Boomers ready for partisan Canberra crowd
The Deakin Melbourne Boomers take on the UC Capitals in Canberra tonight to decide the winner of a thrilling semi-final series, and Boomers guard Lindsay Allen is confident her side won’t make the same mistakes in the nation’s capital this time around.
The Boomers had victory within their grasp in game one, only to fall away to a Canberra side buoyed by a partisan home crowd and a rampant WNBL MVP Kia Nurse.
But Allen believes her side is better for the experience and knows what to expect come Wednesday night.
“In game one we ran out of steam in the fourth quarter and Canberra really took it to us, our defence just wasn’t up to par and they punished us. We need to just worry about us this time around,” she said.
“They have good home support, they’re really loud and they’re going to be raring to go in this decider, but at the same time it will bring our team closer together.
“I think we can take a lot from those first two games, in game one we were in it until the fourth quarter, which gives us confidence that we can win out there.”
Allen produced a game-high 25 points in a sizzling individual performance at the State Basketball Centre on Sunday, aided by her fired-up teammates who she sensed were on their game before they even took to the court.
“We sensed we were bouncier during the warmup, a bit more spring in our step. We knew going into the game it was a case of win or we’re out, but we were confident we could get it done.
“We had to take it to them and not let up, I think everyone in the team had that mindset.
“Everyone made huge plays for us, Cayla and Ezi are really hard to guard in the post, Maddie really got going and Sophie provides the usual toughness for us.”
Paramount to success on Wednesday night will be managing Caps star Nurse, who took the game away from the Boomers in game one with an impeccable display from beyond the arc.
Allen says it will take another collective effort to manage the Canadian shooting machine.
“She’s a great player, so talented, reads the game really well, knows how to use her body and get you off balance, draw fouls in the air.
“It’s a team effort though, they set a lot of screens for her, but I think we did a great job on her in game two, she still hit her shots that’s what she’s going to do, she will score points but it’s about minimising that and making her work for the points she does get.”
Tip off in Canberra is at 7:30pm, live on Fox Sports and the Kayo streaming app.