockets in round 7, they travelled up the highway and took on the Sunshine Coast Phoenix Clippers in a Central Pool contest. The Lady Caps went on to win this contest 81-65. The win over the Clippers marked the second time this season that the Lady Caps have defeated a higher ranked opponent (first being South West Metro). Brisbane look to take down another higher ranked team this Friday night.
On April 23rd, the Lady Caps hosted the Thunder at the Brisbane Capitals season launch weekend in front of 300 spectators. Led by veteran scoring guard Heidi Freeburn (18pts), and the dual interior presence of long time Capital, Mikaela King (14pts) and new recruit Emma McKenzie (15pts) your Lady Caps rallied from a 21pt deficit in the 3rd quarter to cut the margin to just 1pt with 1:15 to go in the game, setting up a nail-biting finish before falling 62-65.
ROUND 9 v #3 LOGAN THUNDER (8 – 2; 2 – 2 on the road):
FG%: 41.8 | 3PT%: 32.5 | FT%: 81.5 | PPG: 80.0
In their return to the QBL, the Thunder finished 9th in the 2015 regular season with a 9 – 8 record. This season, the Thunder have been the big improver capitalising on a solid performance last year to sit 3rd on the league ladder and 1st in the Central pool.
Series Record: The Lady Caps trail 0 – 2 (0 – 1 at NAB Stadium) since Logan’s return to the league in 2015.
Last Meeting: The Lady Caps lost, 53 – 74 in Rd 14 of 2015 at the Cornubia Park Sports Centre.
Notables: Logan are on a tear, currently riding a league best seven game win streak which included a double road-trip win over Gladstone and Bundaberg in round 8 last weekend. On the road, the Thunder average 75.5ppg and hold opposition teams to an average 66.1ppg.Premier WNBL recruit, Kate Gaze has proved a tremendous pick up for the Thunder and currently ranks 3rd in the league for scoring with 26.3ppg. Surrounding Gaze is a strong and balanced team attack with six players averaging between 8 – 13ppg and nine players averaging between 3-6rpg. This team approach is led by WNBL veteran and primary playmaker, Mikhaela Donnelly, who is averaging 6.2apg.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOUR:
Monday June 12th saw the Brisbane Lady Capitals host the China Women’s B Team at NAB Stadium. Brisbane Basketball has had a long history of hosting visiting teams from across Australia and around the world with Monday’s visitors warmly welcomed to the Sunshine State. Despite an enormous size advantage for the visitors, our Lady Caps continued to show tremendous effort against the visiting international senior team and cut a 30pt half-time deficit to just 13 with a little over a quarter to go. What is quite impressive was that our Lady Caps managed the feat without key recruit Amy Lewis (19.7ppg, 7.0rpg, 2.8apg). The fight of the Lady Caps has been a focus of the new coaching staff under the guidance of head coach Bec Dudic who inspires each player to exceed their own expectation of effort and focus under pressure at the Senior Women’s level.
DYNAMIC COMBO:
Securing the invaluable services of SEQ Stars Co-Captain, Amy Lewis, was a major recruitment for Brisbane with the highly decorated WNBL veteran widely sort after across the league. Amy’s contribution to the team is far reaching, last weekend tallying her first double-double of the season v the Clippers (14pts, 11rbs) whilst dishing out a team leading 6 assists. Joining Amy, and returning to the Capitals after a season away, is scoring guard Heidi Freeburn. The two pack a powerful 1-2 punch on offence and defence; after six games together for the Lady Caps, they combine for 38.1ppg, 12rpg, 5.3apg, 2.8spg and 0.5bpg. However, when they compete against the league’s best, these two athletic guards really shine for the Caps. Against top 4 teams, Amy and Heidi put on an additional 10pts per game (48.0ppg). Amy and Heidi will continue to lead the Lady Caps on the court as they strive for their best effort of the season to date this Friday night v Logan.
THE KING’s AT COURT:
The Brisbane Lady Capitals 59 game veteran, Mikaela King, is enjoying career highs in points per game (8.8) and field goal percentage (45.8) this season. Ever eager to take on additional responsibility, Mikaela often attracts key defensive assignments on opposition import players at the forward and centre positions. Mikaela’s contributions have been invaluable for the Lady Caps throughout her career, including last weekend’s round 8 game v the Sunshine Coast Clippers were she led the Capitals for the second time this season in both scoring (18) and rebounding (8). An essential part of the Lady Caps rotation, Mikaela has established herself amongst her team mates as a player will to take on all challenges and is looking forward to round 9’s game v Thunder.
SBL Women: The Brisbane Capitals SBL Women’s team (10th, 2 – 4) are on the road again this weekend, visiting the Noosa Cyclones (11th, 1 – 4) at the Noosa Leisure Centre. The Caps are looking to reverse recent fortunes against the Cyclones. Tipoff is scheduled for 10am on Sunday morning.
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